God Will be With You Wherever You Go

Introduction: The Holiness of God

Someone praise the Lord! Wow, praise God. Well, that was enough for me, I'm ready to go home. Praise God. Holy is the Lord.

You know, I always remind people that "holy" is a word that only makes sense when it's attached to God. We don't know the exact meaning of holy, but it's always referenced to God. Holy Spirit. God is Holy. Toledo is not holy; cows are not holy—unless it's "wholly" with a "w". The only thing that is holy brings with it this sense of reverence, awe, and respect for who God is. So when we say, "Holy is the Lord," it encompasses everything of who God is: the deity of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Praise God.

I have an announcement before I start. I have some announcements later, but I went up front because I don't want to forget it. There's a birthday coming up. You know whose birthday that is? It's the church's! Yes. And I'm proud to announce the church is older than me—our 75th Anniversary is this October. We want to put together a celebration, but in order to do that, we need to form a committee and put things together. Billy Thornton has graciously raised her hand and is going to head up the committee. There she is over there. I'm used to you sitting there, but you're right there now. She's going to be heading up the committee. So before you leave here today, if you want to be part of this committee or if you want any information about it, please see Billy. She'll get your name down and advise you when they're going to have meetings to put all these things together, because we want to have a celebration and invite some people, maybe some people who haven't been here for a long time, and just celebrate 75 years and then look forward to the next 75. Amen. Praise God.

A Leadership Transition

So, the Word of God today is going to be from Joshua chapter 1. Joshua is one of my favorite stories because I'm a student of leadership, and it's really Leadership 101. What Joshua does—you know, Moses dies, and now Joshua becomes the new leader—is really about how to do leadership and how to make a transition. There are a lot of things that can be incorporated into this story, but today I want to look at the leadership element and how you arrive at positive leadership with a positive outcome.

The word "leader" doesn't necessarily mean good; we know we have a lot of bad leaders. When we talk about leadership here, we're talking about Godly leadership, servant leadership, and leadership that has a positive outcome and is beneficial for everyone. Amen. I'll be reading verses 1 to 9 from the Book of Joshua:

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: “Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

特性 — Joshua 1:1-9 (CSB)

May the Lord add a blessing of obedience to His most precious and Holy Word. Let us pray.

Lord God, we give You honor and praise and glory. We come together this morning, Lord, as Your people, to lay our burdens down and to hear from You. So Lord, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to receive what it is that You have for us this morning. Father, we thank You that You are a promise-maker, but You are also a promise-keeper. Lord, we thank You for the promises of the Bible. We thank You for all the things that You said would come to pass, and they have, and all the things that You say will come to pass shall come to pass.

Father, I just thank You for this time. I thank You for those who are here, those who are on their way, and those who might be home or in a hospital recuperating. Lord, we just thank You that You strengthen us, heal us, and guide us in all that we do. For those who are traveling, we ask for traveling grace and mercy. Lord, we give You all the praise, honor, and glory because there is no one like You, and we honor You this morning with our presence. In Jesus' name we pray, and the church said, Amen.

God Will Be With You Wherever You Go

"God Will Be With You Wherever You Go" is the title of this message, and I want us to remember that no matter what we do individually or corporately—as a church, as a denomination, or as Christianity as a whole—God is with us. Sometimes we need to be reminded of this. This is the whole point of God coming; this is the whole point of salvation: Immanuel, God with us. This is the point of the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. It's the whole point of repentance, acknowledging our sin, turning toward God, and believing that God so loved us He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross and pay the price for our sins. Our responsibility in response to that is to believe, confess, and preach the gospel. But remember, God is with you wherever you go.

The Book of Joshua is about promises fulfilled. They've had the promise for years and years and years, but now it is time for the promise to be fulfilled. Just a little something on that: we live in a fast-food generation today. We live in such a fast-paced time that we get impatient. Someone once said to me, "God is never in a hurry, but He's always on time." Sometimes we are in a hurry, but we have to realize we must follow God's plan and God's timing. There's a purpose and a place for everything under the sun, and God has ordained it. God has put it together. A lot of times God puts something in our hearts, we pray about it, and we realize God is bringing it to pass, but sometimes we have to wait. We don't always understand why, but after it's all said and done and we look back, then we see God's hand. We see the providence of God along the way, how He did this so we could be there, putting all these things together.

