Jesus gives us courage
Pendulum Swing or Two Sided Coin?
| Speaker: | Andy Moyle, |
| Series: | God's Multicoloured Wisdom |
| Date: | 11th Oct, 2026 |
| Download: | Pendulum Swing or Two Sided Coin? |
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| Sermon notes: | Pendulum Swing or Two Sided Coin?Pendulum Swing We have been looking at God’s multicoloured wisdom - where God shows off his amazing diverse multicoloured wisdom to the angels and demons through what he is doing through the church. Your life has meaning and purpose – you are part of a cosmic plan that God has! Started with creation – in all its diversity created by God who personifies diversity in unity – Father, Son and Spirit Then we looked at the Fall – where Adam and Eve disobeyed God and experienced shame, guilt and fear. God made a sacrifice to clothe them with the first leather outfits! Then we began to see God’s rescue plan for the whole of humanity start through God call one person – Abraham to be blessed so that through his offspring every family would get the chance to be blessed. God often chooses one to be bless many. He has chosen you too! Now we jump forward hundreds of years – the Old Testament people of God, Israel are being formed. They have escaped slavery in Egypt and they are about to receive the ten commandments – and the rest of the Law. But before that God tells them these amazing words. Exodus 19:5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Condition – Obey God fully and keep my covenant.They are about to get the law – not just 10 commandments. Jewish scholars counted 613 separate commands. They are there to show how holy God is and how much we need Jesus to save us. King Solomon tells us in Eccl 7:20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. Paul will teach the purpose of the law was to bring us to Christ – Gal 3:24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith They had been saved by grace from slavery but still the Old Covenant was conditional on obedience first. Ex 19:5 again IF you obey me… then out all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Treasured PossessionIf your house was to catch fire and everyone was safe and you could grab one thing, what would it be? That’s your treasured possession. The Hebrew word is sagula which means shut up treasure – the kind of treasure that is highly prized and kept safe. That’s who the people of God are to the Lord. Then from that identity as God’s treasured possession, they are called to be a Kingdom of Priests Kingdom of PriestsA priest is someone who mediates people to the Lord. Their job as a blessed people was to show that blessing to all the families of the earth – to carry on Abraham’s call. Mal 2:7 says for the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord almighty and the people seek instruction from his mouth. Holy NationGod is Holy and commands his people to be holy. The command “Be holy, for I am holy” is all over the Bible! Lev 11:45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. Two sides of a coin – the edge says treasured possession. That is their identity. One side is be a kingdom of priests. Make a difference in the nations, influence them and bless them so that they follow god. The other side is Holy nation – be holy. Don’t compromise with sin. They were meant to hold it in tension – be in the world but not of it. But OT Israel and actually anyone without Jesus just cannot do it. It ends up being a pendulum swing of making a mess Instead of kingdom of priests – influencing the nations. End up with anything goes, doing the awful things the unbelievers were doing. Then they’d swing the other way again missing the point. Holy nation – despising the other nations and being completely nationalistic. Or separating themselves. Even today – you can see religion in general and “religious” people making a mess of the pendulum swing. In the world and doing what they do – anything goes, chaotic lifestyles, liberalism – making Christianity wishy washy but palatable. Swinging the other way – Christian ghetto, avoiding the world, holy huddle, leagalism. Paul warns against that in 1 Cor 5:10 “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” That’s a great example of two sided coin – be in the world, but don’t be like the world. The call to live out being a treasured possession by being a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation is impossible in our own strength. The law was mean to point us to Jesus. Christianity has a new covenant, a new deal – a better deal. 1 Peter 2 lays out the ideas of what treasure possession, kingdom of priests and a holy nation look like with Jesus But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but not you have received mercy. If you have become a Christian, Peter declares like Jesus you are born again – a new creation and we have been give a precious identity – chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s special possession. God has done it- he has made us the people of God and has given us with mercy. Our destiny is not the pendulum swing of messing it up – we can live as the double sided coin – treasured possession round the edge – kingdom of priests and holy nation as the two sides, We can do it. You may be thinking, no I can’t I swing from one extreme to the other! What’s the secret sauce? A few verses before Peter shows us As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Living StonesPeter is writing to people who were mostly Jewish background before fining Christ, so they would have had Old Testament understanding of what that means. Centuries before Jesus came Ezekiel was