Take Off Your Shoes: Advancing Toward Humility

Joshua’s encounter at Jericho becomes the lens through which worship, courage, and humility are explored. The congregation is invited first to rest in God’s presence—acknowledging Christ’s cost and the healing, forgiveness, and grace available in prayerful stillness. From that posture of reverence the focus turns to the pivotal Old Testament scene: Joshua lifts his eyes, meets a mysterious warrior, and is told to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. That moment reframes humility as active obedience rather than passivity. Humility is modeled not when strength is absent but when it stands face to face with strength and chooses worship over self-defense.

“Advancing” is redefined throughout: it is moving forward with godfidence—confidence rooted in God, not in personal plans or backup schemes. The text critiques the “what if” paralysis that keeps believers from pressing into God’s promised work and exhorts them instead to lift their eyes, dream boldly, and submit personal agendas to divine direction. Practical applications weave through the teaching: surrendering pride like Peter, offering dirty feet to holy ground like Joshua, and aligning daily life with holy living—not as a legalistic checklist but as wearing Christ continually. The call is pastoral and urgent: make obedience a posture, not merely a moment; allow holiness to shape homes, workplaces, and decisions; and respond in tangible ways—falling on one’s face in brokenness, asking “Lord, what would you have me do?” and stepping forward rather than retreating.

The sermon moves from biblical exposition to immediate invitation, urging listeners to give God whatever blocks intimacy—shame, agendas, addictions, pride—and to accept restoration and newness that flow when one stands barefoot on holy ground. The tone is both comforting and confrontational: God desires presence, not performance; relationship, not reputation. The final charge is missional—advance in humility so that the church can reach those who do not yet enter worship, bringing more into the fold by lives visibly surrendered to Christ.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Lift up your eyes and look Faith is the discipline of looking beyond current fears to the possibilities God positions before his people. Lifting one’s eyes interrupts small thinking and reveals the presence and resources God has already placed around the believer. This act turns inward worry into outward expectation and prepares the heart to meet God’s commander at the gates. [45:16]
• 2. Advance toward godly humility Humility here is not retreat but forward movement grounded in trust—advancing from godfidence, not self-reliance. It means approaching challenges without weaponizing pride, ready to worship and obey rather than to prove. Such advancement reorients ambition toward God’s agenda, inviting his strategy to replace private plans. [51:23]
• 3. Take off your shoes Removing sandals symbolizes stripping away barriers between the soul and sacred presence: reputation, shame, and “backup plans” must be surrendered. When dirty feet touch holy ground, God does not demand prior cleansing but receives vulnerability and begins transformation. This posture opens the way for obedience, direction, and restoration. [42:26]
• 4. Live holiness beyond Sundays Holiness is not a weekend garment but the daily reality of “who” is worn, not “what” is worn. True sanctification seeps into homes, workplaces, and decisions when Christ is continually put on, shaping how ordinary life is lived. This view releases believers from checklist religion into a steady, shaping relationship with God. [69:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [20:35] - Entering God’s Presence
• [26:15] - Resting in His Presence
• [38:50] - Lives Are in His Hand
• [39:11] - Theme: Advancing Forward
• [41:28] - Reading: Joshua 5:13–15
• [42:26] - Take Off Your Shoes
• [44:08] - Lift Up Your Eyes
• [47:03] - Encounter with the Commander
• [51:23] - Advance from Godfidence
• [80:01] - Invitation to Surrender
• [86:36] - Closing Blessing

Bible reading: Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV)
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Observation questions

1. What was Joshua doing near Jericho, and what did he see when he lifted his eyes?
2. What was the first question Joshua asked the man with the drawn sword, and what was the man's response?
3. What was Joshua's physical and verbal response after learning the man's identity?
4. What specific command did the commander of the Lord's army give Joshua, and what reason did he provide for it?

Interpretation questions

1. Why is humility often demonstrated more powerfully when we are confronted by strength rather than by weakness? [48:19]
2. The commander's answer, "No," to Joshua's question suggests the question itself was flawed. What does this reveal about the proper perspective we should have when facing challenges—are we trying to get God on our side, or are we trying to get on His?
3. What does the act of removing sandals symbolize in this context, especially considering the feet were considered the dirtiest part of the body? [01:13:18]
4. How does the concept of "godfidence" differ from simply being confident in our own plans or abilities? [51:23]

Application questions

1. Faith is the discipline of looking beyond current fears to the possibilities God has positioned before us. What is a situation right now where you need to consciously "lift up your eyes and look" instead of focusing on the ground? What might you be missing by looking down? [45:16]
2. Humility is modeled not when strength is absent but when it stands face to face with strength and chooses worship over self-defense. Is there a "sword" or a strong challenge in your life that you are tempted to retreat from or fight in your own strength? What would it look like to advance toward it in a posture of worship and obedience this week? [48:19] [50:39]
3. Taking off your shoes symbolizes stripping away every barrier to sacred presence—reputation, shame, or "backup plans." What is one thing you are holding onto as a "backup plan" if God doesn't come through? What would it look like to surrender that to Him and stand barefoot on His holy ground? [01:14:17]
4. Holiness is not a weekend garment but the daily reality of "who" is worn, not "what" is worn. How can the awareness that you are standing on holy ground at your job, in your home, and with your family change the way you speak and act in those places this week? [01:09:27] [01:10:36]
5. God doesn't ask us to wash our feet first; He invites us to come as we are and let our dirty feet touch His holy ground. Is there a sense of shame or unworthiness keeping you from being vulnerable before God? What would it mean for you to accept that He wants all of you—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and to bring that to Him today? [01:23:24]
6. The proper response after taking off our shoes is to ask, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" What is a decision you are facing—in your career, family, or future—where you need to quiet your heart and ask Him that question instead of presenting Him with your own plans? [01:04:07]