Answer the Call
Thesis Christians must answer God's call to action, service, and submission without demanding complete clarity beforehand, trusting that God will provide the strength and courage needed through His presence, proven ultimately in Christ.
The shape of the argument
15 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.
- cultural reference · unit #2 — Illustrates the cultural shift toward demanding advance information before engaging by contrasting generational differences in phone-answering etiquette. The illustration makes the abstract claim about leadership crisis concrete and relatable through everyday experience.
- The modern generation faces a crisis of leadership because people refuse to answer God's call without knowing all the details in advance. unit #1
- God's call involves three essential components: action, service, and submission. unit #4
- God will provide the necessary strength and courage through His presence for whatever He calls believers to do. unit #10
"The courage demanded of Joshua has to do more with obedience to the word of God than with fortitude in the face of the enemy." — Reimer (unit #7)
Full transcript
0 · Sets the sermonic frame by connecting Jon Vogan's ordination story to the universal reality that all Christians have a divine calling
phrases. Even if you didn't know Jon, you got to kind of hear his story of how he was slowly, from childhood through arriving here, brought into the call of God on his life. And I think it's an illustration and a challenge from the Lord for all of us. And the challenge is this. Will you also respond to the call of the Lord in your life? You may not be called to pastoral ministry, but. But I know this about you. If you are a Christian, you have a call. You are called to things in your marriage, in your family, in your community, in your workplace. The Lord intends for you to do them. And Joshua 1:9 is a call not just to Joshua, receiving this call into leadership in. In the God's purposes, but for all of us. Joshua 1:9. The Lord says this, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
1 · Diagnoses the contemporary cultural problem: modern Christians demand complete clarity and safety before responding to God's call, creating a leadership crisis
Now, the challenge of our day today is that in contrast to even when I grew up, we know so much and we have so many opinions on so much. And I think we often are a generation, a place in history in a crisis of leadership, because people do not want to answer the call of the Lord on their lives without knowing what's it going to be like? Is it going to be safe? Is it going to be uncomfortable? What will happen next? What will happen after that? And they want to know everything laid out before they even answer the call.
2 · Illustrates the cultural shift toward demanding advance information before engaging by contrasting generational differences in phone-answering etiquette
Now, I feel like this is pretty well summed up in the difference between the way you answered the phone when I grew up and the way you answered the phone today. The way you answer the phone today is somebody texts you and asks, can I call you in five minutes? You get a pretext. Do you guys get this? It's like etiquette. Now you have to pretext. You can just call someone, pretext them. They'll usually be like, then they'll. If they're a Gen Z. Or they'll freak out. Why do you want to call me? Is it a bad. Is it bad news? And then you have to tell them, no, I just want to touch base on, you know, Saturday, you know, what we're doing Saturday. Okay, so they know you're going to call, they know what you're going to call about. And then if it's on FaceTime, you see their face. Do they look angry? Okay. They look okay. And then you answer the call.
Look, man, when I was growing up, the phone rang and you just picked it up. And it could be anything. It could be the pharmacy, it could be the doctor, it could be the police. It could be the, you know, your school, whatever it is. It could be your piano teacher saying you didn't practice your lessons again. I want to talk to your mom. Whatever it is. That was just me. And. And the reality is you just picked it up. And I think that is a word.
3 · Expounds Joshua 1:2 to demonstrate that God gave Joshua a command to act without providing detailed answers to natural questions about safety, timeline, or outcome
This, then, is a word for us in our generation today that what the Lord is calling you to do, what he's calling Joshua to do, he doesn't lay out everything. He doesn't answer Joshua's questions about here exactly is how the conquest is going to go, and here's the plan, and here's how long it's going to take, and here's what your life is going to be like, and here's the house you're going to have at the end of it. None of that. All he gets in verse two is, moses, my servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Like, get up, go over this Jordan, rally the people, take the land. That's all he gets.