Preparing for a Smooth Transition

In this passage, as I said earlier, Moses has died, and Joshua is now the supreme political leader of the nation. In order to avoid a power struggle, which easily could have happened, Joshua had earlier been designated as Moses's successor. You don't have to turn to it, but your reference for that is Numbers 27:15-23. In other words, Joshua had already been appointed to be Moses's successor so that there would be a smooth transition, so that Moses could train Joshua, so that the people could receive Joshua, and so they could begin to understand his ministry. A way was prepared for a smooth transfer of authority.

One of the things about God is that He understands us. He knows we don't like change. None of us really like change because it causes us to do something different, and we like to get settled in. It's like how almost all of you are sitting in the same seats you sat in the last time you were here. If someone else comes and sits in your chair, you're going to have a problem! "Someone is in my seat!" But that's a good problem because it means somebody new is here, and now you just have to find a new place to sit, right? Change causes minor issues, but that doesn't mean the changes are bad. Change can be good; we just find a resolution to it.

But you have to understand, Joshua had a very hard act to follow. I wouldn't want to be Joshua! Moses had been with these people for forty-plus years. He led them, he got angry at them, and he was with them through all these major events. He was there in Egypt, went back, saw all the plagues, and so the people were deeply attached to Moses and to God operating through Moses. But time passes by, and now they're getting ready to go into the Promised Land. Moses takes them up to the edge of the Promised Land, but it is Joshua who takes them into it. This is the story of Joshua: a story of leadership transition, but also of the people fulfilling what God had promised as they settled the land.

Right here in this first chapter, it is about this initial change of Joshua becoming the leader. In verse 1 of Joshua 1, it says: "After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant." This is leadership change. Now Yahweh, the Lord, speaks to Joshua just as He spoke to Moses. You see, when you're following God's order and doing what God has designed, God doesn't change—we change. God's plan stays the same. As long as Joshua is following God's plan, God is going to speak to him because he is following the plan already set up by God. This affirms Joshua's new role because the people understand that Joshua is now hearing from God, speaking "thus says the Lord," and guiding them according to what God has promised.

Moving Forward into the Promises of God

In verse 2, God says, "Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites." God gave them the land, and now it is time to move forward. One of the things about Christianity, and even in the Old Testament, is that God is always moving. God is never stationary. He is always on the move. A lot of times we want to sit in one spot, but God is doing something new.

I had a pastor one time who was preaching and saying, "Look over there, God sure is moving over in that city! God is moving over there!" And then he thought, "Why am I not in the move of God?" He realized he had missed something. We must remember that God is not stationary; He is moving. He is the Alpha and the Omega—that is movement. He is taking us to the end of the age, taking us along the way. This is the story of the Bible, showing us how God has interacted through history and will interact in our future. God is a God of movement. It is time to move forward and for the promise to be fulfilled.

Historically, this is why Israel is tied to the land. If you look at the history of Israel over the last 75 or 76 years, and you look at what's going on there today with the turmoil in the land, their identity is tied to that land. God gave them that land. This is why land is so important to the Israelites; it is something God has done, and there is a whole Bible study in that which maybe we'll get to one of these days. This is the fulfillment of one of God's promises, and they have to move forward.

In verse 3, He says, "I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses." New leader, same message. Why? Because God is the same. God does not change. A lot of times in leadership roles—especially in the secular world—a new leader comes in and wants to change everything. Why? If it was working, you don't need to change it. If it's broken, you need to fix it, but that doesn't mean you change the core message or the vision statement of what the organization is supposed to be. Every organization should have a mission statement and a vision statement: "This is who we are, this is what we want to obtain, and this is what we are doing." If you stay true to that—and for us, the Bible is our mission and vision statement—then any changes we make are just right-sizing to what God has said. When a new leader comes in and just wants to wipe everything out, it causes chaos because nobody knows what's going on and there is no true direction.

Strength and Courage in Times of Change

See, God is our source. As a pastor, I am not your source; God is your source. You're just hearing my conversation with God. By the way, I had a dream last week where this particular passage came up and I saw myself teaching it. So guess what? I went to Joshua and got the message! I think I was supposed to be preaching Joshua this week, and you just get to share in that conversation. God is in the process of doing things, but the message does not change. The Word of God does not change, and we should not allow it to be changed in any way, shape, or form. Amen.

So, God is reassuring Joshua, "I'll be with you." It's like the history of this church or any church. You have had several pastors over 75 years, and there has been change, but it got us to this point. Some things went right, some things went wrong, but as long as we right-size to the Word of God and stay on the plumb line of God, eventually the outcome will always be good. The outcome will always be right. God is just reassuring Joshua: "I will be with you." This is what happens when we read Scripture; it should reassure us that God is with us in our personal walk, in our church life, in our business life, and in Christianity as a whole. We need to make sure we stay connected to God, and the only way to do that is to follow what God has said.

