Jubilee Community Church
Sunday Service
  • Reigning
  • Names Of God
  • You Love Me Anyway
  • How He Loves
  • God I'm Just Grateful
  • Open The Eyes Of My Heart
  • Prophesy Your Promise
  • Jesus Be the Name
  • Speak To The Mountains
  • Hard Fought Hallelujah

  • YOUR ENDING IS NOT GOD’S ENDING

    PRIMARY SCRIPTURE READING
    Deuteronomy 34:8–9 ESV
    8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
    Joshua 1:1–2 ESV
    1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
    Genesis 1:1 ESV
    1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
    John 1:1–3 ESV
    1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    INTRODUCTION — WHEN YOU COME TO THE LAST PAGE

    There are moments in life when it feels like you have reached the last page.
    A relationship changes.
    A season closes.
    Someone you love is gone.
    A door shuts.
    Something you prayed would continue comes to an end.
    A dream does not unfold the way you expected.
    And sometimes the most difficult thing about an ending is that we mistake the end of a chapter for the end of the story.
    But tomorrow, October 4, 2026, carries an interesting picture in the Jewish calendar.
    It is Simchat Torah, meaning “Rejoicing in the Torah.”
    In Jewish synagogues outside Israel, the annual Torah-reading cycle reaches its conclusion in Deuteronomy 34.
    Moses dies.
    Israel mourns.
    The Torah reaches its final verse.
    But then something remarkable happens.
    They do not close the scrolls and say, “It is finished.”
    They immediately begin again:
    “In the beginning God…”
    They go from Deuteronomy 34 to Genesis 1.
    From death—
    to creation.
    From an ending—
    to a beginning.
    And the accompanying prophetic reading from Joshua opens with God saying:
    “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise…”
    Church, there is a word in that for somebody.
    YOU MAY HAVE REACHED THE END OF A CHAPTER, BUT GOD HAS NOT REACHED THE END OF YOUR STORY.
    Some things really do end.
    Some doors really do close.
    Some people really do leave.
    Some seasons really are over.
    Faith does not require us to pretend they did not happen.
    God looked Joshua directly in the face and said:
    “Moses my servant is dead.”
    God acknowledged the ending.
    But He did not stop speaking there.
    He followed the ending with:
    “NOW THEREFORE ARISE.”
    I came to preach to somebody who has been staring at the last page:
    GOD IS GETTING READY TO TURN THE PAGE.

    MOSES IS DEAD — BUT GOD IS NOT

    Joshua 1:1–2
    “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise…”
    Imagine being Joshua.
    For forty years Moses had been the man.
    Moses confronted Pharaoh.
    Moses stretched his rod over the Red Sea.
    Moses went up Sinai.
    Moses received the Law.
    Moses spoke with God.
    Moses led Israel through the wilderness.
    When Israel thought about leadership, they thought about Moses.
    But now:
    Moses is dead.
    Joshua could have spent the rest of his life trying to recreate yesterday.
    But God did not tell Joshua:
    “Become another Moses.”
    God said:
    “Arise.”
    There are seasons when God will not allow you to live on yesterday’s revelation, yesterday’s victory, yesterday’s experience, or yesterday’s season.
    Not because yesterday was bad.
    Yesterday may have been glorious.
    But yesterday’s manna cannot sustain today’s assignment.

    HONOR WHAT WAS — BUT OBEY WHAT IS

    Some people cannot enter what God is doing because they are still mourning what God has finished.
    Israel was permitted to mourn Moses.
    There was nothing sinful about grieving.
    Deuteronomy 34:8 says:
    “And the children of Israel wept for Moses… thirty days…”
    But notice the next words:
    “…the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.”
    There was a time to mourn.
    And there was a time to move.
    Somebody needs to hear this:
    You can honor what was without living there.
    You can thank God for yesterday without trying to resurrect yesterday.
    You can appreciate the people who brought you this far without believing God cannot take you farther.
    Because Moses may be dead—
    BUT GOD IS STILL ALIVE.
    The instrument changed.
    The God of the instrument did not.
    The leader changed.
    The presence did not.
    The season changed.
    The promise did not.
    The chapter changed.
    The Author did not.

