When You Know What to Do but Don’t Feel Ready | A Cloud Of Witnesses | Pastor Steve Poe

I'm excited to jump into the message today, so pray with me and we'll get started. Thanks, God, for your faithfulness. You're an amazing God, and as always, it's such a privilege and an opportunity to worship you, to be with a group of people and just to worship your presence. We thank you for that, God. And I thank you, Lord, for what you're doing at Northview Church, and I'm thankful, God, for what you're doing at churches all throughout this community that love you. And I pray your blessings would continue to be upon every church that preaches the gospel message. Now, God, we ask that you would be with us this morning as we continue to be with us as we get into your word and that you would use it to open up our spirits, to open up our hearts, to receive from you, to grow with this knowledge, Lord, to become all that you want us to be. Thanks, God. We love you and praise you. I just ask it all in the name of Jesus. Amen. You know, one of the great highlights, sports highlights of the year, was when a young quarterback by the name of Fernando Mendoza led IU. Yeah. He's obviously been in the news right now,

but the highlight was when he led the IU football team to a perfect season. So who was this rising star? He just seemed to come out of nowhere. He was certainly not a headline name when he started his college career. Mendoza, as you may know, was raised in Miami. In fact, he dreamed of one day playing football for the University of Miami, but they didn't want him. His father drove him to 18 football camps across the country, trying to find a school that was interested in his son. Mendoza introduced himself to every coach that would listen. In fact, listen, he mailed out his highlights to over 130 college programs, only to find no one was interested. Florida International was just minutes from his home, but they didn't want him. Florida Atlantic was down the road. They too took a pass. In fact, his only offer was from Yale University, an Ivy League school who was offering no scholarship and certainly no path to the NFL. Then in 2022, two weeks before signing day, the California Golden Bears offered him a spot as their third string quarterback. He took it and he spent his entire freshman year sitting on the bench. But then in 2023, both quarterbacks in front of him were hurt and Mendoza was in.

He lost his first four games and he was sacked 41 times in two seasons. But he kept getting back up and he threw for over 3,000 yards. Mendoza then made a decision that shocked everyone that knew him. He left California to go to Indiana. Everybody he knew questioned the decision. Nobody goes to Indiana to win in football. IU football has historically struggled, holding the record for the most losses in college football history and enduring decades of losing seasons. But Mendoza didn't care because Coach Cignetti was new and told him something that would challenge him. I'm gonna turn you into the best Fernando Mendoza you can possibly be. Well, Mendoza trusted his coach and he worked hard to do whatever he told him to do. Guys, it's an inspiring story that reminds me of another young leader who seemed to come out of obscurity to lead a nation. His name was Joshua and he would become one of the greatest leaders of Israel. But before that happened, he faithfully served Moses as his assistant. Joshua worked in the background, quietly watching and learning. And like Mendoza, I would say Joshua trusted his coach

and did whatever Moses told him to do. We're in a series right now that I absolutely love talking about the giants of the faith, both men and women of the Old Testament and the New Testament that did great things for God. The thing is about these men and women is that there's nothing really special about them. They're not extraordinarily talented beyond what we can experience. They're not necessarily gifted more than we're gifted. The difference maker between these giants of the faith is that they trusted God. They put their faith in God and stepped out and trusted Him. And so that's why I believe that these men and women, these heroes of the faith, are so good for us to talk about because I believe they can have such an impact on our life and on our faith. Now, Joshua was a big part of the Old Testament. He was a courageous leader and he had an unwavering trust in God. In fact, to be honest with you, it's hard for me to believe that he trusted God. Hard to cover this man's life in a 30-minute message because there are so many things I mean, he trusted God with all his heart. that he accomplished over his lifetime. He trusted God with all his heart. And as I was going to put together a sermon for Joshua, He trusted God with all his heart.