Notice Joshua doesn't say, "Hey, I'm the leader now, and you know what? I think it's better if maybe we invade Egypt instead of crossing the Jordan, because I think we might have a better chance, and besides, the weather is better over there." Human decisions get made like that, but he doesn't do that. He is smart enough to know—because he was trained and saw Moses's struggles—that he must follow God. He saw Moses go to the mountain, saw Moses interacting with God, and understood his role as the new leader. He understood: "I had best follow God, because when Moses followed God, it always worked out right, and when he didn't follow God, it didn't work out so well." This first chapter is so reassuring. It reassures us that God is with us as long as we are following Him.

In verses 4 and 5, God defines the territory and says, "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you." God's promises are eternal. Again, God does not change. It always irks me when I hear somebody say, "I got this new revelation from God!" What new revelation? You're not even following the old revelation! God is not giving out brand-new revelations; we just need to follow what He has already said, because that is what He has given us to follow.

This is the marker of true biblical, servant leadership. God's promises are tied to His actions. God says, "I will do this, and if you will follow Me, this is the way it's going to work out." He is assuring Joshua, He is assuring the people, and He is assuring us that it's going to be okay.

Yes, there are going to be some changes. Think about it: they've been wandering around in the desert because of their disobedience. All the older generation died off, and now it is their children who are going to go into the Promised Land. Everything is going to be foreign and different. They don't know exactly what it's going to look like because they've never been there. Later on, they will get instructions on how to settle the land and where each tribe will go, but they must follow God's plan. They can't just make up their own plan. Scripture should comfort us. Just because there is new leadership doesn't mean God has abandoned them. No matter what your journey is, all you have to do is accept Him as your Lord, follow what He says, and it will turn out better than okay.

In verse 6, He says, "Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance." During times of transition—going from the wilderness to the Promised Land—it is exciting, right? But they've been out in the desert where manna has been falling, and now suddenly the manna is going to stop. Now they are going to have to work the land. Everything is going to change. It's different, but it's still God's plan. God is saying, "Don't sweat the details; just follow, and it's going to work out okay."

As Christians and believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have to be strong—especially nowadays. To be a Christian today means being attacked in so many different places and in so many different ways. Other groups are coming after us, and even governments are starting to legislate things against Christianity. We've all seen that. You have to be strong enough to stand up and say, "No, I will stand up and follow God." This is who we follow, and this is who we submit to. We submit to God and God's Word. If a human law is not contrary to God's Word, that's fine; but if it is contrary to what God has said, then we have a problem. We must make the choice: do I follow human reasoning, or do I follow God's Word? I follow God's Word.

The Path to Real Success

Three times in this short passage, God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. Why? Because he's going to need to be strong and courageous, just like we are. We must stand up for our faith. When we go out to preach the gospel, we have to be strong and courageous, because there are people out there who don't want to hear it. The last few times we've gone out evangelizing, I've encountered more people who are openly angry and do not want to hear it. It used to be that people were polite and would just say, "No, thank you." But now you encounter anger because of their lifestyles, or because people aren't happy, or because you are bringing something that will cause them to change and they don't want to change. They've bought the lie that they are perfect just as they are, yet they don't feel perfect, and when we come and shake up their world, there is pushback. But we must be strong and courageous to preach the gospel, because if we aren't, we will just give up the territory and say, "They're not going to listen."

To be "strong" means to make or to grow stronger. In our Christian journey, we gain strength as we draw closer to God and see what He is doing. We must be stronger day by day because the enemy attacks. We live in a precarious time where the church is being attacked or ignored, and we must be strong and faithful to the message. He also says to be "courageous," which means to be supported or strengthened. What supports us? The Word of God and our faith in Him.

Realize there are going to be obstacles. These people were going into a land and were about to get instructions they really weren't ready for. I don't want to get too far into it, but think about their first city, Jericho. They might have been thinking they would have to fight a massive battle, and they were probably worried or scared. But God tells them, "No, just march around the city." To the natural mind, that doesn't make any sense! But it makes perfect "God-sense" because God was the one who was going to tear down the walls, not them. We must realize that when we follow what God says, the walls of whatever we are facing will come tumbling down because we are following Him. God is the overcomer, and He has already won the battle. The battle is already over; we just have to be strong and courageous, walk in the land, and do what He has called us to do.

