Sermon Transcript

Let me invite you to open your Bible to Joshua chapter 5. You knew that was coming, right? We are six messages in to the series that we’ve started called Onward: Don’t Stop Now!

As we’ve been walking through this book, I’ve been handing you the summary statement of the entire message at the beginning. We’re front-loading the truth as we walk through Joshua. I want to give you the summary statement for everything I want to say this morning, and it is simply this:

 

Big idea: Moving onward into warfare must be preceded by falling downward in worship.  

 

Do you understand that you are in a spiritual war right now? And if you have declared yourself to be a follower of Christ, you have a target on you. You have a spiritual enemy who has put his crosshairs on your heart, and he desires nothing more than your defeat. He is trying to take you out until you are nothing about a pile of ashes. That is the war that each one of us is in.

I found myself in a war this week. On Tuesday, I went in for a little procedure on the bottom of my foot, and it resulted in having a piece of meat removed from the bottom of my foot. I really wanted to show you a picture of that this morning, but I’m not going to. That was on Tuesday morning. They sedated me for this little laser surgery.

The doctor said, “When you go home, you’ll probably just sleep all day,” and, sure enough, that’s what happened. So, about five o’clock I woke up and was feeling refreshed, and I was kind of hobbling around trying to get as much sympathy from the family as I could. They did a pretty good job of that.

Because I slept all day, I really didn’t feel like going to sleep again. It was ten o’clock, and so I sat up and watched a basketball game and a movie, and about two o’clock in the morning, finally I’m feeling, “Okay, I think I could sleep now.” So I went into our bedroom, where Andrea was already fast asleep on her side of the bed. On the other side of the bed, where I typically sleep—in my territory—was our dog Murray.

Now, normally Murray is this little white ball of fuzzy happiness. But at two o’clock in the morning, he was ready to right for his territory. So, I just grabbed Murray and, when I did, Murray went to war, and preceded to take another piece of meat out of this finger. He bit me! Which I did not appreciate. So, Murray went for a ride through the air and landed on the other side of the room with a thump and a whimper.

At that point, Andrea woke up, realizing there was a war going on in the bedroom, between her husband whom she loves and her dog that she loves. We found out at that moment which one Andrea loves most. She did not rush to my aid, to come to see my bleeding finger. She went to the dog and began to stroke the dog to try and figure out if he had survived the warfare.

Well, every one of us is in a battle for territory. God wants us to move onward, and if we’re going to move onward, we have to realize we’re going to face some resistance. We’re in a war for our marriages. Our enemy is trying to destroy them. We’re in a war for the hearts and the minds of our children. How many of you parents out there pray for the protection of your children, that the enemy will not grab them and pull them into his camp?

We’re in a war for every relationship, to keep the peace. Did you know that you have to go to war in order to keep the peace in relationships? We’re in a war for every inch of spiritual ground that we take.

As we study the book of Joshua, that’s what the book is all about. We’re studying about ancient Israel, that was occupying territory that God had promised to them, and yet they had to go to war in order to get it.

You remember last week they had crossed the Jordan River. God had given them those three reminders of who was going with them. The Ark of the Covenant was a picture of the presence of God. He’d given them the picture of where they had come from, those stones of remembrance: “You don’t ever want to go back there again!”

And He’d given them the picture of circumcision to identify them as a marked people: “Don’t forget who you are, who you belong to. You’re not like everybody else; you’re not going to act like everybody else; you’re a marked people.” That was a reminder that they were going into a territory that God had promised.

But do you know what was awaiting them on the other side of that Jordan River? Look at your Bible. Do you have a heading at the beginning of Joshua chapter 6—not inspired, but someone wrote that in there to help you understand kind of the big sections of Scripture?

What’s the heading at the beginning of chapter 6 in your Bible? “The Fall of Jericho.” And if you know the story, Jericho was this fortified city on the other side of the Jordan River, and the Israelites were about to face this battle of Jericho. But before they could go into warfare, they had to experience falling down in worship. Joshua was about to have this experience.

I want you to read about it here. Before we look at it in Joshua, I want you to see in the New Testament about the warfare we have. The Scripture tells us about the warfare that each one of us is in, 2 Corinthians 10:3 and 4: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh…” not fleshly; not guns and knives and bombs and swords, “but” our weapons “have divine power” spiritual power “to destroy strongholds.”

