Kelcy Steele ~ Your Future Is in Your Feet!
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, “My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses.” – Joshua 1:3 (NRSV)
Our future is in our feet. As we gather on these sacred grounds from all over the country may I remind you that you are a part of something bigger then yourselves, bigger than your denomination, and bigger than your local church.
We are family: we are connected to over 80 million in the Methodist Wesleyan family who worship Christ in over 80 different denominations.
We are family! Together we balance justice and mercy, humility and boldness, listening and leadership. God is still calling us this week to examine ourselves, evaluate our methods, and evangelize our world.
Don’t ask God to guide your footsteps if you’re not willing to move your feet.
Your future is in your feet!
Because all through this Bible, etched in the pages of this Holy Writ, you will find references to feet.
In Matthew 18:8, you see the fascination of feet: “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut them off and throw it from you,” because we have to walk straight.
In Psalm I, you see the fortune of feet: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” because we have to walk strategically.
In Isaiah 52: 7, you see the function of feet. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,” because we have to walk sincerely.
And right here in this text, Joshua 1:3, you see the formation of feet, because your future is in your feet. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses.” I believe that we are in a season now of “possessing the promise.” But there can be no possessing until our feet are connected to our faith.
It’s now time to cross over from one season into another; it’s now time to transition from the wilderness into the Promised Land. But you have to understand that God is trying to get your feet in alignment.
You have to walk straight,
you have to walk strategically,
and you have to walk sincerely.
Is there anybody here with the testimony?
I’m walking in authority: that means that God is in your strut.
Living life without apology: that means that God is in your strive.
It’s not wrong, dear, I belong here, so you might as well get used to me: that means that God is in your sustainability.
Because if you would tell the truth and shame the devil, it’s hard to be a Joshua walking in a Moses culture!
It’s like playing an MP3 on an 8-Track stereo.
It’s like sending an email by Morse code.
It’s like Fresh Prince, Wu-Tang, The Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, Rock Steady Crew vs. Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Joel BAD.
It’s like Madonna vs. Lady Gaga!
It’s hard to be a Joshua walking in a Moses culture.
It was John Wesley who said it like this: “I look on all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”
But I have a few questions for the 21st century church:
What does our future look like?
Where are we going?
And have we started walking yet?
The hymn writer poetically declared:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war.
But I have a few questions for the 21st Century church:
What does our future look like?
Where are we going?
And have we started walking yet?
In this text we see God making funeral announcements, by saying, “Moses my servant is dead.”
And for those of you biblical scholars you understand that God had to kill Moses or let Moses die because he couldn’t allow him to enter into the promised land because of his sin, unbelief, and rebellion.
You all know Moses: In Egyptian his name means son, in the Hebrew his name means deliver.
Moses: Avoided abortion by Pharaoh, child of the Nile at three months old.
Moses: Beneficiary of foster care by Pharaoh’s daughter, house-raised, but field-bred.
Moses: A thug or bad boy in antiquity, killed a man, blood on his hands.
Moses: Blessed by a bush on fire at 80, commissioned by God to lead, appointed to pastor a stubborn people with just a stick and a stutter.
You all know Moses: We all have had a Moses moment: flawed but still faithful, given up on, but didn’t give out, called but still confused. Somebody holler “Moses”!
But in his shadows was a young aspiring preacher who was still wet behind the ears, and the smell of Similac was still on his breath. You know Joshua? His name means Jehovah is Salvation. Joshua, that type of Christ whose name in the Greek tongue is Jesus!
That’s a word for somebody: because before God allows something or somebody to mess up your future, he has a way of removing them in order to exalt you. He always has a way of escape.
Stop crying over Moses: he’s dead.
It’s now time to start walking with Joshua.
He’s it.
You can sit here and cry, complain, and allow your circumstances to cripple you like Moses. Or you can obey God, like Joshua, and arise and walk it out.
My problem with the text is, why did Moses have to die before Joshua could arise? I looked at it and my exegetical eyes came open and showed me that Moses had to die because the residue of his past outweighed the revelation of his future.
Everything can’t go with you into the Promised Land, because it will become an eye sore and constantly remind you of how things used to be.
Some bags you have to check in the wilderness because they don’t meet the requirements of the Promised Land.
Wesley said: “I am…afraid that the people called Methodists should…exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”
And the church is guilty of trying to resuscitate Moses while rejecting Joshua.
It’s time to either retire, retool, or be removed. And then we act like we are concerned about missing Millennials. And while we fighting over stuff they sipping lattes at Starbucks. And maybe the reason why many of our churches are grey and dead is because the majority of our leadership is greying and dying.