4 · Proposes the sermon's organizing framework by identifying three dimensions of God's call derived from the Joshua passage
And I think this is a good word for us, because what we find is a call to three things. A call to action, a call to service, and a call to submission.
5 · Develops the first dimension of God's call by explaining that action means responding without waiting for complete information, illustrated through the phone analogy
A call to action, meaning that you don't wait to learn everything. You don't let the phone continue to ring. Hoping, man, I hope somebody gets that. That's what we did growing up, right? Like, I hope somebody gets up and gets that. Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. You're looking at your sister if you're me, like, are you gonna. You could, you know, like, you go answer the phone. It's a call to action. Look, I venture to say, in a room this size, they're probably here in this room that are hearing clearly the phone ringing in their life. A call to something. A call to leadership and initiative in their family or in their workplace or in their community. And you're hoping somebody else will get this. You're hoping there's a John Vogan that is just like, okay, yeah, great, he's going to answer. No. What's the Lord's call on your life? A call to action.
Recent preaching context
The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.
Discuss · apply · pray
6 questions for your group this week
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In Joshua 1:9, God tells Joshua to 'be strong and courageous' — but Joshua hasn't yet seen the land, met all the people, or mapped out a complete strategy. What does this tell us about the kind of clarity God actually promises when He calls us to something?Joshua 1:9→ Can you think of a time when you felt called to something but didn't have all the details worked out first? How did that uncertainty feel?
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The sermon identifies three components of God's call: action, service, and submission. Which of these three tends to be hardest for you to accept when you sense God asking something of you, and why?
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Joshua 1:7 emphasizes that Joshua must 'be careful to obey all the law.' How does submission to God's word — rather than our own instincts or cultural pressures — become the foundation for courage when answering His call?Joshua 1:7→ Where are you feeling pressure from the culture to do something that conflicts with what Scripture calls you to?
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The sermon argues that intimidation or resistance often confirms that God is genuinely calling us. Why might that be true, and what's the difference between legitimate fear and the kind of hesitation that keeps us from obedience?
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God promises to be *with* Joshua (Joshua 1:9), but the ultimate proof of that presence and faithfulness comes through Jesus — who went to death itself to secure God's promises to His people. How does Christ's faithfulness on the cross change the way you answer God's call today?Joshua 1:9→ What specific call do you sense God making on your life right now, and how does the cross reassure you that He will be with you in it?
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As a group, what does it look like to answer God's call *without* demanding complete safety or clarity beforehand? Can you name one concrete step someone here might take this week to act on a call they've been hesitating about?
5-day reading plan
This week we walk through God's call on Joshua's life—and on ours—learning that answering without complete clarity, trusting God's presence, and finding our courage in Christ are the marks of faithful obedience.
The command comes first: 'Arise, go over this Jordan.' Joshua receives no detailed blueprint, no guarantee of how the conquest will unfold, only the call to move. This is the pattern of God's dealings with His people—He calls us to action while we're still uncertain, asking us to trust His word more than our own comprehension. In our own callings, we often demand the map before we take the first step. Joshua teaches us that submission to God's command *is itself* the path to understanding.
The charge to Joshua is sharp: 'Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you.' God doesn't promise Joshua military victory based on strategy; He promises that faithfulness to God's revealed word is itself the victory. We live in an age that measures calls by their outcomes and comfort. But God measures them by our submission to His truth. When we answer a call because it aligns with Scripture rather than because we see how it will turn out, we honor the God who called us.
Joshua is told three times in one verse: 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Notice what God does not say: 'You will face no enemies' or 'The battle will be easy.' Instead, the promise is companionship in the midst of the very real terror and discouragement that come with the call. Our generation often interprets courage as the absence of fear. But biblical courage is feeling the weight of the call and answering anyway, because we are not alone. The God who was with Joshua is the God who is with us.
Moses speaks the same word to Joshua that Joshua will later hear: 'The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.' This is not a new promise—it echoes through the wilderness wanderings, through forty years of provision and protection. God is not making a gamble on Joshua; He is a God whose character and track record prove He keeps covenant. When we answer God's call, we are not gambling either. We are standing on the promises of a God whose faithfulness spans generations.
