Holding What Matters Most

What follows is a transcript of Pastor Gina’s message from our Sunday morning gathering. We share these messages on our blog for those who appreciate the opportunity to read the sermon again—whether for deeper reflection, personal study, or a quieter moment of prayer and introspection. As you read, we invite you to linger with the words, notice what resonates, and remain open to how God may be speaking to you through them.

by Pastor Gina

So there are moments in life where you don't get to approach things the way you used to. And those moments are always best when you haven't planned for them, right? Something like that. But that's just how it happens, you know? It's not like you all of a sudden felt ready for something to take place, although those are those moments too.

But I'm talking about those other ones, those ones that you didn't necessarily feel ready for because you didn't know they were going to happen, and it wasn't something in front of you just saying, hey, here I am. It was that interesting moment that didn't come with an announcement. And as much as we all would like a little Jimmy Cricket, there was nobody there saying, don't worry, you got this, you're ready for this.

They just kind of popped up. They're those moments that just meet you where you are, and in doing so, they either quietly reveal something or they reveal something very loudly, but it only had to be that loud because you wouldn't pause long enough to see what it was really revealing to you. You know, most of the time, we move through life in such a way where something happens, we respond, we adjust, we just keep going.

But every once in a while, we come up against that something that doesn't allow us to stay on autopilot. Something happens, and this happens throughout like our entire life. I mean, imagine just being that toddler who learned, like, I can walk.

I can reach things that I'm not supposed to. I mean, because that tall person over there that I call mom gets mad whenever I touch that. But now I can get it freely and no one can stop me, right? So there's those things all throughout life.

You know, imagine being that, gosh, nowadays I feel like it happens in elementary school, but it's like, oh, there's a person over there. When I see them, I get all kind of silly inside and I want to talk to them or I want to hit them or act up and get their attention. Another one of those moments that you don't necessarily see coming.

And then, you know, there's those ones I don't like to talk about because I know you guys dwell on them enough, but those things that come with aging or transitions in life. You know, it's like, oh man, this doesn't feel the same as it used to. And then you always got that one good friend that's like, welcome to getting old.

Gross! Why did we start that? You know, it shouldn't be that way. But it's true. We go through life kind of on autopilot because it's just easier that way.

And then something brings you face to face with a deeper reality. And in that moment, it's not about what's there in front of you. It's about what's already been with you.

So there's this moment in scripture, and I'm going to read to you about it here in a second, but people are facing that same thing. They're not at the beginning anymore. They've actually lived so much of their lives that they've been shaped.

They've walked through things that have formed them. And even in those moments, they didn't fully recognize what was going on, but now they're on the other side. At least they thought they were.

Because now they're in front of something that once again is not going to leave them room to think like they used to. And so we're going to turn today to the book of Joshua, which I promise I marked earlier and then I unmarked it. But Joshua chapter 3. And I usually don't like to read the entire story, but there's so much good stuff in here that we can't miss it.

So maybe your message is just going to be in the listening.

So early in the morning, Joshua rose and sent out for Shittim with all the Israelites. And they came to the Jordan.

They camped there before crossing over. At the end of three days, the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it so that you may know the way you should go.

For you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about 2,000 cubits.

That's common, right? How far is that, guys? 2,000 cubits? You got that? You know, some of you men who build and things like that, 2,000 cubits, is that like 5 feet, 10 feet? I expect you guys to understand this language.

So keep that distance of 2,000 cubits. Do not come any nearer to it. Then Joshua said to the people, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

To the priest, Joshua said, take up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people. Then the Lord said to Joshua, this day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel so that you may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests.

You bear the ark of the covenant. When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan. Joshua then said to the Israelites, draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.

By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Jebusites. 

They're all getting driven out, folks. That's what that means. They're all getting driven out.

The ark of the covenant of the Lord of the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

When the soles of the feet of the priest who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth will rest the waters of the Jordan. The waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off and they shall stand in a single heap.

And I'm just going to go ahead and stop there.