God always uses diversity to deliver a people. John Maxwell said, “everything rises and falls on leadership!” People are always an indirect reflection of their leader.
You put a clergy collar on a corpse and put them in the pulpit, watch them drain the life out of the pews. Israel was beginning to look too much like Moses’ flaws, so God had to change the reflection.
“Joshua, Moses my Servant is dead. ARISE!”
Tag – you it. It’s your turn. Let me see what you’re working with.
Joshua, I know you’re young, but you’re wise, you walked with Moses, you were a successful mentee. ARISE!
No need to be scared of failure when God’s favor is on your life. Because if he called you to it he’s obligated to carry you through it. It was that theologian Paul Tillich who said: “He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being.”
You have to give the next generation a chance.
God is shifting,
God is shaking,
God is sifting.
We are in a time of transition. I know that transition is unsettling. But the spiritual landscape is changing and we must move into unfamiliar territory. And we must do it now.
The text says in Joshua 1:1-2, “After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant.” The Bible says after the death of Moses God spoke: sometimes God has to kill off something in our lives so that other things might live. After the death of Moses God spoke: something God has to retire in our lives so that other things might be promoted.
And I want to suggest to you that the Church (like Israel) has been in the wilderness too long. But now is the time to come out of the wilderness and cross over into the promises of God. That’s a word for somebody:
Because verse 3 says, “every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”
The first thing the text lets us know is that God says it’s time to advance. Joshua started off as Moses’ assistant and ended up getting the job.
God is calling us to bigger, better, and brighter. In case no one told you today:
You are up for promotion.
You are beautifully blessed.
You are limitlessly loved.
You are necessarily needed.
You are alive for a reason.
You are stronger than you think.
You going to get over your Jordan.
Don’t give up – get to stepping! What God is walking you into is far greater than what you walked out of. You are up for promotion. You have assisted long enough.You have lurked in the shadows long enough. Now God is about to put the spotlight on you and see what you’re working with. You have the wisdom of Moses and the stamina of Joshua.
Now all you need is some faith and some feet.
You need faith to see past your pain.
You need feet to stay on the path.
You need faith to declare what’s coming is greater than what’s been.
You need feet to walk out of your past and progressively move into your future.
You need faith to see the unseen.
You need feet to avoid the unnecessary.
It takes faith spiritually and feet physically to walk out your dreams, stomp out your fears, and shout out your victories.
The second thing the text lets us know is that God says it’s time to cross over. “Arise, go over this Jordan.”
The Israelites’ crossing over the Jordan River on dry land was God giving them a sign, that if he could bring you across this, then there’s nothing that he couldn’t do.
The Israelites’ crossing over the Jordan River on dry land: territory is rarely given to those who deserve it. It is always given to those who are bold and take it.
Them crossing over was God flexing his muscles: “So that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful.” No other god could compare in power.
The gods of Israel’s enemies were created things that had no ability to move water and provide dry passage across a river.
They couldn’t give credit to:
Horus, the god of the sky
Isis, the god of magic
Osiris, the god of the afterlife
Ra, the god of the sun
Seth, the god of change
Shu, the god of wind
or even Geb, the god of the earth.
But I can hear them sing:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
You have to see every obstacle as an opportunity, every set-back as a set-up, every block as a blessing and let every detour lead to your destiny.
The final thing the text lets us know is that God says it’s time to start walking. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.”
You may be happy where you are, but the lost and perishing, the bound-up, the suffering, the demonized and the afflicted need you. You can’t love God and hate his agenda.
It’s time to walk it out. His agenda includes the salvation of the lost, the healing of the sick, the freeing of those bound up. It’s time to start walking.
Is there anybody here who don’t mind jumping up on your feet, and start walking a little?
You have been sitting too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been stagnated too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been quiet too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been sick too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been fearful too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been stressed out too long.
It’s time to walk.
You have been depressed too long.
It’s time to walk.
Walk in the light, beautiful light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright.
Oh shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus is, Jesus is the light of the world;
Oh we shall walk in the light, beautiful light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright.
Oh shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus is, Jesus is the light of the world
No need to worry, no need to fret,
All of my needs, the man named Jesus has met.
His love protects me from hurt and from harm,
Jesus is, Jesus is the light of the world.
If the gospel be hid, it’s hid from the lost,
My Jesus is waiting to look past your faults.
Arise and shine, your light has come,
Jesus is, I know that He is the only light of this world.