I was trying to think, where do I begin? I mean, in 30 minutes, which do I cover and which do I skip? Because there's just so many things he did. Let me quickly mention just a few examples so you can see what I mean. In Exodus chapter 33, when everyone else leaves the tent of the meeting, Joshua stays behind in the presence of God. In Joshua chapter three, he leads the Israelites across the flooded Jordan River. You see, the priests are carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and as soon as their feet touched the water, the river stopped flowing upstream, allowing them to pass over safely on dry ground. In Joshua chapter six, God told Joshua to lead the people in a march around the city, which led to the miraculous collapse of the walls of Jericho. Then in Joshua chapter 10, while the Israelites are in the middle of the battle, Joshua prayed, get this, and the sun and the moon stood still, allowing the Israelites time to defeat the Amorites. The scripture tells us there was no day like it where God listened to a man in this manner where he made the sun stand still in the sky for 24 hours. I have no idea how God did that, but I believe he did. In Joshua chapter 24, when Joshua gives his final address to the people,

he engages Israel's leaders, stands before him to renew their covenant with God, and he makes that incredible declaration that many of you are familiar with. We find it in Joshua chapter 24. But if you don't wanna serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we'll serve the Lord. I mean, he stands in front of all the leaders of Israelites and he makes that declaration. And I would tell you, my friends, that's a declaration that you and I need to make, especially as we stand before our families, especially as we stand before the people we rub shoulders with day in and day out. As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. There are so many other stories from this young leader. There are so many other lessons that we can learn from Joshua. For instance, when God puts an opportunity in front of you, listen to this, you don't rise to the occasion, you actually fall back to your preparation. When God puts an opportunity in front of you, you don't rise to the occasion, you actually fall back to your preparation. You fall back to the truths you learned about God,

to the spiritual habits that you created, to the faith that you developed in your life, all the things that you've done to follow Christ. So guys, what are you doing to grow your faith? Do you spend time in prayer? Do you spend time in God's Word? Are you intentional when it comes to trusting God? What spiritual habits have you created in your life that prepare you for the opportunities that God brings your way? Another thing we learned from Joshua is that God often does his deepest work in us before he ever does his greatest work through us. Listen, more than anything else, God just wants your heart. Friends, God loves you, and it's very clear that he has a wonderful purpose and a plan for your life, but until he has your heart, he will not be able to do anything of spiritual significance through you. Another favorite story I have about Joshua is when God uses Moses to lead two million plus Jewish people out of Egyptian bondage to the threshold of the Promised Land. Unfortunately, instead of going in and taking what God has already said is theirs, they allow fear and unbelief to hold them back. And so for the next 40 years, they literally wander around the wilderness, griping and complaining and wanting to go back to Egypt,

wanting to go back to slavery. You know what? You read that story and you think, what is wrong with these people? After all the miracles that they've witnessed God work, from the parting of the Red Sea, allowing them to cross over on dry land, to feeding them with manna from heaven, to giving them water from a rock, how could they not trust God? And yet, before we get too judgmental, how many times has God proven his faithfulness to you and to me over and over and over again? And then the first time we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we quickly forget how faithful God is. We quickly forget how faithful God's been in our life. and instead of trusting him, we start griping and complaining and we get angry with him. Sometimes we get so angry, we stop praying. Sometimes we get so angry, we stop going to church and we often end up wandering around aimlessly in a wilderness experience with no purpose and no plan. I know you've been there. I know I've been there many times. I told you last, a few weeks ago when I talked to you about Joseph, I told you about my health experiences this last year with my lungs and my heart and my kidneys. And I would tell you that there were many times,

I'm ashamed to admit, but there were many times that I was griping and complaining and murmuring and saying, God, I don't get it. I don't understand why I have to go through this. You know, I had to cancel speaking engagements that I had lined up. I had two cohorts where I trained pastors. Both of them were full. I had to cancel both of them and send all this stuff back to them. Again, frustrated, God, I don't get it. Don't you care? I'm trying to do this for you, God. What's wrong? What's going on? And then I get past it and then I get back to refocusing on God and I think everything is okay again and I'm moving forward with God and then something else happens and I quickly forget God's faithfulness. Just this week, I had to do a CAT scan to update them on my lungs and as I went in, the technician said, why are we doing this? And I said, well, I had a lobectomy and lung cancer and she said, oh my, so you're a smoker. I said, you know, I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. She said, well, that sucks to be you. And you know, I got ticked. But not at her. As I laid there and then went back to my car,