prophecying to a wayward pendulum swinging Israel and he says this “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” God showed Ezekiel that without Jesus people are stony – cold and hard and unable to follow and obey Jesus. The promise he prophecied is that God would remove peoples dead stony hearts and give them a new heart. In Ezek 36 he repeats it – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Peter picks up the imagery of that and shows that Christians are now living stones – we have the Spirit in us, making us so alive. Spiritual houseThen he talks about us being built together into a “spiritual house” to be a holy priesthood. A spiritual house is literally a house of the spirit. Together we are the house where the Spirit of God dwells. We need each other – you can’t go it alone in Christian faith – the devil will pick you off straight away. The secret sauce that makes the two-sided coin doable – is the power of the Spirit available to all of us and the church being the place where we are built together. New Covenant is incredible. The law of 613 commandments is impossible, nobody apart from Jesus has completely obeyed. So, Jesus came to bring us close to God Eph 2:14-15 “For he himself is our peace who has made the two groups on and has destroyed the barrier the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations” The Law was just a schoolmaster or guardian to shows us we need Christ. Now grace has fully come and we find that we can be more holy than the law demanded by enjoying God’s grace and walking in the power of the Spirit. The law said don’t commit adultery – grace says don’t even think adulterous thoughts. Titus 2:13 tells us “grace teaches us to say no to unrighteousness” It is walking in the Spirit that enables us to be holy and make a difference. Gal 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. It is the Spirit that gives us power to be witnesses Act 1:8 It is the Spirit who grows the fruit of holiness in us Gal 5:22 It is our experience of being living stones – filled with the Spirit and built together as God’s church that means we finally get to enjoy living our new identity But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. If your life feels like a chaotic pendulum swing – God wants to turn you into a two-sided coin! Come to Jesus Be filled with the Spirit Be built together |
Pendulum Swing or Two Sided Coin?
Andy Moyle,11th Oct, 2026 3:04 pm
The Call of Abraham
David Taylor27th Sep, 2026 9:11 am
The Fall
Omadachi Oganyi,20th Sep, 2026 3:10 pm
The Trinity and Creation
Swapnil Pardeshi13th Sep, 2026 5:59 pm
God's multicoloured wisdom
Andy Moyle6th Sep, 2026 7:36 pm
New season
Getting ready for a wave of the Spirit to come and hit this area with the glory of God and hundreds saved and added.
As a church – it’s a time of transition too – working on the leadership structure and systems in the church – they were great for a church of 50 – but we are 120 now and heading on to 200.
Individually – Been looking at the things Jesus takes away – shame, worry, fear, rejection and unforgiveness
And the things Jesus gives us freedom, favour and today courage.
Bill Johnson said of our need of Jesus giving us courage: When you get into the flow of grace, you will see definite benefits in your life. One is courage. God is calling us to do the impossible, to be world-changers, and we will never be able to follow His lead without the courage He supplies.
You may need courage in your workplace to stand up to a bully, to stand up for integrity.
You may need courage to parent well, “when all the other parents let them do it.”
You may need courage to face your life situation – singleness, separation.
There are so many ways in which we need courage.
With a wave of the Spirit on it’s way, If we are going to see hundreds saved and the church grow it’s going to require courage. Where better to help us than Joshua taking over as leader of the people of Israel to take them into the promised land. So please turn with me to Joshua 1
Moses – big shoes to fill
Knew God face to face
Led Israel out of slavery in Egypt
Crossed the Red sea
Hit a rock and water flowed
Led two million people
Moses obituary was quite something.
Deut 34 “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigour unabated”.. “And there has not arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all his great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel”.
The Lord comes to Joshua and says “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over the Jordan, into the land I’m giving to them to the people of Israel.”
Moses the greatest leader thus far is dead and Joshua is taking over. The Lord’s blunt with him. Moses dead, now you do it… And the first thing He has to do is a miracle – cross the Jordan. It’s a walk of faith, a courageous walk, not a sit! He brings 2,000,000 people to the edge of the Jordan and prophecies to them as the soles of the feet of the priest carrying the ark touch the waters – it will part for them, just as it did for Moses. Huge moment – stepping out in faith – God does it. Staraight after that God says to him “see I given Jericho into your mighty hand” – looks pretty locked up to me.
It’s a walk of faith and trusting God that he’s called to. That we are called to, that you are called to. So we need Jesus to give us courage. God’s promised “I haven’t given you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and self control.” We get to do the stuff – to heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, make disciples, stand up for Jesus in our homes and workplaces and it is a walk of faith, walking in the Spirit.
