September 6, 2020 Sermon
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Ok, let’s pick up from where we left off last week. Last week we talked about the big moment of decision Rahab had. She chose to protect the spies instead of the city and people she had always known. She chose to trust in faith what God had revealed to her.
Remember, Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to figure out how to defeat the city. The king of Jericho quickly figured this out and set out to find the men. They hid at the home of a prostitute and she lied and helped to protect and hide the men. In return the men granted her request, promising to spare all that took refuge in her house.
The two spies returned to Joshua and all Israel
23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them.
24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”
Now the challenge before Joshua and all Israel is to cross the Jordan River to head to take Jericho. Remember again Jericho was about a little closer to the Jordan river than we are to the Wabash river here at Cornerstone.
So the entire group that is Israel sets out toward the Jordan river
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
The Jordan river was like the Wabash river. Think reasonably deep and wide. The difference was, there were no bridges to help the people cross like we have over Wabash. So how were the people going to cross?
How to cross the Jordan River
How to cross the Jordan River
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.
Now as a reminder the ark was a box of wood covered in gold. Inside the box were stone tablets on which God has written the ten commandments. On top of that was the mercy seat. This was a slab of gold covering the box. On either o end of the box there was a cherub looking down at the mercy seat. The mercy seat on top of the ark was where the priest would spread the blood of the sacrifice to make atonement for the sins of the people.
The ark represented God’s presence with the people and it represented how God was making a way for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. The ark was also a physical way for the people to know they would succeed in Canaan by following the Lord.
Do you have physical reminders in your life to remind you that your success is found in following God?
Do you have physical reminders in your life to remind you that your success is found in following God?
The people had to keep their distance.
The people had to keep their distance.
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.”
Ok, without finding the answer in your Bible or app....how long do you think that was? Anyone?
That’s about 3,000 feet! That’s over half a mile that the people of Israel had to walk behind the priests carrying the ark!
The ark was both a close, physical reminder of God’s present love for Israel but it was a also a reminder that God’s glory demands respect and sometimes distance.
In order to rightly know God we must respect the balance between His close presence and His fearsome glory.
For those of you who read the chronicles of Narnia remember a conversation C.S. Lewis wrote about Aslan the lion (Who represented Jesus in the story.)
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
We must know God as the Father who loves us but also the king we must respect.
God would open the waters
God would open the waters
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.
Wow!
Take note of verse 15..the water was at flood stage. Think of how the Wabash river flood regularly. That’s the river that Israel was looking at!?
God did two miracles here:
He somehow stopped the waters and then he dried the ground so the people could walk and roll their belongings over.
Can you imagine years of mud dried in a second? Can you imagine the Wabash Flooding river gone in a moment?
How can we believe this? How did this happen that God interrupts the laws of nature like this? Look again at verse 13.
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.”
God is described here as “the Lord of all the earth.” If He is Lord of all the earth He has power and right to interrupt the natural laws to work miraculously.
I wonder also how big the gap was that God created. The people had to cross the river and stay half a mile away from the priests.
And yet God did it.
What was the point of crossing the Jordan river in this way?
What was the point of crossing the Jordan river in this way?
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.’ ”
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.
God wanted to show the people that He was with Joshua just like He was with Moses. God wanted the people to trust Joshua.
Also, God wanted the people to gain confidence in the power of God to help them defeat their enemies. The logic being if God could do something as crazy as stopping a river for His people, what else would God do?
Learning from the Crossing.
Learning from the Crossing.
Seek God’s Plan
Seek God’s Plan
Israel found hope and success in following God’s word. You can and will find hope and ultimately success in following God’s Word. Spend time knowing God’s word!
Relearn Reverence
Relearn Reverence
Israel had to remember the importance of revering the power of God. No matter how much God showed His love to Israel, He always taught them the importance of reverence.
The Bible teaches that some Angels exist eternally in the presence of God. Angels are insanely powerfully creatures that typically scare the pants off humans when they show up. And yet when the Bible talks of angels in God’s presence they revere God.
What does reverence mean? It is a sense of deep respect. It is a sense that some things we don’t joke about. It is praying to God with familiarity but heaps of humility.
Trust God with Action
Trust God with Action
God only parted the river after the priests stepped into the water. Can you imagine carrying the most important thing for your country on your back and stepping into the mud of a river? It took a lot of faith to step out.
Sometimes the moment we see the greatest work of God is after we step out in faith. It’s after we obey Him and take action that He shows us how trustworthy He is!
Where is God calling you to trust Him with action?
Could you carve time out of your busy schedule for more time in prayer?
Could you volunteer to serve in some way at church to be used to reach more people for the Lord?
Could you talk about faith with that friend you pray for regularly?
Could you have that hard conversation you know God wants you to have with your spouse.
See A Picture of God’s Salvation
See A Picture of God’s Salvation
All the Israelites had to do was walk past the ark into the new land God had for them. Men and women our sins stand as a barrier as massive as the Jordan River…bigger even. Throughout history people have looked at that river and thought they could beat it....it didn’t look that hard. None have succeeded.
All God asks of us to let us cross the river of our sin is to look to and trust in Jesus. Through Jesus we can walk past a lifetime of sins and pains and find peace with God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God still has plans for you individually and us as a church. He calls us to trust in Him.
He calls us to seek His plan through His Word and prayer.
He calls us to relearn reverence.
He calls us to trust Him with action.
He calls us to see pictures of His salvation through scripture.
Will you follow God today