Preached at Mountain Valley Chapel in Gold Bar, Washington on January 4, 2026 by Pastor Chris Buscher.

Every generation faces a moment where staying feels safer than moving, even when staying is slowly destroying them.

This message opens with the true story of Centralia, Pennsylvania, a coal town that did not collapse overnight. A fire started underground in 1962. You could not see it. Life continued. People stayed because it was familiar. 60 years later the town is almost completely abandoned, and the fire is still burning beneath the surface.

Destruction rarely announces itself. Many times it begins with hesitation. Sometimes the greatest danger is not what is in front of us, but what is underneath us. God’s warnings are not threats. They are mercy. And there comes a moment in the walk of faith where God stops explaining and starts commanding movement.

From there, we step into Joshua 1. Moses is dead. Forty years of wandering are over. A new generation is standing on the edge of the Jordan River, staring at a promise they almost missed once already. God does not ask for opinions. He does not take a vote. He gives a command: “Now therefore arise.”

In this message, we walk through three truths that confront settling and call God’s people forward:

1. Lingering in Yesterday Delays Obedience Today
   Honoring the past must never become disobedience in the present. Moses was faithful, but his season was over. Yesterday may feel safe and familiar, but obedience always lives in today. Memory or movement. Comfort or obedience. God makes it clear that the future cannot be reached by lingering in yesterday.

2. Courage Is Commanded Because Fear Is Expected
   God does not wait for fear to leave before He commands obedience. Fear is normal. Fear is expected. But fear does not get a vote. Joshua was not fearless. He was obedient in the middle of fear. Scripture shows us that delaying, compromising, and hesitating disqualify progress far faster than fear ever could.

3. God’s Promises Require Movement, Not Agreement
   The promise was already given, but possession required movement. An entire generation believed in the promise, talked about the promise, and sang about the promise, yet never stepped into it. Promises do not activate by agreement. They activate by obedience. Every place your foot treads. Not every place you agree with God about.

This sermon is a call to Mountain Valley Chapel, and to every believer listening, to refuse to settle between Egypt and the promises of God. We may not always be fearless. We may not always feel ready. But we will be faithful.

The only question that remains is this: will we simply agree with God, or will we move with Him?

Main Scripture: Joshua 1:1-9

Additional Scripture: Hebrews 10:35-39