Be Strong and Couragous 3
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OVERCOMING OUR OBSTACLES
OVERCOMING OUR OBSTACLES
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over.
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.”
5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day 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 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.’ ”
9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”
10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.
13 And 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.”
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.
Intro: We have at sometime in our lives faces an obstacle that seemed impossible to overcome.
Cancer, divorce, family issues, way ware child, job. We all face obstacles in your life. ones that seem impossible to overcome.
Maybe someone has done something to hurt you, they broken your heart.
Maybe its an money issue, a lack of.
Whatever it maybe that you are facing that seems like it is impossible to overcome. God is in the business in overcoming the impossible.
When you put your trust and faith in God, He can do anything for you.
God brought Joshua and the Israelites to the Jordan River at the time of harvest! It harvest time know that at Gilgal the Jordan swells to an impassable width of almost one mile.
It was over almost 20 times wider than it normally would have been when Israel arrived. There was no way they could cross this river on their own!
Why couldn’t God have brought them there when the river wasn’t so wide?
That would have been to easy. They could have done that without God’s help.
They facing the Jordan River
How to you get through these impossible situations?
Keep your eyes on the Lord. (VS 1-4)
Keep your eyes on the Lord. (VS 1-4)
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over.
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.”
VS 1-2 Ealb on them
To overcome the obstacles in our life we need to understand God’s challenge in His message to us. His challenge involves our commitment to…
We are to keep our eyes on God, and follow Him.
VS 3-4
They needed to see the Ark of the covenant, get up and follow it.
When you face obstacles, you are to focus on Jesus. Don’t take your eyes off Him like Peter did.
The word was passed with in instructions . Follow the Ark of the covenant 2000 cubits (3000 ft)
VS 4 Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
This is a great statement. There obstacles you will face that you never faced before.
I seen people who have lost a child to death (sometimes an adult child)
I have faced some challenges at work that I have never faced before.
“Ark of the covenant”
In the wilderness they the Tabernacle. Big tent, a tent within the tent, “Holy of Holies” The ark of the Covenant was there.
3’-9” long- 4’ high-4’ wide
Made of acacia wood. Covered in gold.
4 corner ring for poles (gold) to go through of the Priest to carry it.
Top was called the Mercy seat. The presents of God dwelt there.
Also on top 2 Cherubs. Angels facing each other.
Picture of ark
In the Ark 3 items.
Arron's rod (budded) Symbol of Arron being the High Priest
10 Commandments.
manna in a gold pot.
The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. And it contents point to Jesus.
He is the High Priest , He fulfilled the law, He is the manna that came down from Heaven.
We have mercy through the cross of Jesus.
Through whatever obstacle face, keep your eyes of Jesus.
Hymn “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”
Peter walked on water, until He took his eyes off Jesus. (ELAB)
We have to gets our eyes off of our problems, and keep ours eyes on Jesus.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
They were to follow the Ark of the Covenant, but follow at a distance (3000’) so it was in view for all to see.
Prepare your heart before the Lord. VS 5
Prepare your heart before the Lord. VS 5
5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
“Sanctify yourselves” NASB “Consecrate”
Your to insure that you are as clean and holy before you face the overwhelming obstacle in your life
. They were to put away anything that was displeasing to the Lord. They were to examine themselves and get ready for the Lord to do something great for them.
“For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
We will never overcome obstacles in our life if we fail to and examine our life and insure that we are clean and ready for God to work with us and through us.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
It may very well be that you are overcome by the obstacles in your life simply because you have failed to take time to examine your life in light of this directive!
Sin will cause us to take our eyes off Jesus. Taking our eyes off Jesus will cause us to sin.
Your battles, your struggles, pain, heartaches, keeping your eyes on Jesus will bring you victory.
“Sanctify yourselves” NASB “Consecrate”
Hit the reset button.
There may be sin that you need to rid yourself of.
We need God to help us through our obstacles, but we need to be cleansed of our sin.
Sin will not only effect you life, it will effect others in your life.
The people of Israel were told to “Sanctify yourselves”
Step out on Faith.
Step out on Faith.
6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day 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.
The waters of the Jordan river would parted.
For the people to cross over to the other side.
To exalt Joshua.
Some the people may have been saying. Joshua is our new leader. He may be pretty good, but he ain’t no Moses.
The people needed to trust Joshua as he followed God.
8 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.’ ”
9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”
10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
Key to all this: VS 10 “By this you shall know that the living God is among you”
They about to walk up to the banks of the Jordan river to cross it. This was an impossible task. At least on their own.
But God was with them. He was in front of them. He was behind them. He was to the right of them. He was to the left of them.
We don’t have the Ark of the covenant, but we have Jesus.
Jesus is all-powerful, all-knowing and He is all-present. He knows what you are going through. He knows everything there is to know about it.
He reminds all of us…
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
HERE IS THE MESSAGE YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS MORNING IF YOU ARE GOING TO OVERCOME WHATEVER OBSTACLE YOU FACE TODAY:
The Lord is greater than any problem we have ever or will ever face in life. We need to remember that what the Lord has promised to do, He will accomplish!
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan.
12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.
13 And 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.”
Take up the Ark.
Keep your eyes on the Ark.
Step forward with the Ark.
When the Priest stepped to the river, the waters would stop flowing and the would be standing on dry land.
The Jordan was deep, it was wide, it was flowing fast. They could not pass over to the other side with out faith.
They had to get their feet wet.
What is God calling you to do that takes faith? God wants you to step out on faith. Get your feet wet.
Telling someone how to get saved. Step out of faith.
What ever you are facing. What ever it is God is telling you to do. Trust God, He has promised you an abundant life.
He promised the Israelite the land, they just had to take it.
He has promised you and me that He is always with us. You never have to face your obstacles alone.
You have to keep you eyes on he Lord. Prepare your hearts before the Lord. You have to step out in Faith.
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.
Think about this happening. Picture them cross on dry land. Doing the impossible.
The water (river) that was the obstacle that was hindering them was now gone.
This really happened.
When the priests obediently stepped into that raging river, it parted and God opened a path of dry ground through the waters for His people.
By the way, verse 16 says that the waters backed up to the City of Adam. This is some 20 miles north of where the children of Israel were crossing. God made a path through their Jordan that was more than adequate for His people.
What are you facing?
What is Go telling you to?
It may be an obstacle that seem impossible. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Follow Jesus. Step out in faith.