It’s always a blessing to have my son Nathan speak at The Summit. He shared a message this past Sunday on Father’s Day while my wife and I were out of town. If you got a chance to tune in, you know he talked about Joshua and the incredible journey he took. One of the most important aspects of this story is that you have to choose who you’ll serve! This is something you and I are faced with every day, whether we realize it or not.
As Nathan talked about on Sunday, people feel pushed into choosing a side right now, a ripple effect of the COVID-19 situation. I’m sure you do take some kind of political stand and have opinions about what’s going on right now. But Nathan pointed out that you should focus more on being on GOD’S SIDE! Joshua was very victorious in leading the Israelites through battle. However, because of the sin of one man who stole what didn’t belong to him, the Israelites experienced a devastating defeat.
What can you learn from this? Be on, God’s side, don’t steal from Him, and don’t be surprised when you face defeat rather than victory when you turn away from Him. If you want to live a victorious life, a life of transformation, choose to serve God. Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV). The same is true for yourself—you can’t serve yourself and serve God.
There’s a lot coming at you right now; I understand that! You have leaders and media telling you what to think, what to say, what to do… But at the end of the day, your strength comes from God. And if you’ve faced defeat the way Joshua’s army did, just remember that you don’t have to “start over” in your relationship with God. You just keep moving forward! Just like the Israelites who made things right with God after they discovered their sin, you need to make things right with God. God led His people BACK to victory after they did this, and they went on to defeat the Philistines.
My final takeaway from Nathan’s message is this—If you’re chasing transformation, stick with it! And if you’ve never made the decision to give your life to Jesus, that’s your next step on the road to true transformation.
Happy belated Father’s Day to all our Summit dads, and to any reading this!