Sermon Tone Analysis

Guidelines for a Great Future

Joshua 3:1-4:24 (Initial Reading: Joshua 3:1-13)

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 5, 2013

BACKGROUND

*When the Children of Israel were living in Egypt, they were forced into brutal slavery by the Pharaohs.

But God heard the cries of His people, and in Exodus 3&4, the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush.

There God called Moses to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

*When the Lord called Moses, He knew that Pharaoh would resist letting the people go.

And God promised to send terrible judgments on Egypt.

In Exodus 3:18-20, the Lord said to Moses:

18. . .

"You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

19.

I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

20.

So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.

*Those wonders came in the form of 10 terrible plagues that God sent on Egypt, ending with the death of the firstborn of all men & beasts, except those protected by the blood of the Passover.

*Pharaoh then let God’s people go, but quickly changed his mind, and planned to crush them when they were trapped against the Red Sea.

But God miraculously parted the sea so that His people could safely cross over.

Pharaoh’s army was then crushed by the collapsing wall of water that had been held back by the Lord.

*God then gave His Law to the Israelites, and led them right up to the edge of the Promised Land.

But tragically, most of those people refused to trust the Lord's ability to give them the Promised Land.

So they spent the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

By today's Scripture all of that generation has died except for Joshua and Caleb.

But a new generation was ready to move forward into the Promised Land.

With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Joshua 3:1-13.

INTRODUCTION

*It's graduation time, and that's a big, big deal.

We honor our graduates today!

Graduating from high school or college is surely one of life's greatest milestones.

*But what about after graduation?

How can we keep moving forward in life?

-We need some guidance, and the best place to get it is the Word of God.

-In this Scripture, the Lord gives us 3 guidelines for a great future.

1.

First of all: Follow God's footsteps.

*This is the wisdom we can find in Joshua 3:2-4:

2. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp;

3. and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

4. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure.

Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.''

*"You have not passed this way before."

That's easy to see at graduation time.

But in a sense, it's true for all of us every day.

Every day is a brand new day.

And we have no idea what the day will hold for us.

How are we going to know where to go, and what to do? -- The answer is: Follow the Lord.

*You see, when the Children of Israel were told to follow the Ark in vs. 2, they weren't just following a box.

Of course the Ark was a box about 2 feet high, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long.

It was covered with gold, with two angels facing each other on the top.

And it looked something like this: [Ark PIC]

*There were some amazing things inside that Ark: The Ten Commandments written on stone by the finger of God, Aaron's rod that miraculously sprouted buds, blossoms and ripe almonds overnight, and a golden pot of Manna.

*Manna, of course, was the miraculous food provided by the Lord to feed the Children of Israel on their 40-year journey in the wilderness.

Psalm 78:23-25 explains:

23.

Yet He (i.e. the Lord) had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,

24.

Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

25.

Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.

*The Ark contained some amazing, miraculous things.

But what was most special about the Ark was the cover.

It was called the "mercy seat."

That was the most holy place where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled.

And that was the place where God came down and met with His people.

*The Lord spoke to His leaders, and revealed His glory there at the mercy seat.

So the Children of Israel weren't just following a box, they were following the Lord.

And that's what we should do!

*You see, God has a plan for our lives, and we have great potential, IF we will follow His plan.

The reason why the Children of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years is because they didn't believe what God had planned for them.

They got into big trouble, because they didn't follow God's plan for their lives.

And we always get into trouble when we don't follow God's plan.

*God has a plan for your life.

God has a place for you.

He was leading these people into the Promised Land.

And He has a place picked out for you.

*You could ask, "Where does God want me to be?"

I don't know if He wants you to be in Grayson or Great Britain.

But one thing I do know: God wants you to be close to Him.

*In vs. 4, the people had to stay 3,000 back feet from the Ark.

The Lord was reminding them that our sin separates us from God.

But Jesus Christ took our sins when He died on the cross for us.

And now we can get so close to Him that He will even come to live in our heart, if we will open our heart to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

*That's why in the New Testament, we hear God say things like:

-"I am with you always, even to the end of the age.''

(Matthew 28:20)

-"I will never leave you nor forsake you.''

(Hebrews 13:5)

-And "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

*God will lead you to just the right places in life as you closely follow His footsteps.

Sometimes you will face obstacles, just like these people faced that flooded river.

But you keep moving forward with God.

*He will help you cross over!

Jesus will help you cross over every obstacle you will face in this world.

Then one day, He will help you cross over into Heaven.

-If you want to have a great future, follow God's footsteps.

2. But also bear God's burdens.

*That's the second guideline for a great future: Be willing to bear God's burdens.

*In vs. 8, the Lord told Joshua: "You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.'''

*And in vs. 13, Joshua told the people: "It shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.''

*Then starting in vs. 14:

14.

So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

15. and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),

16. that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan.

So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

17.

Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.