As we follow God, He supports and strengthens us. Sometimes we say, "Well, I've just got to dig deep down inside and find all the strength I have." That strength is limited and will eventually run out. That human strength doesn't take you to eternity, it doesn't lead to heaven, and it isn't backed up by all of creation. That strength is temporal. God's strength is eternal and stands outside of creation. It's a strength we don't always realize we have because it's not worldly strength; it is Godly strength.

God stands outside of creation. He said, "Let there be light," and created all things. When God shows up, He shows up outside the limits of creation—the virgin birth, a bush that burns but is not consumed, walking on water. We can't do those kinds of things. They are markers of God. God is not limited by time, space, or creation, but we are. When God shows up, it is what we call supernatural because He is operating outside of the natural laws He created. That is the kind of strength God is trying to pour into us—a strength and courage we don't fully understand, which we are called to use not for our own self-glorification, but to share the gospel, to be the body of Christ, to be overcomers, and to not let our past hold us back as we look to the future with God. Amen. God strengthens us.

In verse 7, He says: "Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go." He says be strong, be courageous, and be careful. There is a world out there that wants to tell us lies, and we have a sin nature that wants to go in a different direction than God. So we must be strong and courageous, but we also must be careful to follow God, learn His lessons, and stay close to Him. As we continue to observe and do what God has said, it leads to success because God's plan never fails. But we must be careful that we don't add to it or try to limit it. These Israelites, with virtually no battlefield experience, were about to take on the Canaanites. They didn't have armor or advanced weapons. God told them to be strong, very courageous, and careful because they were going into warfare—but when God is with you, He is the one who fights the battles. We just give Him praise, glory, and follow His lead.

Meditating on the Word

What battles do we face individually and corporately? We must realize that every day we wake up, there is going to be some sort of battle. The enemy comes quickly to kill, steal, and destroy. You might have had a wonderful night, gone to bed with prayers, and woken up feeling great. But the very first person you come into contact with—maybe when you go out to buy a cup of coffee—tries to shake that joy right out of you! Be strong, courageous, and careful. Remember the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Make those evident. Don't try to change the Word; just follow it.

This happens a lot of times with sermons and, unfortunately, with pastors. There are certain passages in the Bible they don't want to preach because it hits a little too close to home. But we have to preach the whole Bible. Those difficult passages are there for me as a pastor just as much as they are for the congregation. I might look like the leader up here, but when I turn around, we are all following God. I'm just a sheep like everybody else, following the Shepherd. I just get to share my conversation with God with you.

Remember, growth causes challenges, but those challenges aren't necessarily bad. Think about what the Israelites faced: they went into a land they didn't know and had to conquer it. But they didn't fully follow everything God said; they only did part of it. This led to the era of the Judges, which is known as a constant sin cycle. For 430 years, the people messed up, cried out for a deliverer, God sent a judge, they returned to the law, and then when that leader died, they fell back into sin and cried out again. This is a very dark time in Israel's history. This raw honesty is actually proof that the Bible is true; if this were a made-up story, you wouldn't write about your ancestors making mistakes like that because it doesn't make you look good. But we understand that we are fallen people living in a fallen world, and we won't always do right unless we follow God.

Growth, strength, and courage will bring challenges, but we find new ways of doing things as we settle the land. I would love to see a "problem" in this church where we don't have enough seats on Sunday morning, and the problem is figuring out what time to run our second service! That is a major challenge because you have to coordinate everything, but wouldn't that be a wonderful problem to have? Wouldn't we be stronger because of it? The only way that happens is if we follow God and trust Him to make it happen.

Let's look at verse 8: "This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do."

I like to personalize this verse. I write my own name in there: "This book of the law shall not depart from Steve's mouth, but Steve shall meditate on it day and night, so that Steve may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then Steve will make Steve's way prosperous, and then Steve will have success." Make it personal for yourself!

At that time, the "book of the law" was the first five books of Moses. For us, we have the entire Bible. Sometimes people think the New Testament is completely disconnected from the Old Testament, but it's not. The New Testament is the Old Testament pulled through the cross. Now that Jesus has come, died, risen, and is seated at the right hand of God, the work of salvation is finished. The New Testament instructs the church on how to live on this side of the cross, but it doesn't throw away the law; it fulfills it. It ratifies what God has already said, but now everything is filtered through Jesus.