And so the Israelites have made it out of the wilderness. And if you guys remember that story, just a quick reminder is they ended up having to wander and wander and wander because they couldn't, I guess you could say, awaken to what was going on in front of them. You know, I could say they couldn't get their act together.

They couldn't get their ducks in a row. But the truth is they just needed more time in that classroom. And so now they've begun their journey to continue forward, to enter into that promised land.

But Moses isn't going to be going with them. Moses has served his time and he did so beautifully. And so now Joshua is taking them forward.

They're already past the point of Rahab and sending in the spies to go ahead of them and to prepare them for what's ahead. And here's the one thing to recognize is that in all of this, their army may be big, but it's not that big. But they're not banking on just their strength.

They're not banking on how many men they have behind them. They're banking on the fact that the Lord God is saying, this is how you're going to do it. I want you to put your trust in me.

I want you to keep going forward and know that as long as you are putting me before you, everything will be handed to you. All of those people that have been against you, all of those situations that you think we're going to trap you in this desert of confusion, just trust me and I will show you the way. And so they're off.

And when you step into the story, you can't miss the detail that he's going to lead them across the other side of the Jordan. And you know, you would think for those who are still not alive, that many of them heard the stories. Remember that story that our dad or our grandpa told us when Moses took us through the Red Sea? Do you remember how they told us the water stopped and they stood on both sides and we all walked through? And I'm sure some of people are like, yeah, well, I don't know if that really happened or not.

It seems so long ago. Some of them have probably forgotten how amazing it was if they didn't get to pass through it themselves. Maybe they were born in the wilderness.

I'm sure they heard the stories because who walks through the Red Sea and just forgets about it? I don't care if it's 140 years later. I don't think it happens that way. And so there they are.

They're going towards the Jordan River. You know, it's not calm. The waters are flooding.

It's unpredictable. It's not something that they could easily manage on their own. But you know, what stands out the most here isn't what they're coming up against.

It's what they're carrying. The priests are holding the ark of God, the presence of God, who says that I'll be with you by day, I'll be with you by night. They know that in that moment, they don't have to wait for a response that God has already got them.

God has a plan for what's going to happen there and what's going to happen on the other side. Before the water even moves, before the path even opens, before anything externally shifts for them, they are already carrying the presence of God. And that's the key point of this story.

Things don't change because of what takes place in that moment where now they're no longer on autopilot. Things are going to shift because they are going to remember. They don't have to ask the question about what do we do next.

They have a deeper question of recognizing that all this time they've been growing, they've been poured into, that the ark of the covenant was not just placed in their care to be symbolic or something that hopes will lead them. That that was an example of how God sees them as his chosen people. And just as he put his presence within that ark, he's saying I am with you always.

Put me before you and you will make it. Put me before you and I will reveal something within you that has always been there. You just need someone to come and remind you.

And what a great reminder to reach the edge of the Jordan River and all of a sudden to see the water stand still. I know if I was there in that moment, I'd be like that's my God. That is my God doing that right there.

And if I can get through this and if I can get through all that and those stories of my ancestors and what a great work they did and all they built to get us to this point, that I can keep going. Because even in those moments that feel uncertain, it doesn't mean you were unprepared. In those moments where they start to feel loud, it's easy to convince yourself that I'm not good enough.

I'm not ready for this and therefore I'm weak and I'm not up for the challenge. But let's change it. How about wow this is stretching me so now I get to see how much have I grown.

Wow this is a little bit confusing and a little bit challenging so now I get to see how much my work and my devotion and my time and prayer and my time and study and my time of community, I get to see how it comes into God in action. Everything we've built up to this point, even in those moments of being stretched, see it as growth. It may feel challenging.

You may not be sure what's around the next corner, but those are those moments where you have to recognize although you don't have the clarity, it doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to get on the other side. It doesn't mean that God isn't already not one, not ten, but several, several hundreds of steps before you. It's those times that you have to recognize that you don't actually have to know how it's going to happen, when it's going to happen, where it's going to happen.

Just know who is with you and with that it will happen. These are those moments where if you step back, and I used to say this all the time in my first year, and grab your popcorn, right? Step back and grab your popcorn and just take in how God is moving in this time. Oh I just got some news I wasn't expecting.