So 3 times in this opening section God’s going to command him “Be strong and courageous” and then in four ways how to be strong and courageous.
Let’s look at it
1) Stand on the promises of God v1-4
Joshua has a clear word from God, a clear assignment.
* Lead the people across the Jordan
* Take possession of the Promised Land – with clearly defined boundaries.
* No-one will stand against you
We have a clear assignment and promises from God to.
* To be a gateway for the gospel to go to the nations
* Multinational church – every tribe and tongue in the area part of the church.
* Grow bigger than 500 people
* Wave of the Spirit and a herald of a move of God.
* Churches planted across the region and teams sent to the nations to plant
Easy to talk big like that. There was a man who once boasted he cut off a lion’s tail with a penknife. When he was asked why he didn’t cut off it’s head, he said “Well someone else had already done that.”
Going to take courage in the Lord – much easier to sit at home and watch God TV. Much easier to dream about a wave coming that grab your surfboard and ride it for all your life.
So one of the ways we can be strong and courageous. Is to stand on the promises of God. What has He said He will do? We have the prophetic words and more importantly we have the word of God – Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God has said it, let’s do it!
Just as Joshua was told to cross the Jordan by faith, let’s make disciples by faith. Let’s step out and pray for the sick, share the love of Jesus, talk to people, help people, bless people by faith. God has said He will build a big church here, the fields are white to harvest – pray for the workers. Then be the answer to that prayer!
2) Know God’s presence with you v5
There’s a lovely moment at the start of the Dad’s Army movie where Mannering and his platoon are moving steathily across fields. Mannering stands up and confronts what’s ahead. “There he is sir”, the film cuts to a bull and then back to Mannering who’s alone! The others have scarpered!
That’s the thing with fear for many of us – we think we are alone. We are the only one that has to stand up and be counted.
For Joshua God promised His presence with him. “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous!”
God promises the same for us Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Behold I am with you. The old versions use Lo, I am with you. There is plenty of lo when we go! God promises His presence with us.
You don’t need to beg God to be with you. You don’t need to ask God for His presence. He has already promised His presence – when you go out from here and when we are gathered!
I got an iPad for Christmas – I used to ask for an iPad but I’ve stopped now I have one! You don’t need to ask for God’s presence with you. He has promised it. You may want to ask for an awareness of it! But you do have it!
Somebody once said Courage is fear that has said its’ prayers. Yes. But courage is easier with God’s presence too – you’ll never walk alone
Unlike Captain Mannering, we also have brothers and sisters in Christ walking with us too.
Jago Wynne, author of the book Working Without Wilting, talks about pastoring mid-week gatherings for people working in London. He says that those who came by themselves from their workplace as isolated Christians generally looked weary, struggling with the pressures of working life.
On the other hand, those who had found other Christian colleagues and who came to the services in groups of two or more were almost universally far more upbeat and radiant.
Jago writes, ‘If we are isolated Christians in our day-to-day environments, whether that is the workplace or school or university or home, it is good to pray for the Lord to provide us with another brother or sister in Christ. Even their mere presence can be a source of encouragement to keep going in serving the Lord in life and in mission.'
3 Keep on the path
God commanded Moses to be careful to do all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. To keep on the path of the revelation to that point. Don’t stray to the left or the right. Don’t wander off on weird tangents. Stick with the word of God. Of course we now have the new covenant revelation of the New Testament to guide us. Read it, meditate on it, put it into practice. Don’t stray off the path God has.
On your mouth – v8. When I’m helping the kids learn their German vocab – I’m always saying read it out loud, write it down and say it out loud as you do so. There’s some thing about speaking as we are reading and learning that engages more senses and burns it into memory so much better. If find with the BiOY app, it’s goes in better when I read it out loud.
Meditate on it – chew it over in your mind. Bill Johnson said, if you worry you already know how to meditate!
If you want more courage, then meditate on Scripture like “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
4 Start the process
Get on with it! if you don’t put this into practice 50% will be forgotten by tomorrow!
Joshua went from his encounter with the Lord to his leaders v10. We are going in 3 days, get ready
To the tribes that were to be on the current side of the Jordan – he ordered the men of valour to join the fight.
Each time if you read 10-18 he reminded them of God’s promises as part of getting ready to go.
Then he sent to 2 spies to goto Jericho, who stuck with Rahab – a woman of courage, with an interesting past, who hid them – don’t let your past stop you entering your God given destiny.
