UPRIVER (II)

UPRIVER REALITIES (II) Stand for the reading of God’s Word! JOS. 3:14-17 (NLT) “So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho. Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.” The Israelites got up that morning brought their entire family and made their way to the swirling waters of Jordan. It was the wet season and the river was out of banks. From all intense purposes this did not look like the time nor the place to cross. In fact this was a terrifying experience, it was a completely new experience, only Caleb and Joshua had crossed the river. Here is the thing about experiencing God’s upriver realities, normally for us it is not a good time to follow God’s sometimes abrupt plan for your life. But here is what we need to know! We will never encounter the good, the more, and the better that is coming, and awaits us in the new land if we wait until it looks promising to cross. Walking by faith and walking in obedience is neither pleasant or convenient. Leaving the familiar, crossing over to something better does not always appear to be most logical. Stepping out and stepping in is a fearful experience, yet it is a step that must be taken if we hope to step onward and upward. The priest who carried the ark of God stepped into the shallow east edge of Jordan. At first it appeared that nothing was happening. For that moment and I believe for many other moments following, absolutely nothing visible was altered on the water, in front or around them. Now what do they do, now what do we do? You stepped into the east edge of Jordan a few time haven’t you, at least I have? We stepped in and nothing happened and what did we do? We stepped back! And by stepping back we never crossed into the good land for our living. We just continued to wonder in this weary, woeful, wilderness. Everyone of us can relate to the fear of crossing for the first time, the second time, each time. I can relate, and I can appreciate your urge, your temptation to step back when nothing happens, after you step in. The priest step in and nothing happens now what do they do? Do they back off, and back out, do they drop the ark and go for dry land? Do they wait where they are, or do they step further in, and wait there. When nothing happens after you trusted and obeyed and you need something to happen, in my opinion this a very extreme, vulnerable place to be. Yet it’s where the priest were, and it is where we often are. How do we survive the in between? What do we do with the until, what do we do with the meantime? What the priest didn’t know, what the children of Israel didn’t know was as soon as the priest feet touched the water God worked a miracle on their behalf 30 miles upriver. Though the full force of the Jordan continued to parade by them, clearly preventing them from making a mass crossing, things were changing upriver. You stepped in a a week ago, a month ago and nothing is happening and you wondering, did I miss it, was my timing off? And because nothing has happened since you stepped in your thinking about stepping back. Hold on, God brought you here this morning to inform you, He is working up your river! Priscilla Shirer in one of her books writes this! ‘God was moving, God was doing something, though nothing in their physical field of vision could testify to it.’ So you have stepped in, you haven taken steps of faith and obedience. The water has gotten deeper with each step, and nothing has changed. Nothing in your physical field of vision has improved, has gotten better. And you say, ‘Lord where are you, Lord what are you doing’ God just wanted me to stop by and tell you this morning He is 30 miles up the river working a miracle on your behalf. He is damning up your disaster, God is pushing back what looks like is going to punish you over. He has already started doing stuff, that you can not see, you are unaware of, that you are clueless about. While you are sweating where you are standing, while you are fretting your next step, your crossing, God is 30 miles up your stream in a remote place working a miracle, it just hasn’t flowed by. It is there and it is then that God is drying up the river bed. Oh yes the water remains the same down stream where you are. But the reality up river is it’s already changed, and it’s going to change where you are. But if you step back, if you retreat, if you back off, and back away you’ll not encounter the blessing God has on its way. Just because the answer maybe far away from your sight doesn’t mean the answer is far away from you. How long is this going to take? So how fast does a river flow? The average speed varies based on several variables, but it’s about 8 mph. If that be true, and the town of Adam was 30 miles upriver from where they were, the Israelites were 3 hours and 45 minutes from The Promise Land. You say that is a long time to be standing knee deep in a raging river. Yes, but when you consider 40 years of wandering in a woeful, weary, wilderness that isn’t long at all. You stepped in and nothing happened, and now your about to step back. Your thinking this river is too dirty, it’s too deep, it’s too swift, this is too cold, it’s too much. I’m not going to argue that where you are is a lot to deal with, but when you consider the mess you came from, the mess you’ll be leaving by going on, and the mess you will inevitably go back to if you don’t go on, waiting God is not a bad idea. So what do we do in the in between, the until, the meantime, what do we do for 3 hours and 45 minutes? What do we do while we wait on God’s miracle to show up? What do we do while we are waiting on the upriver reality? REFLECT ON WHO IS IN THE RIVER WITH YOU! All we have talked about so far is how deep the water is, how long we have been in it, and how much longer do we stay. How about pausing and pondering who is in the river with us? The ark represented a number of things, but nothing any more significant than the symbolization of God’s presence with His people. Whose with you in the river? Whose with you while waiting? We spend way too much time looking at the river width, depth, current, and not enough looking at who is with us in the river. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. ... Do not be afraid for I am with you.” I read about some boys who walked in a fiery furnace and didn’t get burned, in fact they didn’t even smell like smoke. I read about some folks who walked through the sea and they didn’t get wet, in fact they didn’t even have mud on their sandals. I read about some people who didn’t have food, yet they ate all they wanted, in fact they took the leftovers home. Who is with you in the river? How many of you know that God is with you, and He’s doing something for you upriver? How many of you know that God is near when everything suggest that He is far? Just because the answer maybe far away from your sight, doesn’t mean the answer is far away from you. We spend way too much time looking down river at what has been, and not enough time looking up river wondering what will be. We spend too much time looking at the river and not enough at who is with us in the river. Somebody said the Presence of God won’t lead you no place that the grace of God won’t keep you. To be honest the Jordan River is not too difficult to cross most of the year. We think of the mighty Jordan to be like the Mississippi, or the Amazon River. It’s actually a modest stream, with periodical fords easily for crossing. But God brought them to the Jordan at this time of the year when spring rains and the melting snow from the Lebanon Mountains had filled it to out of banks. To cross during the flood season was unthinkable, but because God’s presence was with them, it was not impossible. God with you in your river makes your unthinkable not impossible. Did it ever occur to you that God lead you to this place, at this season of your life, just so He could show you His glory? And did it ever occur that you need to see His glory now at this river, so you can get across the next river? I’m not suggesting that God likes to show off like a 4 year old. But I am certain He lead you to this river and you probably feel like you are drowning. But you will not, He lead you here so you could see His glory in ways that you would never be able to see. So may I suggest cease fretting God’s timing of the miracle! May I suggest you change your focus from the water around you, to the One who is with you in the water! May I suggest you worship while, waiting and wading in the water! Three hours and 45 minutes isn’t long when you consider the lifelong mess you’re leaving, and the promised land you’re going to.