I got angry at God again. And I said, yeah, that's right, God. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. This is not right. Guys, we're all guilty. We do the same thing the Israelites did. We gripe and we complain and we murmur because how quickly we forget the faithfulness of God. So we see the Israelites arrive at the border of Kadesh Barnea, the promised land, and Moses, he decides to send in 12 spies to scout out the land. When they return from their spying out the land, they're carrying two, it takes two men on a pole to carry one cluster of grapes, they were so large. And they tell Moses, they said, you know, it truly is a bountiful land. It truly is a bountiful country. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. But hey, we can't go up against these people. They're stronger than we are. I mean, they're so big, they're like giants. In fact, they're so big, we felt like little bugs. We felt like little grasshoppers. And Joshua and Caleb are like, what are you talking about? It doesn't matter how big they are. We need to go in at once and conquer the land. But unfortunately, Joshua and Caleb were the only two willing to trust God. The rest of the spies were full of fear.

So once again, the people complained, blamed Moses for leading them to this place. We want a new leader. We want to go back to Egypt. Listen, guys, hear me on this. It's often the very things that weaken our faith, the difficulties in our life, the struggles in our life, that God wants to use to build our faith. It's often the very things that we struggle with that weaken our faith that God is actually wanting to use to build our faith, to help us to grow. Listen, guys, God is not gonna let you face this alone. He is not surprised by your troubles. It's like God doesn't say, oh gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't see that one coming. Or, oh, I was just taking a 10-minute nap. I'm sorry, I missed that. No, that's not God. He intends for these troubles to be tools that transform you, not destroy you. God doesn't cause the troubles in your life, but he in fact uses them. Listen, fear always sees the obstacles while faith sees God. Fear always sees the lower story, what's going right here in front of us, where faith sees the upper story, which is going on in the spirit realm. Then Moses dies, and God raises Joshua up to lead the Israelites.

Now, he's certainly an amazing leader, but the primary reason for his success was actually his love for God. He trusted the Lord, and he followed his instructions. He was quick. to turn the attention of the people back to the God who loved them, to turn the attention of people back to the God that wanted to take care of them. Joshua oftentimes declared, our battle belongs to the Lord. And fortunately, this new young generation of Israelites seem to have recovered from their parents' lack of trust and their parents' disobedience. And instead of griping and refusing to follow God's instructions, this new generation of Israelites were willing to trust the Lord and obey his instructions. And again, that trust and obedience is exactly what God is looking for from you and from me. You see, faith is trusting God even when you don't understand what's happening. God, I don't get what you're doing right now, I really don't, but I trust you. And I recognize this battle is yours, God, it's not mine. Charles Spurgeon once said, to trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust him in the dark, now that's faith. Now, because this young generation of Israelites took a posture of faith,

they saw God perform one miracle after another. Friends, please hear me on this, the same thing is true for you and me. If you wanna see a miracle, I've told you many times before, a miracle is what? A miracle is when God steps into your situation. You feel like you're at the end of your rope, you feel like you've hit a wall, you don't know what to do, and you pray, and God steps into your situation, that's a miracle. If you wanna see miracles in your life, then we have to be willing to trust him. And like those young Israelites who are seeing one miracle after another, I'll promise you'll begin to see one miracle after another as well. The Bible tells us without faith, it's impossible to please God. Okay, so today I want us to look at the first few verses of Joshua chapter one, that's what we're gonna focus in on. Joshua is asking a very important question that you and I both need to talk about. What does God want from me? That was the question Joshua asked. What does God want from me? Isn't that a question that you would like answered in your life? Guys, if you're not asking that same question, then you're obviously not serious about following the Lord.