Jericho was a stronghold that had to be destroyed before God’s people could move onward. And there are strongholds that each one of us is facing right now; there are strongholds of lies that we believe, that need to be blown up and conquered and defeated, so that we can move onward.

There are sin habits that some of us have that are strongholds; we’re shackled to those sin habits. Those have to be destroyed if we are going to move onward. Are you facing a spiritual battle? Let’s find out what happened in this time of worship before Joshua entered into the warfare of Jericho.

We’re just going to look at three verses this morning. You say, “Trent, last week we looked at three chapters!” You never know what you’re going to get when you come to Harvest, OK? Just three verses at the end of Joshua chapter 5: verse 13 says this: “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” because he was not stupid “did so.” (Joshua 5:13-15 ESV) There are two points to the message. The first is this:

 

1. When you face your adversary, look upward. (v. 13-14)

 

Joshua had gone out by Jericho. Do you see it there in verse 13? Apparently, he had left the gathered assembly of these two million people—the chaos and the noise of that collection of people—who were gathered at Gilgal (that’s where we left them last week), and Joshua apparently left Gilgal and got closer to Jericho. He was by Jericho. He likely went out alone.

Why do you think he went out by Jericho? I think there are two reasons. First of all, he was obeying the command that God had given him back in chapter 1. Do you remember what God told him to do if he was going to experience success in the battle? What was he going to have to do?

There was a habit, there was a discipline, that he was going to have to maintain. We taught you this: meditation. Do you remember it, in Joshua 1:8? God had told him, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” And here’s the promise, “For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

If there was ever a time that Joshua needed success, it was before he was going into battle at Jericho. And so, before the battle, he went out to meditate on God’s Word, I believe. Not only was he was meditating, I think there was something else he was doing.

As the leader of God’s people, it was his responsibility to know the enemy he was up against. I think, not only was he meditating, he was measuring. “How big are those walls of Jericho? How big are the muscles on those soldiers?” And what he discovered, there by Jericho, he got his eyes on those walls, and do you know what he saw? He saw an impenetrable fortress, an impossible challenge. Jericho was a double-walled city.

The first wall was possibly four to five stories tall, six feet wide. And if some way, somehow, they could get past that wall, they faced the second wall. It was twelve feet wide, possibly six or seven stories tall. You remember, Rahab’s house was on top of one of these walls. That’s how big the walls were. And it’s possible that Jeremiah was looking at that and measuring and calculating and analyzing: “Do we have any weapons…is there any technology at our disposal that would give us any hope that we could win this battle?” Maybe there was a little anxiety in his heart as he tried to measure and calculate and analyze: “Are we going to be able to win this battle?”

Have you ever felt like Joshua? Have you ever put your eyes on something that was seemingly so impossible, you had very little hope of winning the battle? Maybe there’s something going on in your marriage or your finances or for so long that it seems like a wall that you’ll never get past, and you can’t go any further onward until those walls fall downward. Joshua had his eyes focused on those walls.

But then he did something that was very important. Notice what the passage says, “He lifted up his eyes and looked…” He got his eyes off of the walls and he got an accurate view of God. This idea of lifting up our eyes—that is actually a theme that is repeated throughout Scripture. Psalm 121:1 and 2 says this, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” Have you ever felt that way: “Where’s the help going to come from?” The psalmist answers his own question. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Notice he doesn’t just identify some distant god “out there,” “the man upstairs,” this very unknowable god. Notice he uses the proper Name—the revealed Name—of God: the LORD. And in case you were wondering who He is, notice what He has done. He has made Heaven and Earth. And the LORD, who has made Heaven and Earth is not intimidated by any wall that is made by man!

Anything you’re facing; do you understand that, if you get your eyes up on the Lord who made everything in Heaven and everything in Earth, nothing is impossible for God? When you face your adversary, get your eyes up—look upward.

Notice what Joshua saw when he looked up—again, here in Joshua 5:13, “And behold!” Now anytime you see the word “behold” in Scripture, it’s a signal to you for your jaw to drop, and it’s the author’s way of saying, “You’re not going to believe what happened next!” So—would you like a little run at that? Here we go! “Behold!” Exactly, that’s the response you should get when you read the Bible. You’re not going to believe what he saw next!

Here’s what he saw: “A man standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand!” Do you think Joshua was surprised? Joshua thought he was alone. Joshua had left all of the other warriors and all of the swords in his army, and there he was meditating, just enjoying time with the Lord. And all of a sudden, there is a man that appears to him with a drawn sword! Now, you have to insert yourself into the story.