We must meditate on the Word, which means letting it sink in. It's like marinating meat. Anyone who knows about barbecuing knows you don't just slap a little sauce on a piece of chicken and throw it on the grill. You let it marinate so the flavor soaks deep into the meat. If you want to get the true flavor and transform it, you have to let it sink in. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't let the Word sink in, and then we wonder why our spiritual life doesn't taste right. It takes preparation.

We minister out of our overflow. Imagine we are a cup and God is constantly pouring His Spirit and His Word into us. What overflows from that cup is what we use to minister to others. That way, we stay full. If we move away from the stream, God is still pouring, but we are trying to minister out of our own reserve, and eventually, we run dry. Then people say, "I'm just in a dry place." Well, you're in a dry place because you moved away from the source! Let God constantly fill you. Meditate on what His Word means for you, your church, your family, and your community. How are you supposed to carry this out into the world? You must know the Word in order to go. If you don't know it, how can you share it?

When I was a very young Christian, I was in a church of a couple hundred people, and the speaker said, "Okay, open your Bibles to the book of Hezekiah." Being young in my faith, I started flipping through, thinking, "I don't think there's a book of Hezekiah." The speaker asked, "Are you there yet?" You could hear pages rustling, and then nervous laughter as people realized they had been fooled. There is no book of Hezekiah! I made up my mind right then and there that I would never be fooled again. I was going to know the Word. These aren't just stories; this is the Word of God pointing us toward Christ, our salvation, and the positive outcome God has for us. God wants us to be successful, but to do that, we must know Him and what it means to serve a holy God. We cannot achieve righteousness on our own; we are only made righteous through Christ.

When the Bible talks about being "prosperous," the Hebrew word actually translates to being powerful and effective. We all want to be effective in what we do. We want our lives to bring about positive change. God is saying that if you do what He tells you to do, you will be effective in showing the world that there is a God in heaven who created all things. When we don't do that, people start inventing their own versions of God, saying things like, "Well, God is love, so everyone is going to heaven, and there are many different roads." That is idolatry. You've just created a god in your own image. The only image of God we should follow is the one revealed in Holy Scripture: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Our Legacy and the Future

We must continue to be strong and courageous. When the founders started this church 75 years ago, they were meeting in a garage. It was just a few people with a vision. Did they have to be strong and courageous? Was it a scary idea? Back then, there were only a couple of Southern Baptist churches in all of California. This church is actually one of the oldest Southern Baptist works in the state—I think the very first ones started around 1940 or 1941, and we are within the first ten or fifteen. Along the way, they knew they needed to stay together and purchase property. They bought one piece, then another, then they built a building, and they kept the vision alive. Talk about being strong, courageous, prosperous, and effective! Look at what they did. This campus is one of the largest Southern Baptist properties in Southern California. That didn't happen overnight; it happened because people were willing to follow God and trust Him. We are the beneficiaries of their faith, and our job now is to prepare this place for those who are coming after us.

In verse 9, He says: "Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." God clarifies it here. He doesn't just suggest it; He says, "I commanded you." This is a command, not a suggestion. It's like the fruit of the Spirit—it is one complete fruit, not a buffet where you pick what works for you and say, "Well, I'll take love and joy, but I have no patience today, so everyone stay away!" That is the flesh at work, not the Spirit.

God commands us to be strong and courageous and promises that He is with us wherever we go. Immanuel. If we are willing to appeal to Scripture, study it, know it, follow it, meditate on it, and do what it says, God will be with us every step of the way. He builds us up, supports us, and moves us forward. God is not dormant or sedentary. He is moving, and we want to follow Him.

When I think of following God's movement, it reminds me of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. For those who are younger, you might have to Google them! They were an incredible dance team in the 1930s and '40s who performed beautiful, intricate, and difficult routines. They moved as one. Why? Because they worked incredibly hard to get it right. They practiced the choreography and knew exactly what the outcome should be. Fred was leading, but Ginger followed so beautifully that they looked like a single unit. That is how it should be with us and God. We should know Him so well that we move as one with Him—without hesitation, fear, or anger. We just follow the movement of God. Let us follow Him with one mind, one heart, and as one people, because we serve one God: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." Let us be one with Him. God is with you wherever you go, so wherever you go, make sure you are following Him. Amen. Somebody praise the Lord!

Let us pray.