If you're a believer and you're wanting God's best in your life, then you're asking that question. God, what do you want from me? Now, some of these principles were specific to Joshua, but many of them are timeless and they're true for you and me. We start with God's call on Joshua's life. Let's look at it in chapter one, verse one. It says, after the death of Moses, the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' assistant, and he said, Moses, my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I'm giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses. Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you. From the Negev in the wilderness in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east of the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live, for I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. So God says to Joshua, Moses is dead. Now, Joshua, it's time for you to step up and lead. Now, more than likely, let's just give some context here. More than likely, Joshua is hearing about Moses' death

for the first time, and I'm sure it was devastating to him. Moses was a close friend. He was a mentor. He was a father figure, but now Joshua is being thrust into a leadership role that God has been shaping him for many years, and I'm sure he felt unworthy. I'm sure he felt overwhelmed. I'm sure he felt unprepared because, guys, I know that's what I feel and I experience every time God tells me he wants me to do something. Every time God whispers in my ear, I find myself thinking, oh, I can't do that. God, you need to get somebody else. That's exactly what Moses felt. I mean, Moses is this mighty leader that's been training Joshua, but if you go back in Moses' beginning and God says, I want you to go to Pharaoh, Moses says what? No, you've got the wrong guy. I don't talk very good. You need to get somebody else. You see, guys, I think we all, I think every one of us in this room, we all struggle at times with insecurities, and often when God whispers in our ear and says, I want you to go talk to that person, I want you to do this or that, we quickly are saying, oh, God, not me. Find somebody else. I don't think I'm qualified, and many times, we walk away from God's purpose or plan for our life

because of fear. We walk away from God's purpose or plan for our life because of our insecurities, and yet at the same time, God, guys, please hear me. God will never ask us to do anything that he won't first give us the ability to carry out. Get out. God is not trying to embarrass you. God is not trying to make a fool out of you. When he calls you, he goes with you. Please listen to this next statement. There is simply no risk in answering God's call. There is simply no risk in answering God's call in your life. If he wants you to do something, he's going to prepare the way. He's going to provide an open door. But Steve, what if it's hard? I'm sure it will be. What if I'm scared or intimidated? I'm sure you will be. If it wasn't hard and it wasn't intimidating or scary, is it really faith? I mean, if you're going to do something and it's no big deal, does that take any faith? No. What takes faith is when it's something you say, I don't think I can do that, but God, if you want me to do it, I'll be obedient. Well, Steve, what if I fail?

Then you know what? God promises to work all things together for our good, even if things don't work out the way that we thought they were supposed to work out. God's going to take this bad circumstance and he's going to take this bad circumstance and he's going to begin to work those things together if we just trust him for our good. He didn't say everything will be good, but he said he's going to work it together for our good if we just trust him, which is why God wants to reassure us that no one will be able to stand against us. That's exactly what he tells Joshua. Just as I've been with Moses, just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. God wants to remind Joshua of his faithfulness. Guys, God is faithful. You know that's true. You've experienced it in your life. Say that with me. God is faithful. Now say it like you mean it. God is faithful. You know, I would encourage you every morning when you get out of bed, just say that. God, you are faithful because we need to be reminded of the faithfulness of God in our life. God also says it to him to reassure him

that he can do this because I'm sure his insecurities were stepping in and God saying, no, you can do this. God, guys, listen, God wants to remind us of his faithfulness and he wants to reassure us that we can do this as well. Just as God was with Moses and just as he was with Joshua, he'll be with you and he'll be with me. That's important for us to hear because at those times when things don't go the way we hope they would go, we oftentimes feel lost or alone and sometimes, if we're really being honest, we just wanna quit. We just wanna give up and sometimes it goes so far we start to question or challenge God. I just don't know if I can trust him anymore. Seriously? He promises in his word never to abandon you. In Hebrews chapter 13, don't love money, be satisfied with what you have for God has said, I will never fail you, I will never abandon you. So we can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Now, I think these next few verses are powerful. Look at verse six, chapter one of Joshua. Be strong and courageous for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land

I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you know you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command, not suggestion. This is my command. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. I love this passage, this whole passage right here, so strong.