John the Baptist's father prophesies that John will 'go before the Lord to prepare the way,' echoing Joshua's own calling to prepare a way into the promised land. But the fulfillment is Christ Himself—the Joshua who submitted not just to conquest but to the cross, securing God's promise to His people through His own blood. Every call we answer finds its deepest meaning in His answered call. We are not asked to do what Christ has not already done. We can answer boldly because Christ answered perfectly, and His presence with us is the presence of the One who conquered death itself.
Father, Give Us Courage to Answer
Father, we come before You in awe of Your faithfulness. You are a God who calls Your people not into confusion or abandonment, but into purposeful action, and You have proven Yourself faithful even to death itself in Christ. We confess that we often demand complete clarity before we will move—we want to see the whole map before we take the first step, we want guarantees before we commit ourselves to service. We hold back from the calls You place on our lives because we are afraid, because we cannot see how You will provide, because the cost of submission feels too high. Forgive us for our small faith and our demand for certainty in a world where You ask only for trust.
Yet here is the good news: You do not leave us orphaned or without resource. Just as You told Joshua to arise and take the land, knowing he did not possess all the details of the conquest, You tell us today that Your presence goes with us in every call we answer. The greater Joshua, Jesus Christ, answered Your ultimate call and went even to the cross itself, proving forever that You are faithful to strengthen us through whatever He calls us to endure (Joshua 1:9). He has already borne the weight we fear; He has already secured the victory we doubt.
We ask You, Father, to awaken in us a willingness to answer the calls You have placed on our lives—to step into leadership, to serve our families and our church, to submit our plans to Your word—without demanding that we see the entire pathway first. Give us the courage that comes not from certainty but from knowing that You are with us. Heal us of the lie that intimidation means we've misheard You; teach us instead that resistance and fear often confirm that we are being called to something worthy of Your kingdom. Grant us bold hearts and willing hands, and remind us each day this week that the same God who was with Joshua is with us.
We commit ourselves to You, Father, asking that You would use our obedience—however imperfect, however fearful—to advance Your kingdom and to show our families and our community what it looks like to trust in a God who has already proved His love on the cross. Strengthen us, Lord. We are Yours.
What is God calling you to do?
This prompt invites kids to think about how God calls us to action — not just big, dramatic moments, but everyday obedience. Listen for what intimidates them, what makes them hesitate, and use their answer to talk about how God's presence goes with us even when we don't have all the answers.
In the sermon, Joshua was told to go take the land — but God didn't give him a map or tell him exactly how it would all work out. He just had to trust and go. What is something God might be calling you to do right now — maybe helping a friend, being brave at school, being kind to someone who's hard to like — even though you don't know exactly how it will turn out? What makes you nervous about it?
Answering God's Call Together
- What call from God have you been hesitating to answer because you wanted more clarity first? What did the sermon stir in you about that hesitation?
- Where is God calling us together as a couple—in our home, our service, our witness—and where might we be waiting for complete certainty instead of trusting His presence to guide us?
- How can we pray for each other this week to have the courage to say yes to what God is asking, even when we can't see the whole path ahead?
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Why this verse: This verse is the sermon's load-bearing promise: God's command to answer His call comes with the guarantee of His presence, not prior clarity. Joshua received only the command to act and the assurance that strength would come through God's faithfulness—the pattern every Christian must follow when answering their own call.
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# Cross of Grace Church A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible. ## Sermons - [Grace For All Life (Luke 19:28-40, 2025-04-13)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/04/grace-for-all-life) - [Choose Your Own Adventure (Psalm 1, 2025-04-27)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/04/choose-your-own-adventure) - [Chased By a Lion (Psalm 2:1-12, 2025-05-11)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/05/chased-by-a-lion) - [Answer the Call (Joshua 1:9, 2025-05-18)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/05/answer-the-call) ## About - [About the church](/about) - [Plan a visit](/visit)
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