Lord God, we acknowledge who You are: the Creator of all things seen and unseen. You are the Alpha and the Omega, and everything in between. You are our Lord, our King, and our High Priest. Lord, we are Your vessels; we are clay in Your hands. Shape us and mold us into the vessels You desire us to be. Help us to know Your Word, to seek Your face, and to build an intimate relationship with You so that we truly know You. We know that the fear of the Lord is really a deep reverence and respect for You, because we know who You are. You are love, and so much more. Help us, guide us, strengthen us, and encourage us. We give You all the praise, honor, and glory, because we know it is not what we did, but what You did, what Your Son did, and what Your Spirit is doing today. We give You thanks, praise, honor, and glory. In Jesus' name we pray, and the church said, Amen. Let's praise the Lord again!

Announcements and Leadership Transition

Just a couple of quick announcements. For tithes and offerings, there is a box in the back, or you can give online. We thank you so much for your faithful support of this church over the years and as we move forward. Let's pray over the offering.

Lord, we thank You for our tithes and offerings. We thank You that these gifts are given not out of obligation, but out of a sincere love for You and a desire to see Kingdom work go forward. Use these resources to strengthen individuals, pastors, churches, and congregations as we move with You. Help us to be excellent stewards of everything You have entrusted to us, for Your glory and honor. In Jesus' name, Amen.

As I mentioned earlier, we are celebrating our 75th Anniversary this October, and Billy Thornton is heading up the planning committee. Before you leave today, please touch base with Billy to sign up so we can get meetings scheduled and figure out what needs to be done. Also, on the 20th, we will see the return of our Prayer Corner Ministry, which is an outgrowth of the women's ministry. We gather in the adjacent building after service to pray for various needs. All great things start in prayer, and it is so important for us to come together as a church to pray. Finally, please note that our Wednesday night Bible study is on hiatus for the summer and will return in September. In the meantime, we have our Sunday morning adult Bible study at 8:15 AM led by Pastor Irwin. They currently meet in the library, but they are about to outgrow that room and move to the larger room, so we hope to see you there next week. Amen. Praise God!

At this time, I want to do something a little different that we haven't done in a while. I'm going to call up John Lee. Let's give John a warm welcome.

According to our church bylaws—and this is important because we operate decently and in order under our constitution as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—whenever I bring someone onto the ministry staff, I must officially announce it to the congregation. So, I am proud to present John Lee as a new member of our staff!

I have known John for a long time, and I have watched his journey. He is a solid preacher, teacher, and brother, and I want you all to get to know him. His role will be working alongside me to preach and teach. Next week, and possibly the week after, he will be up here preaching, and we will be going back and forth. His job description includes preaching, teaching, organizing ministries, and fully integrating into First Baptist Artesia. He has already been spending time here during the week researching our historical records because he loves history and wants to understand our roots, which I highly respect. He wants to honor and celebrate where we came from. He will be reporting directly to me as we coordinate these ministries.

The long-term purpose of this is that at some point in the future—we don't have an exact date or timeline yet—I will be stepping down as senior pastor. But please hear me: I am not leaving this church! The reason for this transition is that my responsibilities with LASMA are taking up an increasing amount of my time. My family and I will always call this church our home. But we want to ensure a smooth transition to a new pastor.

Typically, when a pastor leaves, a committee is formed, and because most members have never hired a pastor before, it can be a very tense, uncertain process where you feel like you are rolling the dice. By bringing John on board now, we can ensure a smooth, healthy transition. You will get to know him, he will get to know you, and when the time is right, I can present him to you for an official congregational vote. You will ultimately make the decision, but my goal is to have a prepared successor ready when the time comes, whether that is one year or two years from now, as God leads. He has the youth, energy, and vision to help grow this church and reach the next generation. This is about preparing our church for the future, drawing from the very principles of leadership transition we just read in Joshua. It is a mentorship process, and as you hear him preach, you will grow to love his ministry.

So, I officially present John Lee to you as part of our staff. I'm going to step aside now and let John say a few words, and then he will lead us in our benediction.

John Lee: Steve said he wasn't Moses, but if he's Fred Astaire, I aspire to be Ginger!

I just want to say two quick things. First, I want you to know how deeply Steve loves all of you. Having these conversations with him has been an absolute privilege, and his love for this congregation is incredibly evident.

As I step into this role, I have two main priorities. Number one is to honor Steve. He has been an incredibly faithful pastor to you all, and he loves you dearly. My second priority is simply to serve you. I am not coming in with a grand, predetermined master plan to change everything. My goal is simply to get to know you, to love you, and, as the saying goes, "to smell like the sheep." I am so grateful for this opportunity and eager to learn from all of you.

Steve asked me to close with the benediction, so let us receive these words from Numbers chapter 6:

“May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

— Numbers 6:24-26 (CSB)

Let us close our service.