    THE PROMISE OUTLIVES THE PERSON

    There is something powerful in Deuteronomy 34.
    God showed Moses the land and reminded him:
    “This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob…”
    Think about that.
    Abraham was dead.
    Isaac was dead.
    Jacob was dead.
    And now Moses was dying.
    Yet the promise was still alive.
    Why?
    Because the promise never depended upon the lifespan of the person carrying it.
    It depended upon the faithfulness of the God who spoke it.
    NUMBERS 23:19
    “God is not a man, that he should lie…”
    People change.
    Circumstances change.
    Generations change.
    Leadership changes.
    Economies change.
    Governments change.
    Culture changes.
    But:
    HEBREWS 13:8
    “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    If God gave Abraham a promise and Abraham died before seeing its fullness—
    THE PROMISE DID NOT DIE WITH ABRAHAM.
    If Moses dies before Israel enters Canaan—
    THE PROMISE DOES NOT DIE WITH MOSES.
    God simply turns the page.
    Somebody ought to declare:
    “THE PROMISE IS STILL ALIVE!”

    GOD DOES SOME OF HIS BEST WORK IN DARKNESS

    Now watch what happens when the Torah reading begins again.
    You leave Deuteronomy:
    “So Moses the servant of the LORD died…”
    And return to Genesis:
    “In the beginning God created…”
    Genesis 1:2 says:
    “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
    Before creation had beauty—
    there was darkness.
    Before there was order—
    there was chaos.
    Before there was fullness—
    there was emptiness.
    Before there was light—
    there was darkness.
    But darkness was never evidence that God had abandoned the scene.
    Because the verse continues:
    “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
    I want somebody to hear this:
    JUST BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEE GOD WORKING DOES NOT MEAN GOD IS NOT MOVING.
    Before God spoke light—
    THE SPIRIT WAS ALREADY MOVING.
    Before you see the answer—
    God can already be moving.
    Before the door opens—
    God can already be moving.
    Before restoration appears—
    God can already be moving.
    Before you understand what comes next—
    THE SPIRIT OF GOD CAN BE MOVING OVER THE VERY THING THAT LOOKS EMPTY.
    Your darkness does not intimidate God.
    Your chaos does not confuse God.
    Your emptiness does not limit God.
    Because God specializes in standing over something that looks like nothing and saying:
    “LET THERE BE…”

    GOD SPEAKS TO WHAT DOES NOT YET EXIST

    Genesis 1:3
    “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
    This is the pattern of creation.
    God sees darkness.
    God speaks light.
    God sees emptiness.
    God speaks fullness.
    God sees disorder.
    God speaks order.
    God sees nothing visible.
    God speaks something into existence.
    Romans 4:17 describes God as the One who:
    “…calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
    You may be looking at your situation based upon what is.
    God can speak based upon what shall be.
    You say:
    “I don’t see a way.”
    God says:
    “Let there be.”
    You say:
    “I don’t know how this can change.”
    God says:
    “Let there be.”
    You say:
    “Everything looks empty.”
    God says:
    “Let there be.”
    And when God speaks—
    darkness has to respond.

    SOMETIMES GOD HAS TO CLOSE A CHAPTER

    Here is where this gets uncomfortable.
    We love Genesis 1 beginnings.
    But we do not always like Deuteronomy 34 endings.
    Yet sometimes you cannot reach:
    “In the beginning…”
    until you accept:
    “Moses my servant is dead.”
    There are things God may allow to end because their assignment in your life has been completed.
    Ecclesiastes 3:1 says:
    “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
    Not everything that ends was a failure.
    SOMETIMES IT FINISHED ITS PURPOSE.
    That will preach.
    We tend to think:
    “If it ended, something went wrong.”
    But Jesus said from the cross:
    **“It is finished.”
    Finished does not always mean defeated.**
    Sometimes finished means accomplished.
    Some seasons were never supposed to last forever.
    Some relationships were for a season.
    Some methods were for a season.
    Some assignments were for a season.
    Some struggles were for a season.
    And if you keep trying to reopen what God has closed, you may miss what God is opening.