Imagine if you were Joshua. You’re there, having your quiet time with Jesus, just reflecting on God’s goodness and how far He’s brought you, and you’re kind of measuring the walls and just praying and asking God to send the help that you need…Joshua’s getting his eyes up…and all of a sudden, he is standing before a warrior with a drawn sword!

If you were Joshua, which direction would your next step have been? Answer? Probably in the opposite direction of the drawn sword, right? That’s where I would be headed!

But I want you to notice the direction that Joshua moves toward. What does the Scripture say? “And Joshua went to him.” What would motivate Joshua to approach a mighty warrior with a drawn sword? The promises that God gave him way back in chapter 1: “Joshua,” we read it over and over again, four times in Joshua 1, “be strong and courageous; be strong and courageous…” Joshua had every reason to believe that, no matter what adversary was coming at him, the battle belongs to the Lord, and Joshua had been assured of the victory.

The passage doesn’t tell us this, but I believe Joshua had his sword there, too, and I can just imagine Joshua pulling out that sword and saying, “You’ve got a sword? I’ve got one, too! Let’s get after it!” And with brave heart, he went toward this man, and he finds out that he’s not just a man. Let’s find out who this guy was.

“And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” That is a multiple-choice question, okay? Let’s find out how the man answers the question (verse 14):             “And he said, ‘No.” I don’t remember that being one of the options. He gives Joshua a different answer than Joshua expected. He says, “I am the commander of the army of the Lord.” Now, can’t you imagine Joshua just kind of scratching his head, thinking, “I thought that’s who I was! I’m the commander of the army of the Lord!” Let’s play along with the question.

Let’s say that the man had answered the question this way: “I am for your adversaries.” What do you think Joshua’s response would have been? “My name is Joshua. I am the commander of the Lord’s army. Prepare to die.” That’s what we would expect. Right? “You’re going to be for the adversary? That means that I’m about to go to battle with you.” That would have been a grave mistake. Have you ever made the mistake of fighting against the Lord when the Lord wanted to fight for you? That would have been a mistake for Joshua.

What if, when Joshua said, “Are you for us?” this man would have said, “Yes, I am for you.” What would you expect Joshua to say at that point? “Okay, you’re for us; I didn’t quite recognize you, but I guess you’re one of my guys; just remember, I am the commander of the army of the Lord. You need to fall in line behind me. You need to get back and just follow me in my direction here, because I am in charge.” That would have also been a mistake.

And the man says to him, “No! I am not here for you to use me.” Isn’t that a mistake that we so often make? We think of the Lord as someone who can make our life easier, someone who’s there to remove the obstacles and to just make life a little easier? That’s a mistake! God says to him, “No, you’re not going to use me at this point!”

Adrian Rogers, one of my mentors—when he preached this passage, I’ll never forget—was saying that the man who confronted Joshua (we’re going to find out later He was actually God) was saying to Joshua, “I am not here to take sides; I am here to take over! And what you need to do is get in line behind me—because even though you thought you were in charge, I am now in charge! I am your commanding officer, and you are now going to follow My lead!”

By the way, if your view of God, if you’re view of Jesus, is kind of this grandfatherly guy with a long white beard, kind of old and decrepit…or maybe your view of Jesus is kind of a feather-haired, baby-powdered, pastel-wearing skinny-jeans Jesus, you need a new view of God. You need a view of God that is a Mighty Warrior, with drawn sword, who is ready to fight and win every spiritual battle. And he identifies himself as the Commander of the Army of the Lord. What army is he talking about? What army does God have?

Well, certainly, he was probably referring to the armies of Israel—human army, about to do battle in Jericho—but there’s another army. There is an unseen army of special created beings called “angels” that are warriors who are created to do nothing but give glory to God and assist in the spiritual battle that you and I are in.

And God was saying to Joshua, “Your army’s not going to win. I’ve sized them up. You’re hopeless! But there’s another army that is going to assist you in the battle, and they have every spiritual asset at their disposal—every weapon to fight the war that is ahead of you.”

There’s a story over in 2 Kings about this army. There was another commander, another prophet; his name was Elisha. And Elisha and the people of Israel were about to go into battle with an adversary. Elisha had a servant, and Scripture tells us about this servant—as he began to calculate who was going to win the battle – who was going to be the underdog and who was going to be the favorite.

