Key points
1God doesn't take a side, He is a side, so worship can't be about getting Him on ours
Pastor Bill walks through Joshua 5, where Joshua meets the commander of the Lord's army and asks whether he's friend or foe. The commander answers neither, and Joshua falls in worship and surrender. Pastor Bill explains this reveals that God will never be on our side because our side is the way of death; instead God provides a way for us to be on His side, and worship that tries to earn or obligate God's favor is actually legalism.
God doesn't take a side. He is a side
2Our strategy is surrender — surrender always comes before victory
Building on Joshua bowing before the commander, Pastor Bill argues that in God's economy you surrender first and the victory follows, the opposite of how the world fights. He quotes Abraham Lincoln's line about wanting to be on God's side rather than asking whose side God is on, and ties singing in worship to being a surrendered choice, not just a feeling.
Surrender always comes before victory when it comes to being on God's side
3God's battle plan for Jericho looked like worship, not war
Reading through Joshua 6, Pastor Bill shows how God had Israel march silently around Jericho for six days, then seven times on the seventh day, led by priests blowing rams' horns rather than any conventional siege tactic. He points out this put the people in the line of fire for no apparent military advantage, proving the act was really a worship processional, not a strategic assault.
what they were called to do wasn't an act of war, it's an act of worship
4Our focus needs to be on the walk, not the win
Pastor Bill unpacks the sevens repeated throughout the Jericho account as symbols of God's completeness contrasted with the counterfeit, never-finished number six, arguing our job is to stay faithful to the walk God gives rather than fixate on the outcome we want. He illustrates this with his own church's building being finished right before COVID shut it down, and with parenting and marriage, showing planning is everything and nothing.
When we worry about our win more than our walk, we lose both
A story from life
Pastor Bill describes Rock Point's experience of completing its building just before COVID hit and having to trust God through the delay
5Our only way across to God's side is the cross
Pastor Bill turns to Numbers 21, where the Israelites, dying from snakebites brought on by their own complaining, were told to look at a bronze snake lifted on a pole to be healed, foreshadowing John 3:14-16 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 where Jesus becomes sin for us on the cross. He notes archaeological findings at Jericho that match the biblical account exactly, tying God's faithfulness in that story to His faithfulness in providing the cross.
The only way across is the cross
Worship isn't about feeling. It's about fighting
Application
Pastor Bill's charge is that worship is our weapon, so surrender has to come before the walk and the walk before the win.
Surrender before you expect victory
Stop trying to get God on your side through obligation or legalism, and instead choose to join His side, even singing the songs as a battle cry when you don't feel like it.
Focus on the walk, not the win
Whatever obstacle you're facing, stay faithful to what God has asked you to do this week rather than fixating on the outcome you want Him to deliver.
Look to the cross and trust Christ
If you've never knelt like Joshua did and put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross, do that now rather than just going through the motions of church.
Take communion as a moment to return
If you're already a Christian, use communion this week to reflect on where you've wandered from God's side and return to Him.
Take it into your week
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