    STOP TRYING TO LIVE IN A CHAPTER GOD HAS FINISHED

    Isaiah 43:18–19 says:
    “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing…”
    Notice God does not say the former things were evil.
    God had delivered Israel before.
    God had parted the Red Sea before.
    God had done miracles before.
    But He essentially says:
    “Do not become so consumed with how I moved yesterday that you fail to recognize how I am moving today.”
    Sometimes our greatest obstacle to the new thing is not the devil.
    Sometimes it is our attachment to the old thing.
    We know the old thing.
    We understand the old thing.
    We are comfortable with the old thing.
    But faith requires us to walk with God when He turns the page.
    You cannot keep rereading chapter five when God is writing chapter six.

    “NOW THEREFORE ARISE”

    Joshua 1:2 contains one of the most powerful transitions in Scripture:
    “Moses my servant is dead; NOW THEREFORE ARISE…”
    Notice what God did not say.
    He did not say:
    “Joshua, understand everything.”
    He did not say:
    “Joshua, figure out every detail.”
    He did not say:
    “Joshua, wait until you feel ready.”
    He said:
    “ARISE.”
    The Hebrew word translated arise, qum (Strong’s H6965), carries the idea of rising, standing up, establishing oneself, getting up.
    In other words:
    GET UP.
    Grieve—but get up.
    Cry—but get up.
    Process what happened—but get up.
    Learn from it—but get up.
    You may not understand it all—
    GET UP.
    You may not feel completely ready—
    GET UP.
    Because sometimes your next miracle does not begin with understanding.
    IT BEGINS WITH MOVEMENT.

    YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE

    When Israel prepared to cross Jordan, Joshua 3:4 says:
    “…for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”
    There are seasons where God leads you somewhere you have never been.
    That can be frightening.
    We like maps.
    We like predictability.
    We like knowing how things are going to work.
    But sometimes God says:
    “You have never been this way before.”
    Joshua had wilderness experience.
    But he did not have Promised Land experience.
    Joshua knew how to follow Moses.
    Now he had to learn how to lead Israel.
    Joshua knew how to gather manna.
    Now Israel would eat the fruit of Canaan.
    Joshua knew how to walk around the wilderness.
    Now he had to cross the Jordan.
    A NEW SEASON REQUIRES A NEW LEVEL OF FAITH.
    God does not always give you the entire map.
    Sometimes He gives you the next step.
    And when you take that step—
    He shows you another.

    THE JORDAN DID NOT OPEN UNTIL THEIR FEET TOUCHED IT

    This is important.
    At the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his hand and the waters divided.
    But at Jordan, something different happened.

    JOSHUA 3:13

    The priests carrying the Ark had to step into the water.
    Then the river stopped.
    That means the new generation experienced the miracle differently than the old generation.
    Do not demand that God repeat the method just because He has repeated the promise.
    **THE GOD IS THE SAME.
    THE PROMISE IS THE SAME.
    BUT THE METHOD CAN CHANGE.**
    At the Red Sea:
    Water opened—then they walked.
    At Jordan:
    They walked—then the water opened.
    Sometimes God says:
    “I showed you the miracle before you moved last time. This time I want you to move before you see the miracle.”
    That is maturity.
    That is faith.
    You step while the water is still flowing.
    You obey while the obstacle is still standing.
    You move while the answer is still invisible.
    And then—
    GOD MAKES A WAY.