The Bible tells us in 2 Kings 6:15-17: “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master!’” Now, “alas” is the opposite of “behold.” “Alas” is hopeless! “Alas” is, “I have done the math. We have no chance of winning this battle!”

“’What shall we do?’ He [Elisha] said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And that servant must have though, “Elisha, are you blind? Can’t you see that we are the underdog here?” “Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes,” the servant “that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” God allowed that servant to see that unseen, invisible army, and Joshua has just met the Commander of that Army. Angel armies at our disposal to do spiritual battle.

Do you remember when Jesus was standing before Pilate on the night before His crucifixion? There he was captive to Pilate, and Pilate—thinking he had foiled the plot of Jesus to take over, was about to crucify Jesus. And Jesus just gave him a little reminder: “Do you think I cannot appeal to my Father and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels” – twelve thousand angels –  “ready to do battle?” But because of Jesus’ plan and purpose to redeem you and I on the cross, He humbly submitted Himself to that crucifixion.

There’s an army of angels ready to fight on our behalf. If we could just get our eyes off of the walls, off of our circumstances, and see the Commander of the Lord of Hosts. Look at what it says at the end of that verse. He says, “Now I have come.” Isn’t that great news? God is never early, but He is always on time! Right here, right now, God stands ready to go to war on your behalf.

Here’s the second thing we’re going to learn:

 

2. When you face your Commander, fall downward. (v. 14-15)

 

What was Joshua’s response to this revelation of God, that he received? Look at the last part of Joshua 5:14: “And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped.” Joshua, a strong and courageous warrior, falls on his face and worships.

It’s one of the reasons we know this Man was not just any man. This Man was an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. Theologians call this a “theophany” or a “Christophany.” How many of you understand that Jesus existed before He showed up in a manger in Bethlehem? This was an incarnation of Christ, the Commander of the Army of the Lord, revealing himself to Joshua.

Joshua understood, “This is not any man, this is God!” and he worshiped. One of the reasons we know that this was God is because, when other men tried to fall and worship mere angels, those angels told them to get up! “You are not to worship a created being,” but this Man allows Joshua to worship. Worship is the only appropriate response to an accurate view of God.

Have you ever had any kind of experience like Joshua had in this moment? That you got such an accurate view of God, the only thing you could do in that moment was get as low as you could possibly get in His presence? You saw Him high and lifted up and it resulted in your heart being humbled and broken before the Lord, and you could do nothing but give Him your unashamed adoration. That’s what God is looking for. Before you go into your warfare, God calls you apart to fall downward in worship.

What are we talking about when we talk about worship? Let’s give it a definition:

 

Worship is my response of unconditional surrender to who God is and what He has done.

 

Worship is always a response. There is no worship in the human heart until God initiates a fresh revelation of who He is in our hearts. God reveals Himself to us through His Word and by His Spirit, and it results in us laying down our rights to command anything—and telling God, “God, You are in the One in charge. I am going to get in line behind You. You are the Commander and I am Your servant; what would You say to me in this moment, that is my next step?” That’s what Joshua said, that’s what Joshua did.

Jesus talked about worship, when He came, and told us that God the Father is looking for worshipers. He said in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father…” Notice, two things, “in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Do you know what the Spirit of God is doing this morning, right now in this service? He is going up and down the aisles, and in and out of the rows of this church, and He is looking for true worship. Is there any true worship happening in the seat that you occupy?

“There’s one; there’s one; there’s one. . .” What’s He looking for? He’s looking for a response. Not an intellectual assent. Not that you’re satisfied to get the right word in the right blank this morning, and feel like you did your job at church. He is looking for true worshipers.

How can you know that you’ve worshiped God the way that God wants you to, this morning? He tells us (verse 24), “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship Him,” again, two things – “in spirit and truth.” What does that mean?

See the word “spirit” in the above verse? That’s not talking about the Holy Spirit—it’s not capitalized. It’s talking about the human spirit. Do you know that you have an immaterial part of you? It is your spirit—synonymous with “heart,” with “soul.” It’s your mind, your emotions, your will. It’s the part of you that God created to connect with Him. Do you remember that song we sang earlier, “The resurrected King is resurrecting me”? What does that mean? That means that our spirit is dead, it’s lifeless, it can’t connect to God until God comes and resurrects it, pours life into the dead spirit that we have. Then, we are resurrected spiritually; our spirit can connect and commune with God.

