Having Faith Without Fear
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Faith Without Fear - Walking In The Word
Faith Without Fear - Walking In The Word
Maintaining Fearless Faith
Lesson 4: Having Faith Without Fear
1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:
2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;
5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12 And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
13 About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”
18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
22 then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’;
23 for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over,
24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
After the Israelites cross the Jordan River through a miracle, the Lord tells Joshua to do something that will encourage people to have faith without fear. He tells Joshua to pick one man from each of the twelve tribes. Each man is to take a stone from where the priests carrying the ark are standing in the middle of the Jordan River. Then, they are to stack the twelve stones in the place where they will sleep that night. When people of the future ask what the stones mean, they should tell them about how the Israelites miraculously crossed the Jordan River
1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:
2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;
5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
In the last part of Joshua 4:7
7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
For at least three reasons, we all need memorials in our lives to keep our faith strong.
To make us think about the past
Joshua 4:8-14
(4:8-14)
8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12 And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
13 About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 Now it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
After putting up the memorial stones at their camp, the chosen men also put up 12 stones where the priests stood in the middle of the river
(4:9).
To keep our faith without fear, we need reminders of all the good things God has done.
We can't live in the past, but also we can't forget the wins we've had in the past. Memorials make us think back on the past. Jesus knew how important it was to have a strong faith and not be afraid of it. So, when Jesus set up the Lord's Supper in Luke 22:19c, This is what he says
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Because we can lose faith, we need to remember how much Jesus gave up for us. When we take the Lord's Supper, it reminds us of how much God loves us and makes us want to "live without fear."
Gilgal
Gilgal
The Israelites set up their camp at Gilgal (4:19), which seems to have become their main base of operations (9:6, 10:6; & 14:6).
At Gilgal, This is where Samuel held court (1 Sam. 7:16).
Gilgal is where Saul, Israel's first king, was made king (1 Sam. 11:14-15). When Elijah was taken to heaven by God in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were leaving Gilgal (2 Kings 2:1, 11).
Gilgal was west of the Jordan River and thought to be about two miles east of Jericho.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
When things were hard or even scary, the Israelites could look at the memorial stones and remember how strong and reliable God was.
The memorials also show that miracles like these will be rare in the future. We need to keep this in mind today. If you look closely at the miracles in the Bible, you'll notice that they tend to happen during important times in the Bible's history.
Miracles are linked to the Exodus, the taking of the Promised Land, and some of the prophets. Most of the prophets, on the other hand, never did a single miracle. In the Old Testament, hundreds of years went by without a single miracle being done. Only when Jesus and the apostles were alive did miracles happen all at once.
Miracles have always been used to prove who God's leaders or messengers are when things are very hard for God's people. This is what the miracle of damming up the Jordan River was all about. So God says this to Joshua
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
There aren't many miracles in the Bible. Most of the most important saints in the Bible never did anything amazing.
41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.”
In John 10:41, people say about that “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.”
Here’s the deal , take note, unlike what the miracle-working TV evangelists say, none of the people through whom God did miracles made money or had ministries that made millions of dollars because of the miracles. I’m gonn leave that right there!
The Israelites followed the ark of the covenant across the Jordan River. Forty thousand armed fighting men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led them (Josh. 4:12-13).
Only a small number of the warriors from these two and a half tribes were shown here. Now, When the count was done in the book of Numbers, there were more than 136,000 fighting men over the age of 20 in these tribes
7 These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them: forty thousand five hundred.
34 These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
To protect their families, the rest of the men stayed on the east side of Jordan. These tribes had a lot of animals, so they asked Moses if they could stay on the east side of the Jordan River, where there was good pasture land. Moses said yes, but only if they helped take the Promised Land first. After that, they could go back. These fighting men were probably at the front of the line because they didn't have families or goods to carry, so they could move and fight more easily.
As I mentioned previously, miracles happened in the Bible at important times to prove that a person was God's leader or messenger. So, on that day, Joshua became a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites because of what the Lord did.
As they had done with Moses, they were in reverence and respect of Joshua for the rest of his life .
Up until now, Joshua had been a humble, obedient servant who had worked in Moses' shadow.
In Matthew 23:12, our Jesus made a promise that this would happen.
12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
To keep our faith without fear, we need memorials to remind us of the past and...
To give us hope in the present
15 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”
18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.
After everyone has crossed, the Lord tells Joshua to tell the priests carrying the ark to come out of the Jordan. They were the first to get there and the last to leave.
16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”
18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.
As soon as they leave the river, it goes back up to flood level .
Imagine how the Israelites must have felt as they watched the raging river block their way. You can't turn back now! They have left the bodies of their parents, grandparents, and Moses, in the desert.
God is still there even though Moses is dead, so they can't go back.
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
We can't follow Jesus well if we have different goals, just like a farmer can't look back while he's plowing. There are times when we have to move on and not look back. It could be moving to a new city, getting a new job, going away to college, getting married, or losing someone close to you. We can't go back in time like the Israelites, who had to watch the raging river close behind them. But we can be sure that the same God who was with us in the past will still be with us now.
To keep a fearless faith, we need memorials to remind us of the past, encourage us in the present, and help us remember what God has done for us so In the future, we can teach other people .
Now, on the tenth day of the first month, which is our March or April, Joshua leads the people to Gilgal, which is east of Jericho. There, he puts up the twelve stones he took from the Jordan River.
Joshua then tells the Israelites that when future generations ask about the stones, they should tell them about the miraculous crossing of the Jordan and the Red Sea (4:19-23).
But the memorial stones are used for something else. They also told everyone on earth that the Lord is strong, so that they would always fear the Lord (4:24).
24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”
The Hebrew word that we translate as "fear" (yr', yaw-ray') has many different meanings that can't be summed up in a single English word. These meanings include submission, obedience, and reverence.
This shows that God cares about people who don't know Him.
Rahab put her faith in Jehovah God after hearing about such miracles
10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
One of the main reasons God chose Israel was so that they could tell the rest of the world that He is the only true God.
4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
God gives us examples of how to live without fear that we can share with our children and grandchildren. But these memorials are also meant to be a sign to the rest of the world. We have a much better memorial than the twelve stones.
It's the Bible, which has a detailed record of God's miracles and a history of our spiritual ancestors.
The cross on top of the steeple and over the baptismal font in many of our churches is another important reminder. It is a memorial for Christians all over the world.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This cross reminds us of what truth we are supposed to share with the world the Jesus died for us
When a lost person asks about the memorial, we should be ready with a short presentation of the Gospel, such as
"The Roman Road to Salvation" (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; & 12:1).
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
We need memorials to remind us of the past, encourage us in the present, and teach others in the future so that we can keep our faith without fear.