Next: Crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3)

Introduction

Faith in action is supported and empowered by Christ. George Muller of Bristol exemplified the nitty-gritty of a life of faith. We had mentioned him last week as God miraculously provided for his orphanage. After being a wild youth, George had been converted in his early twenties. He lived in a manner that the world could not fathom, a life of faith and obedience to God. He and his wife sold all of their earthly possessions, founded their orphanage, and lived by faith alone. They often faced insurmountable problems that were overcome by faith in God’s power.

In 1877, Muller was on board a ship that was stalled off the coast of Newfoundland in dense fog. The captain had been on the bridge for 24 hours when Muller came to see him. Muller told him that he had to be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon. The captain replied, “It is impossible.” “Very well,” said Muller, “if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way-I have never broken an engagement for 52 years. (Talk about being punctual) Let’s go down to the chart room and pray.” The captain wondered what lunatic asylum Muller had escaped from. “Mr. Muller,” he said, “do you know how dense this fog is?” “No, my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, Who controls every circumstance of my life.” Muller knelt down and prayed simply. When he had finished, the captain was about to pray, but Muller put his hand on his shoulder, and told him not to: “First, you do not believe He will; and second, I believe He has, and there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.” The captain looked at Muller in amazement. “Captain,” he continued, “I have known my Lord for 52 years, and there has never been a single day that I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, captain, and open the door, and you will find the fog is gone.” The captain walked across to the door and opened it. The fog had lifted.

Have you heard the saying, “no good deed goes unpunished.” Doesn’t it feel that oftentimes? You’re trying to help someone. You’re trying to obedient to God, and then, well, “no deed goes unpunished. The power and presence of God can feel left for times of crisis or loss. We run to God in these times. Today, as we continue today in our series in the book of Joshua, we look at God empowering his people during a time of mission and obedience. The book of Joshua is a book of triumph and transition. It’s a book of moving forward as God’s People look to what is next for them. As we look at what God has next for the Israelites and for Joshua, we look at what God has next for us. What he has next for us both individually and corporately. Last week, we learned about how God works in the most unusual ways with people we’d never expect to accomplish his work. Today, we see that mission flows from the empowerment of Christ. How does God empower his followers? God empowers Joshua and the Israelites in a different ways. Just as he empowers us today.

God affirms Joshua’s position.

God tells Joshua in verse 7, “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.” God has already chosen and appointed Joshua to lead his people. Joshua coordinated the spy mission of the previous chapter. Now, God goes to him again. Joshua undoubtedly is feeling the weight of the moment. Taking over for Moses, the one who had delivered them from Egypt. Now Joshua has a major task before him. Sure, they are moving into the land that God had promised them, but they are also facing well-armed and well-fortified armies. Frankly, when we think about the position that Joshua is in, it might feel a lot like where we might be spiritually. Sure, we have powerful weapons as believers. We have the inspired Word of God to teach us, his community to support us, and prayer to communicate with God. But, we also face powerful enemies. Enemies such as the sin that taints our world, seen everyday as we watch the devastation in Ukraine. Just turn on the TV or read a news article about that invasion and you see the depth and breadth of sin. But bringing it closer to home, we also face powerful enemies like that sin that we have fought against our entire life and can’t seem to defeat. But God has a powerful trump card to play on our behalf.

In the classic TV show, Andy Griffith, Deputy Barney Fife comes across two strong farmers who were selling their products illegally. When the skinny deputy tries to stop them, they push back, bully him, and try to show how much bigger and stronger they are. So Barney says, “You're both a lot bigger than I am. But this badge represents a lot of people. And they're a lot bigger than either of you. Now are you going to get movin'?”

What Barney tells those farmers is similar to how God supports us. In Ephesians 1, Paul tells us who we are because of Christ. God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He chose us in him. He made us holy and blameless. He adopted us as his children. We have received redemption through his blood. We are his beloved. We are who we are, not because of what we say about ourselves. We are who we are because of what Christ has done for us and who Christ says we are, as his beloved children. The first way God empowers his people is by declaring who they are in light of who he is.

God’s presence is tangible.

Joshua’s officers tell the people starting in verse 2, Joshua 3:3 “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.” The Ark of the Covenant may be the most notable piece of this story. It’s mentioned 10 times in 17 verses. The Lexham Bible Dictionary tell us that “the Israelites believed the ark of the covenant was symbolically Yahweh’s throne—representing His very presence on earth.” The Ark of the Covenant represented both the reign and the presence of God. The Ark was important for Jewish rituals and for miracles that occurred, such as the miracle in verses 15 and 16. One commentator has said, “as the footstool to the heavenly throne, it signifies not only the presence of the Lord but specifically His covenant, which means His commitment to His promises as well as the consequent obligations of Israel.”