God reveals Himself to our spirit, our response is that our spirit gives worship back to God. Do you worship in spirit, or do you just worship in formality? Do you worship only in your head, or does it come to your heart? Some of you grew up in settings—or maybe in churches or schools—and you got a lot of head knowledge about worship and who God is, but did it ever spark worship in you—a response of unconditional surrender to who God is and what God has done?

That’s what He’s looking for right now. Not only in spirit, but in truth. That means worship not only involves our heart, it also involves our head—not just emotions and affections, but also rational thought.

Some of you have been in services where it was energetic and upbeat and people had their hands in the air and some people were doing really energetic things. “Man, the Spirit is really here! These people are worshiping in Spirit!” And yet, some of you grew up in environments like that, where there was no truth. There was not an accurate view of God, and so the spiritual worship was shallow and emotional. It never changed you outside of that little experience.

Some of you grew up in environments where there was a heavy emphasis on truth; you heard the right thing, there was Bible teaching, you’ve got notes all over your Bible from good Bible teaching, because your head was packed with truth, but you never engaged your spirit. And people sat there and they absorbed—and you wondered—some of you might get in an environment where there is a heavy emphasis on spirit, and you wonder, “What are these people so excited about? Why do these people have their hands in the air? Why doesn’t somebody answer their question—they’ve got their hands in the air all the time?”

And some of you who grew up in an atmosphere of spirit think, “What’s wrong with all those people who just sit there and take notes? Why do they sit there like a bump on a pickle? Why don’t they get into the service!?”

Do you know what God is looking for? God is looking for worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth—both heart and head—both emotion and affection, and rational accurate truth about who God is. Have you ever worshiped God in response to who He is and what He is saying?

Micah shared with you that last weekend he was in Ft. Mills, South Carolina. I got a text from Micah on Saturday night—he actually attended a church service in Charlotte, North Carolina, at a church that’s a growing, well-known church called Elevation Church. And Micah just went there as a participant. He went there; it’s an upbeat, lively church and they’ve got great music there. As a matter of fact, the song that we sang this morning, “Resurrecting” – that song came out of Elevation Church in Charlotte. Micah was worshiping alongside those people, and Micah wrote a little blog. I want you to listen to what he wrote:

“Last Saturday night, at Elevation Church, I worshiped Jesus with an incredible band—at 110 decibels!” [Now, just to let you know, the decibel level around here never gets above 93—so 110, that’s like your ears are bleeding at that point, okay? There’s a lot of spirit and a lot of passion and a lot of volume in that worship service—very contemporary, a lot of energy, a lot of passion. But then Micah says]: The next morning, on Sunday morning, I led an 8:15 a.m. traditional service in Southern gospel hymns at First Baptist Church, Ft. Mills, South Carolina. At Elevation, people were dancing, singing, shouting and loud. This morning, at First Baptist Church, I saw a seventy-year-old woman, seated in the back row with her eyes closed, her head raised, her hands open and out—as we sang a cappella, Holy, holy, holy.”

“God transcends culture, preference, music, churches, age, demographics, ‘hip-ness,’ ‘stuffy-ness,’ etc. He is a jealous God for the hearts of His people. He looks for worshipers in every worship gathering. He meets them right where they are, as they look to Him. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom…’ I basked in the freedom last night at Elevation Church and again this morning at First Baptist Church, at 8:15 in the traditional service. God is great and greatly to be praised!”

You are not spiritual if you turn up the volume, and you are not spiritual if you sit in silence. You are spiritual if you respond, in spirit and in truth, to the revelation of who God is and what God has done, with unconditional surrender. Here’s what Joshua learned in front of the Commander of the Army of the Lord: There is no spiritual victory until there is unconditional surrender to God! Before Joshua went into warfare, there had to be a falling down in worship.

So, Jesus says we must worship in spirit and in truth. What does that look like? What are these true worshipers doing? Let me put it this way: Understand that each one of you has a spirit; that spirit is a furnace. Do you have a furnace in your house? It sits there cold and generates no heat until you pump it full of fuel. The truth about God is the fuel for worship. The fuel is pumped into our spirit. But you still don’t have worship until the Holy Spirit comes and reveals to you who God is, and sparks the fuel of that truth.