Don't jump into it. Don't react to it. Step back.

What happened the last time you got some news you weren't expecting? You know last time you went through all these emotional things. What are we going to do? What's that going to cost? What about the medication? What about the procedure? How long is the recovery going to be? But guess what? After you threw a fit, after you questioned yourself and threw all your faith out the window, you gathered it all back up again and you went through it like a champ. And then you got the results that said it's all gone, or it's all better, or hey just a few weeks of therapy and now here you are.

You know, but you can apply that to anything. Was it that relationship that didn't work out? Was it that job that you didn't get? Was it that argument that you had with that family years and years ago? But now you're here and you're present and when those things come up before you, remember you made it through all that. You made it through the relationships, the jobs, the financial strains, the multiple diagnosis throughout time.

You made it through all the times you didn't get accepted and all the times you got accepted with flying colors. You made it through every diagnosis that scared you and everyone you looked at said, you might as well go away now. I don't believe you're going to do a thing to me.

It's funny we can remember and celebrate in the moments where we're like, oh yes, that's awesome. But when we're faced with those moments that switch that autopilot switch off, that's when all of a sudden we forget. We forget.

You know, there's always that interesting phrase that I like to say, if everything happened perfectly to get us to this moment right here and now. And maybe while we're navigating through it, it doesn't feel like perfection. I'm sure there are still people in that camp as Joshua was like, hey, when the priests get up and start walking, you follow them.

No questions asked. And he says, sanctify yourselves. So, you know, in today's language, that means, hey guys, big stuff coming tomorrow.

Go home, eat, hydrate. Don't turn on the news. Don't get busy in social media.

Don't pick fights with friends today. Go home and rest. Be grateful.

Take good care of yourselves because tomorrow we're walking with the Lord. And as I read that part of the scripture to you, I was like, man, that should be what we say to ourselves every night when we lay down. You know, hey Gina, you better sanctify yourself tonight because tomorrow when you get up, the Lord is taking you through the Jordan.

All right. You know, how often do we do that? How often do we remember that, hey, there is always something in store. God is always leading us in that invisible arc of the covenant that goes before us, but is always there.

That invisible arc of the covenant that resides within us and is always there. So, what if we woke up each morning as if we were about to go cross the Jordan? You know, and you got to look at the crew behind you and be like, wait, they're still going to come with us? Yes, they're still going to come with you. Okay.

Because we're all going together and we're sanctified. And maybe when we get there, your role is going to be over there and mine's going to be over there and theirs is going to be over there. But we're going to look back and say, we did it.

We did it. And guess what? It doesn't mean we did it and we're done. It means, look at where I'm at in the Bible.

It definitely doesn't mean we did it and we're done. See all the other pages we haven't even gone through? What else is coming for these Israelites that don't know how to sit still and listen? I mean, the next book is the book of Judges and let's not even get into what that's about. Okay.

So, that's the thing. It's like, man, this is the day when we walk out of here, we're going to cross that Jordan, right? We're going to go where God leads us. And no, I don't know what it's going to look like.

No, I don't know how or when exactly we're going to get there, but we're going and God is before us. And all along beneath the surface, he's been preparing us for this. The people around us, the challenges we encounter, the successes we have, they've all been preparing us for this.

As they've wandered through the desert time and time again, listening to Moses, not listening to Moses, wondering what's next. And now here they are. They're at that pivotal moment.

We're saying, okay, guys, I'm going to show you again who I am. And that's what God's telling them. And so, how do we respond to that? Okay, God, show me.

No. How about, okay, God, and as you show me who you are, I'm going to show you who I am because of you. Not only do they make it to the river and as soon as the priests step into the water, it stands still.

It stands and they're all able to cross. And Joshua says, hey, I want 12 of you to carry a stone. And, you know, stone isn't like the pebbles we got out here surrounding the church.

