Moving Forward

Intro

(Kyle and DeeAnn)

I like to travel.

I’ve had the chance to go to some really neat places.

Zavalla, Broaddus, lol jk.

I’ve been to Honduras, Germany, Romania...

Every-time I get to go to a foreign country, it’s like walking into a mirror world.

Still feels like earth but everything is a little different.

The language, roads, food, customs etc.

(Romania lost in car story, Honduras left in van story)

When you’re somewhere new you brain is actually more fully activated because things aren’t just default.

You are hyper aware. Off Auto-pilot.

But no matter where I go I tend to have a statement I say at some point, I can’t wait to get back to my bed.

It’s because it’s shaped like me… all my stuff is there.

Its the comfort of familiar.

I like to travel, and visit, but I don’t like to move.

packing up everything, Everything different...

We can be like that in life, our comfort can keep us from moving forward in to where God has for us.

Moving into new requires new thinking, new habits..

Most people stay in the condition and place they are in because the unknown of ahead, discomfort of change, and the comfort of familiar.

EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT OF PROGRESS.

I think this year represents new ground God has for you to take in your life, new places he has for you to do, new heights for him, new impact he want’s to make through you.

But so often that requires us to move out of the comfortable, known places we are.

We’ve been using the journey of God’s people the Israelites as our guidebook.

God had freed them from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt and is directing and bringing them into their very own land that he has promised them.

They are standing at the edge of walking into it. They can see it.

Only think in the way is the Jordan River.

sometimes there are some simple things separating us as well

Joshua 3:1 (NLT)

Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.

They are ready to take new ground, and move forward - they are told how to do it.

They would have to choose to embrace some discomfort.

If you’re ready to take new ground in your life and walk in what God has, this is for you and me too.

Joshua 3:2–5 (NLT)

Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp, giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”

Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.”

1. PUT GOD FIRST

God’s presence had to go before them. They move in response to God moving.

I’m sure sending the priest ahead wound’t have felt like the natural thing to do.

The engineers and builders could have went ahead to devise a plan on how to build a bridge over the river.

The explorers could have been sent out to find an easier spot to cross over.

The army commanders could have wanted to go ahead just in case they encountered any enemies along the way for protection.

But God told them, I’m going ahead of you. and when I do, great wonders are about to happen.

Sometimes our greatest tragedy in life is moving forward, without God at the first.

maybe he gets somewhere in the mix.

God isn’t a God that settles, he wants first place.

But walking in the places he has for us requires that he go first.

He gets first in our time.

In our relationships.

In our finances.

In it all.

This principle is all throughout scripture. Principle of the first fruits.

He gets the top spot.

He gets to go before anything else.

They were told to stay a half mile back...

They were to keep distance because of the holiness and the awesomeness of God.

They saw and knew God’s great value and worth.

If we understood who God was,

if we’re not putting god first we don’t understand his worth

But sometimes we can see him as another thing instead of as everything.

Jesus tells a parable and explains how we can be so caught up and worried about immediate things in front of us and then he says this:

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

How can you begin to put God first?

If were honest, have we undervalued his presence so he’s become a misplaced priority?

You’ve never traveled this way, they will guide you!

When he’s first, he will guide you.

Joshua 3:8 (NLT)

Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’ ”

Joshua 3:13 (NLT)

The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

2. TAKE A STEP

God was wanting to stop the flow of the water, create a way out of no way, make a miracle BUT they had to take the steps first.

Imagine their thoughts as their walking and nothing is happening.

Ok, were gonna drown or at least get really wet.

The waters stop and dry ground immediately formed, but only when their feet hit the water.

Some of us are waiting on God to move and he’s waiting on you.

If you’ll just take some steps to trust me, I’m meet you there. I’m so ready, it’s there.

You’ve felt God, you know his pull you just need to start stepping.

Make that phone call.

Create that budget.

Send that resume.

have that conversation

Set that alarm

God is ready to meet you faith with his faithfulness.

A miracle happened but their feet had to hit the water first.

Joshua 4:1–7 (NLT)

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’ ”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

Joshua 4:9 (NLT)

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.

3. GRAB A STONE

They set up 2 piles of stones.

One on the land for everyone to see, another one in the middle of the river.

They were creating a memorial.

A memorial is a moment to remember.

I know you’ve been to memorial services.

It was to remind them.

to remind them what God had done at that spot, he had come through.

But it was also to remind them that they were the same anymore.

The river was their dividing line.

Over on that side we were slaves and homeless, on the other side they were free and in their land.

We need to die to some old things and have a memorial service.

Today is my dividing line, I’m not the same. I am moving forward.

Matthew 16:24–25 (NIV)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Decide to let some things die so that you can move forward.

Die to your own will, your own power, your own plan, surrender to him.

Die to that past and hurt and pain.

When you look back you’ll be able to say, Wow look what God did.

I am not that person anymore. Not who I was.

I’m grabbing my rock today!! I’m not going back.

Can’t go back.

Won’t go back!

Like the stones there is so much that you will see and know God is at work, some thing are working below the surface.

There is so much you don’t see, but God has changed who I am.

Grab your stone.

CONCLUSION

I love to visit places and vacation.

But let’s not take a trip let’s make a move.

it will prob mean doing some things different.

What is God speaking to you today?