Some of you, the reason there is no genuine worship, no true worship, is because you haven’t packed enough truth in your head; your head is filled with lies about God or myths about God.  You need to replace that with the truth. That’s the truth that God wants to ignite so that it creates the heat—a blazing inferno—of unashamed adoration of Jesus Christ; the response of worship. We see four elements of that in this story—I want to show them to you.

Notice what happened. Joshua fell on his face. It was a sign of brokenness.

• Respond in brokenness.

This strong, courageous warrior-leader—finds himself in a fetal position before a holy God! When we talk about brokenness we’re not talking about wounded-ness.

Some of you have been tragically hurt by deep loss and deep pain. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’ve all had experiences where we’ve been wounded. Brokenness is a choice. When I get a new view of God, I get a new view of myself—undone before God. I see all the unfinished business in my life, I see all of the weakness, I see all of the failure. I see the residual effects of sin in my life, and it brings me to my knees. It knocks me off my feet in the presence of God’s holiness. Where there is no brokenness, there is no worship.

And the reason some of you do not understand what we do around during the times we are worshiping on our feet, our hands in the air—some of us on our knees—is because you can’t bring yourself to face how broken and desperate you are before a holy God. And the reason is, you don’t have your eyes on God. You’ve got your eyes on somebody you’re doing better than. You’re like, “Yeah, that’s good,” and yet you’ve never worshipped. It’s my prayer this morning that you would see God the way He is, and then you can see yourself the way you are. Once you are broken, then there can be healing.

Not only did Joshua fall on his face in brokenness, but notice—a true worshipper responds by listening.

• Respond by listening.

Look there at the next question (Joshua 5:14) “[He] said to him, ‘What does my lord say to his servant?’” Joshua understood, “This is not a time for me to talk. This is not a time for me to outline my battle strategy to God and see if He’s okay with it. This is not a time for me to list my resume and my credentials—and ‘why God should be using me more.’” This is a time for me to be quiet and listen.”

We should start every day with that question, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” And then when God speaks, I respond by listening. It’s an act of worship. That’s why the central component of our worship gathering at Harvest is not music. It is the unapologetic preaching of the Word of God, because when we read God’s Word, God speaks. And when God’s Word is preached, God’s speaks.

If we are wise and we are true worshipers, we lean our ear into that and we ask, “God, what are You trying to say to me right now? What needs to change? How do I need to respond? What area of confession…what area of repentance…what area of faith do I need to exercise so that I can follow Your command?” A true worshipper responds by listening.

A true worshipper responds by repenting.

• Respond with repentance.

Look at it—God says to Joshua in chapter 5, verse 15, “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.’” Taking off his sandals. . .what was that? What was the significance of that? Those sandals were filthy, and removing the filth in the presence of a holy God is a picture of repentance. What is it that God has put His finger on and said, “I want you to take that off; I want you to get it out of your life. I don’t want it to remain. I am too holy for that to come into My presence.”?

Is it a jealousy toward another believer, is it a bitterness that you’ve been holding onto—you’ve been so hurt, you’re not going to forgive? Is it some evil attitude? Is it a sexual sin? All of those things, we want to bring into God’s presence. We want to walk in casually and walk out, and God says, “No further. Get it out of your life. I am too holy for that filthiness to be in My presence.” A true worshiper responds in repentance. There is no worship where there is no repentance.

And then, finally, a true worshipper responds with obedience.

• Respond with obedience.

There’s a simple phrase at the end of the whole story: “And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:15) What is it that God has put on your heart that He wants you to do? He’s spoken to you about it already, and yet you’ve procrastinated, you’ve put it off; you excuse it, you justify it; you blame others for why you are the way you are. And yet God wants a simple obedience that says, “Yes, Lord. I will obey!” There is no worship where there is no obedience. Are you a true worshiper?

Have you ever had any kind of experience—anything remotely like Joshua had? Now, if you’re looking to have some man show up with a drawn sword and flaming appearance, that’s probably not what God wants. God has already revealed Himself to you through His Word, by His Spirit. How are you going to respond to truth that has been packed away for years in the recesses of your mind?

Is the reason you sit there, without any kind of response to the truth of God’s Word and the exaltation of who Jesus is, because you refuse to be broken, you refuse to listen, you refuse to repent and you refuse to obey? This morning, my heart’s desire is that all four of these things would combine together so that we could experience in this place –and maybe you, for the first time, in your heart – unashamed adoration of Jesus that results in an unconditional surrender of all that you are to all that He is.