I mean, it's carry this stone across that river because this stone is going to remind us of who we are. When we get on the other side of this river, we're going to build an altar because we're going to say, look what our God did with us. Look what we did because we listened, because we stopped believing the stories, because we stopped labeling ourselves with doom and gloom, and we stopped thinking that there's actually a situation on this earth that could overcome us.

No such thing. Stop living like there is because there's no such thing on this earth that can take us away from who we are because of God. That divine I am presence that is forever God is forever in us.

And so, yeah, you know, it's funny. This was the direction of my sermon long before I knew what kind of things were going out in the mail this past week. Long before I knew where I'd be here in this moment.

But isn't it fitting? Because some of you have said congratulations, and some of you have said congratulations. So let me just turn it back around. Thanks, guys.

I appreciate it. But thanks, guys. You guys have been my ark of the covenant.

You guys have been someone reminding me that I have God within me, that I come directly from God. And so when I reach those flooded waters, I can go through. Have I been reminding you the same thing? Because if I haven't, well, then we're starting today.

Okay? There is a flooded Jordan River ahead of us, but over this past three years, we have been prepared. Over this past 30 years, you have been prepared. Over this past 80 years, you have been preparing.

And so whether it's, hey, when I leave here, I'm going to go eat lunch. It's going to be the best lunch I've ever eaten. Or whether you're going to leave here and tackle that thing, that thing that's been trying to tell you you're someone you're not.

That thing that's been trying to whisper things that pull you down every time you feel something lifting you up. So when you go here, whatever you take on, take it on knowing that the ark of the covenant is before you, within you, behind you, because that is the presence of the Lord. You have been shaped, you have been strengthened, and there's a lot more going on in you than you give yourself credit for.

See, it's not really easy for people to figure out or to suddenly have that awareness of who they are. They have to go through several situations and experiences that remind them. And now we can throw a rock all the way back to Easter and say, but for such a time as this, every day is a new opportunity to begin to learn how to live from that place, that place within you that is unstoppable, that is an abundance of love and grace and light.

And it doesn't matter what this looks like, it doesn't matter what this looks like, because that place is unmovable. It's the resting center of the divine I am presence. It's where we meet our God.

It's where we meet ourselves. And to let yourself become a person who always moves from that place, instead of a person who's reaching out here to pull themselves towards something or chasing something out here, I guarantee you if you just go in here and recognize what are you carrying? What are you carrying? Not the things the world tells you you're carrying, not the things your age tells you you're carrying, not the things your relationships tell you you're carrying. What does God tell you you're carrying? I sent out this little question, now you get your Mama Gina moment.

When you get a text that says your pastor would like you to help her by sending her one word to describe this community, it takes you a whole 30 seconds to answer that text. So those of you who did not, Mama's not happy. But those of you who did, I am grateful.

Because you know what? You told me what you're carrying. I said, what is one word that you would use to describe this congregation, who we are? I heard community. I heard family.

I heard caring. I heard loving. So come on, you're all here.

What are we carrying? Who are we, First Christian Church? Okay, well I guess, oh wow, okay. Okay, perseverance. Very good, perseverance.

But I think that should tell you something right there. Because as many times as I've done that, okay, your turn. That question should be easy.

That question should be easy. What are you carrying? What are you holding on to that matters most? And it shouldn't feel weird, because if it's something you really believe, there's no reason that someone out there shouldn't say love, courage, strength, perseverance. And it's okay to be carrying a little bit of confusion, and a little bit of fear, and a little bit of doubt.

But be careful. Because if you pay too much attention to that, you start to think that's all you're carrying. And then you're always functioning from fear and doubt.

You're always trying to make your plans combating all these things that haven't even happened. How are we going to tackle that just in case it happens? Instead of no. I know who God is.

I know who I am. And I know what he has entrusted me to carry. He's entrusted me to carry strength, and courage, and love, and to carry this family with me.

And that's what should be yelled out from this congregation. What you're carrying, when you really, really take a look at what you're carrying, you are carrying the mighty, beloved, I am presence of God. And that is no small thing.

And over time, if you keep letting that presence guide you, lead you, go before you, and move you, you will see how impactful what you're carrying really is.