Crossing with Confidence
Notes
Transcript
Night 1: Moving Forward
Night 1: Moving Forward
Three people, two chairs
Robert with the vending machine
Circles. Stuck in a cycle. Israel in the wilderness.
The Jordan River Rules: The Same God Who Led You Out will Lead You On
Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the promised land
Crossing with Confidence. God will not just lead you out, but also lead you onward.
God intends for you to move forward.
After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: “Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.
God leads us in stages, steps, and in Person.
#1 God leads us in stages.
These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
Stages - from a baby to a child toddler. From an elementary-aged kid to teen years. From teen years to college/early career. From single to married. From one place to another. From one job to another. From young to old.
It’s normal for happiness, excitement, sadness, nervousness, and everything in between to be in each move/transition from one stage to the next.
“Prepare for what God is preparing for you.”
“The One who knows the way through the wilderness also knows the way into the Promised Land.”
“Be determined to move forward through the stages of life that God has ahead for you.”
#2 God leads us in steps.
I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.
“Life unfolds in stages, but we take it in steps.”
Life isn’t a mall escalator or an airport moving walkway.
“The only way of moving forward is putting your foot down- and making sure it lands on a promise. You can never claim Joshua 1:3 by standing still. You have to go forward, along the pathway of God’s promises.”
Standing on the Bible. Putting Bible verses in shoes.
Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.
Walk with God. Read the Bible and pray. Ask God what He wants from you that day. Walk by faith, step by step, “into the Promised Land of His good will for your life.” One Step at a Time. Walking step by step with Him.
“Put your foot down, make sure to plant it on a promise, and take the next step!”
Guy who “walked on water.” Had clear pedestals he was placing his feet on. You can’t walk on water, only Jesus has done that. But you can find the steps and promises upon which you can safely place each and every step.
#3 God leads us in Person.
No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.
The leader that the Israel people listened to and trusted for 40+ years, probably more like 50 years, was Moses. However, Moses was now dead.
Something better: God was with them.
I trust in God wherever I may be,
Upon the land or in the rolling sea;
For come what may, from day to day,
My heavenly Father watches over me.
He watches over you. He shows up in person to lead you.
Convo with missionary in Asia: “I evangelize terrorists” “Isn’t it dangerous?” “Yes” “Are you afraid?” “No. I have the Holy Spirit with me!”
“If you’re walking with God, you have the Holy Spirit with you. That should make a big difference, shouldn’t it?”
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
"In Greek, the word ‘leave’ is preceded by a double negative: ‘never, never will I leave you.’ The word ‘abandon’ is preceded by three negatives: ‘never, never, never will I abandon you.’”
“Why on Earth, then, are you and I ever insecure about anything in our lives? We have rivers to cross, challenges to face, problems to confront, giants to fight, [dragons to slay,] and promises to claim. But why should we be insecure afraid, or discouraged? We have a repeated promise from God, and the final repetition of it is underlined by doubles and triples of grace.”
Whatever comes or wherever you may be, God is leading you to move forward. He leads you in stages, in steps, and in Person.