Today, for us, it looks different. The presence of the Holy Spirit can often be emphasized the most during times of loss, trauma, or pain. But what about during “normal” times or in moments of advancing God’s mission? Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 28:20, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It means that we don’t need to relegate the work of the Holy Spirit to the sensational, the traumatic, or the crises of life. Instead, God’s presence is with us also in the simple and the routine. And oftentimes being on mission is not so much the exciting moments of a new believer professing faith, but simply the moments of connecting with unbelievers or loving our community. The presence of Christ isn’t relegated to the sensation, Christ is at work in the simple. God’s presence was tangible to the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan, and his presence can be tangible for us.

God affirmed his power over the elements.

Verses 15-16 say that, “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), 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.” It can be a little tricky to understand what is going on here. Earlier on in the Israelite journey, the Egyptian Army was bearing down on them as they arrive at the Red Sea. Trapped, God intervened and gave them dry ground on which to cross the Sea. But as Pharoah’s Army followed them, God closed the waters again and the entire Egyptian Army was destroyed. This time around, no one dies. But, God does show his sovereign power over the elements. The Crossing of the Jordan was empowered by God’s provision, as he stopped the water of the Jordan from flowing and the Israelites crossed over. We serve a God of power and of miracles.

A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper, and the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. “Young man,” said the professor, “if you can tell me something God can do, I will give you a big, shiny apple.” The boy thought for a moment and then replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!” The professor got owned by the boy. So how do we understand this today? When God calls us to mission, he will support that mission. Generally, this doesn’t mean the sensationalism that attracts so many. Instead, the power of God is more often seen in the normal. In changes of heart that we might say would never happen. Or in healed relationships that would be seen as hopeless. We serve a God of power and miracles. The Israelites needed to Cross the Jordan. God had told them to do it. God enabled them to do it. God is powerful. God is in control, and God supports what is Next for the mission of his church.

Conclusion

So here we see how God supported his People as they moved into what was Next for them. God affirmed Joshua’s position as their leader. God’s presence was tangible. Finally, God affirmed his power over all things. One person has used band to illustrate, crossing over. The band, Jars of Clay did it. So did Sixpence None the Richer, Pillar, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Switchfoot. Any 90s Christian music fans here? Crossover is a music industry term. It refers to acts that "cross over" from one music category to another. When Jars of Clay, for example, scored a major hit with their song "Flood," they crossed over from the contemporary Christian music charts to the pop music charts. Sixpence did the same thing a couple of years later with their song, "Kiss Me” and now Switchfoot’s “Mean to Live” is a crossover hit. When a contemporary Christian music act crosses over, the pop charts are like "uncharted" territory. The experience presents all sorts of challenges, not the least of which is contending for the faith within a more hostile environment. The people of God have been "crossing over" into unfamiliar territory for many millennia. When the nation of Israel was preparing to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the territory was unfamiliar. So God directed the Levites to carry the Ark of the Covenant first, representing God's presence with His people, and the Israelites were to follow them. The same advice works for us today. When we cross into unfamiliar territory--from high school to college, to a new job or a new home, from church the way it’s always been to church the way God desires it to be, remember that God is with you. As Genesis 28:15 says, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

In a recent updates from our missionaries, the Bibles in Ukraine, Diane says, “as I read my Bible and meditate on the verses that are in my review—it’s all so alive. Today I read in Exodus the glorious victory of the Israelites going through the Red Sea and the Egyptians being drowned, their songs of victory and praise, and how long after? Complaints and whining. We think, if only God would deliver Ukraine, we would be thankful forever! Well, not without working at it! How quickly we forget God’s answers, His graciousness, Abe and I have years of practice praising the Lord. We’ve made it a high priority. Yes, sometimes we’ve lost our way. But the habits we build into our lives stand good for us when the pressure is on. So, we praises the Lord now, daily, frequently, not because of the circumstances, certainly not—but because He is praiseworthy always. I beg Him every day for the deliverance of us, because it is only through Him it will happen. But I don’t wait for Him to answer that prayer. One of my precious verses: Psalm 71:14, “But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more.” Mission flows from the empowerment of Christ. Our missionaries in Ukraine, the Bibles, have experienced it in light of an unprovoked Russian invasion. Today they are thanking him today for already showing up for them amidst the crisis that surrounds them. How do you need the power of Christ to work in and through you as you looks towards what is Next?