    FROM GENESIS TO JOHN — “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD”

    Now we come to Jesus.
    Genesis opens:
    “In the beginning God…”
    John deliberately echoes that language:
    “In the beginning was the Word…”
    John takes us back beyond Bethlehem.
    Before the manger—
    the Word was.
    Before Abraham—
    He was.
    Before Moses—
    He was.
    Before Genesis 1:1—
    He was.
    John 1:3 says:
    “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
    Then John 1:14 declares:
    “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
    Here is our hope:
    THE GOD WHO CREATED IN GENESIS HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US IN JESUS CHRIST.
    The Word who spoke light into darkness stepped into our darkness.
    The Word who created life entered a world of death.
    The Word who made man took upon Himself humanity.
    And the Creator became our Redeemer.

    JESUS IS GOD’S ANSWER TO OUR GREATEST ENDING

    What is the greatest ending humanity faces?
    Death.
    Sin brought death.
    Romans 6:23 says:
    “For the wages of sin is death…”
    Death appears to be the ultimate period.
    The final page.
    The closed book.
    But then Jesus went to Calvary.
    They crucified Him.
    They laid Him in a tomb.
    They rolled a stone across the entrance.
    The disciples thought the story was over.
    THE 1st DAY said:
    THE END.
    THE 2nd DAY said:
    THE END.
    THE 3rd DAY said:
    THE END.
    But early Sunday morning—
    GOD TURNED THE PAGE!
    Matthew 28:6:
    “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.”
    The cross looked like an ending.
    BUT IT BECAME A BEGINNING.
    The tomb looked like an ending.
    BUT IT BECAME A BEGINNING.
    Death looked final.
    BUT JESUS TURNED THE GRAVE INTO A DOORWAY.
    Revelation 1:18:
    “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…”
    THAT IS WHY I HAVE HOPE!
    My hope is not positive thinking.
    My hope is not that everything will always go my way.
    My hope is not that I will never experience loss.
    MY HOPE IS JESUS CHRIST!
    Because if Jesus can walk out of a grave—
    THERE IS NO DEAD PLACE IN MY LIFE TOO DEAD FOR HIM.

    THE BIBLE ENDS THE SAME WAY IT BEGINS

    Now watch the entire biblical story.
    Genesis begins with creation.
    Revelation ends with new creation.
    GENESIS 1:1
    “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
    Then Revelation 21:1 says:
    “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”
    The Bible begins with a garden.
    The Bible ends with a restored creation.
    The Bible begins with the tree of life.
    The tree of life appears again in Revelation 22.
    The Bible begins before death enters.
    The Bible ends after death has been defeated.
    REVELATION 21:4–5
    “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…”
    Then He says:
    “Behold, I make all things new.”
    Not some things.
    ALL THINGS NEW.
    That is where history is headed.
    Church, our God is not simply the God who was.
    He is not simply the God who is.
    He is the God who is to come.
    APPLICATION — WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN GOD TURNS THE PAGE?

    LET GO OF WHAT GOD HAS FINISHED

    Stop trying to force life back into something whose season is complete.
    Thank God for what it taught you.
    Thank God for how He used it.
    Thank God for what happened there.
    Then trust Him enough to move forward.

    DO NOT ALLOW GRIEF TO BECOME YOUR IDENTITY

    Israel mourned Moses.
    But eventually:
    “…the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.”
    There is a difference between going through grief and building your house in grief.
    You may carry a scar.
    But the scar does not have to become your identity.
    Your identity is in Christ.

    LISTEN FOR GOD’S NEXT WORD

    After Moses died:
    “…the LORD spake unto Joshua…”
    God was still speaking.
    The old voice was gone.
    But THE VOICE was not gone.
    Sometimes we become so focused on what disappeared that we fail to hear what God is saying now.
    Ask:
    “Lord, what are You saying to me in this season?”

    GET UP

    There comes a moment when prayer must produce movement.
    There comes a moment when grieving must give way to obedience.
    There comes a moment when God says:
    “NOW THEREFORE ARISE.”
    Maybe that is your word this morning.
    GET UP AGAIN.
    Believe again.
    Pray again.
    Serve again.
    Dream again.
    Trust again.
    Worship again.
    Love again.
    Preach again.
    Build again.
    GET UP.

