Joshua 3 Courage to Go
Notes
Transcript
Courage to Go
The Civil War-- going out to battle.
-marching in formation right at Gatling guns and cannons.
-Technology was changing quickly, yet they were still fighting like they did in the War of Independence and for centuries.
-Over 200,000 Americans died in those battles.
-How do you march in confidence knowing that the battle plan was flawed?
They find themselves marching to a bad place to cross the river at a horrible time.
-Joshua and Caleb are the only ones who witnessed the crossing of the Red Sea.
-A new generation had to trust the stories passed down to them about God.
It’s hard to take seriously stories from previous generations— and that generation was no longer alive
(Walking to school uphill both directions in the snow over their waste.)
-on the other side of the river was Jericho. -- Great walls.
A River and Walls— huge obstacles to their calling.
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp
3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.
4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today 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.
5 Reasons We Can Live With Courage
5 Reasons We Can Live With Courage
1. God is With Us (1-3)
1. God is With Us (1-3)
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp
3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.
Ark of the Covenant- Exodus 25:10-22 -
17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
Commandments- He shows us the way to live.
The Mercy Seat-- place of atonement or reconciliation. NIV= Atonement Cover. ESV note- Mercy Seat. Literally "the place that covers over"
It was how the covenant with Israel was going to work. Through blood coverings.
blood from sacrifice was sprinkled on the "atonement cover".
Reconciliation was the key provision of his covenant. They weren't strangers. They were family.
Sin separates— Mercy reconciles.
From this place God would speak through Moses to his people.
It is a picture of the greater work that was to come in Jesus.
Jesus is Immanuel= "God with Us"- he also becomes a greater sacrifice.
In order for God to be just as well as merciful, something has to pay the way for our sin. He provided that in the O.T. with the blood of animals to cover sin.
In the N.T. he provided a greater covenant. Not a justification that covers sin but a justification that completely removes sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Propitiation= to satisfy the wrath or satisfy the justice.
Because we are justified by Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.
Jesus left us so we could have something greater.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Early church was commanded to do nothing outside of the Holy Spirit.
2. God is Bigger Than Us (4-5)
2. God is Bigger Than Us (4-5)
4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Holy- separate- stay behind
Don't touch the Ark-
Maybe we take God too casually.
Use his name in vain.
Joke about God
Call him "the man upstairs" - an impersonal God of country music.
Think of him as best friend more than Omnipotent, Sovereign and Just.
5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing.
13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
God wants to bring blessing but he must be respected.
Consecration= Sanctification= purification.
If sin keeps us separate, and we are sinners, then we must be consecrated.
3. God is Leading Us (6)
3. God is Leading Us (6)
6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
They are not asked to do the miraculous. They are asked to follow God and he will do the miraculous.
Ark represented the people following God.
God gave the direction and the people followed.
The Bible is more than a good book. It is more than just commands. It is the way God wants us to live so he can take us where he wants us to go.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
4. God is Qualifying Us (7-8)
4. God is Qualifying Us (7-8)
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today 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.
8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ”
It was not their job to perform. It was their job to follow.
"stand still"= any of us can stand still.
3 young kids-- can't stand still.
many older kids can't stand still.
Why can't adults stand still? - impatience.
ILL-- Deer hunting with David
We are nothing outside of God. We are everything with God.
We are qualified because of the blood of Jesus.
Holy Spirit was given to us. He guarantees our salvation. He works our salvation. We are not allowed to work outside of the Holy Spirit.
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
Stop trying to do it in your own power.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Be Still= Stop your thriving; stop fighting.= surrender.
5. God is Using Us (9-17)
5. God is Using Us (9-17)
9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.”
10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man.
13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”
14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest),
16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.
17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Miracles cannot happen unless we step out in faith.
Someone needs to carry the ark.
EXP- All except two miracles in Acts take place outside of a church gathering.
God uses us. He had lots of options to take Jericho. He gave the people a part in the plan.
They cross the Jordan to give them one more reminder that it is God, not us.
He could have chosen many means to take the Gospel to the nations. He chose us.
It is time for us to step out in faith.
CONCLUSION
Do you have the courage to follow Jesus?
Do you have the courage to follow Jesus?
Obey his rules for salvation. - Satisfy his justice through the blood of Jesus.
Consecration- we cannot bring purification in our own power.
Follow his plan to bring salvation to the world.