    STEP INTO THE WATER

    Do not wait until everything looks safe.
    Faith does not require perfect visibility.
    Faith requires confidence in the One who called you.
    If God said cross—
    STEP.
    If God said go—
    GO.
    If God said forgive—
    FORGIVE.
    If God said serve—
    SERVE.
    If God said begin—
    BEGIN.
    The water may not move until your feet touch it.

    GOD IS NOT FINISHED

    I believe there are people who walked into this room carrying a Deuteronomy 34 experience.
    Something ended.
    Something changed.
    Something did not turn out the way you expected.
    And you have been asking:
    “God, what now?”
    I believe the answer is found in Joshua 1:
    “NOW THEREFORE ARISE.”
    God is not asking you to pretend the past did not hurt.
    He is not asking you to deny what happened.
    He is saying:
    “Do not confuse what ended with who I AM.”
    Moses died.
    I AM still here.
    The wilderness ended.
    I AM still here.
    The manna stopped.
    I AM still here.
    The leadership changed.
    I AM still here.
    The chapter closed.
    I AM still here.
    And if I AM is still here—
    YOU STILL HAVE A FUTURE.

    LET GOD TURN THE PAGE

    Some of you need to give God permission this morning to turn the page.
    You have been holding the book open to a painful chapter.
    You keep rereading the betrayal.
    Rereading the disappointment.
    Rereading the failure.
    Rereading what they said.
    Rereading what you lost.
    Rereading what should have happened.
    And God is saying:
    “There is another chapter.”
    You cannot change what is written on yesterday’s page.
    But you can trust the One who holds tomorrow.
    Philippians 3:13–14:
    “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark…”
    Maybe today you need to say:
    “Jesus, I give You my yesterday.”
    “I give You what ended.”
    “I give You what hurt.”
    “I give You what I cannot change.”
    “And I trust You with what comes next.”
    Because the same God who said:
    “In the beginning…”
    is the same God who says:
    “Behold, I make all things new.”

    CLOSING

    Church, hear me:
    THE LAST PAGE OF ONE CHAPTER IS NOT THE LAST PAGE OF YOUR STORY.
    Moses may be dead—
    BUT GOD IS NOT.
    The wilderness may be over—
    BUT THE PROMISE IS NOT.
    The manna may have stopped—
    BUT GOD’S PROVISION HAS NOT.
    Yesterday may be gone—
    BUT GOD IS ALREADY IN TOMORROW.
    The chapter may have ended—
    BUT THE AUTHOR STILL HAS THE PEN.
    So when God turns the page—
    DON’T KEEP REACHING BACK TRYING TO TURN IT BACK.
    Stand up.
    Lift your head.
    Square your shoulders.
    Take another step.
    Because on the other side of:
    “Moses my servant is dead…”
    there is still:
    “NOW THEREFORE ARISE.”
    And on the other side of Deuteronomy’s ending—
    there is still:
    “IN THE BEGINNING GOD…”
    And at the end of everything—
    there is still Jesus declaring:
    “BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.”
    GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH YOU.
    GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH YOUR FAMILY.
    GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH THIS CHURCH.
    GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH YOUR CALLING.
    GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH YOUR STORY.
    HE IS JUST TURNING THE PAGE.
    “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”— C. S. Lewis
    Revelation 21:5 ESV
    5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
    WHEN GOD TURNS THE PAGE, DON’T BE AFRAID OF WHAT COMES NEXT.
    THE SAME GOD WHO WAS FAITHFUL IN THE LAST CHAPTER WILL ALREADY BE WAITING FOR YOU IN THE NEXT ONE.

      • Deuteronomy 34:8–9ESV

      • Joshua 1:1–2ESV

      • Genesis 1:1ESV

      • John 1:1–3ESV

      • Revelation 21:5ESV

Jubilee Community Church
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