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Intro
Last week we began looking at Joshua 3.
Joshua and the people rise from where they had settled and set out to the edge of the Jordan river.
They began moving towards the Jordan river to cross over into God’s promise to them.
Moving by faith in God’s word.
3:7-13
Joshua’s leadership affirmed.
God’s promise kept.
Verse 7 begins with the Lord speaking to Joshua.
God tells Joshua “Here is the first way that I am going to show that I am keeping my promise.
When Moses lead the people through the Red sea, this miracle magnified his position amongst them and showed his relationship with God.
The people had heard and seen what was going on with the other plagues and miracles while they were enslaved, but they weren’t in the room with Moses and Pharoah.
They were however all present to witness the parting of the red sea.
God is now going to do the same thing for Joshua.
In chapter 1, God told Joshua that He would not leave or forsake him in v. 5
and in v. 9 that He would be with Joshua wherever Joshua went.
God is going to keep this promise to Joshua through what He is about to do.
The great miracle that is about to happen, because of your faith, because of the peoples faith, will affirm you role as leader.
Commanding the people
After God has finished speaking to Joshua, Joshua turns to the people.
Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you....
If the people didn’t already believe that God was among them, working for them, Joshua now tells them that God is again going to reveal Himself through is work on their behalf.
God is going to drive out the
The ark will pass before you into the Jordan.
A miracle is about to take place.
Verse 12 seems a little out of order when we read the text.
That is because of the way Hebrew stories are often told.
Think for example the creation account in Genesis 1&2.
It tells of creation, how God creates man and woman, and then in chapter 2 goes into more detail.
The same thing is happening here.
We will see in chapter 4 what the purpose of choosing these 12 men will be.
The key to the peoples moving forward by faith into God’s promise begins with the priests that are carrying the ark.
The priests must be obedient and move.
To remind us again, the Jordan is a dangerous river to cross, it is one of the fastest flowing rivers for its size, and the river is at its flood stage.
By faith now, in the words that God has given to Joshua, the priests are to step into this raging river, while carrying the peoples most prized possession.
That took faith, that took courage.
Faith that God was in fact living among them.
Faith that the waters would subside and not sweep them away.
Can you think of a situation in your life that is similar that you may have been in, or are currently in?
As Christians today, we have things around us that seem to rage.
The wind blows, the storm may be great.
This type of faith brings to mind Jesus parable of building your house on the Rock.
How do we as Christians today, know that the living God is among us?
It may seem to us that it should have been easy for the people to believe in God during these times of the Bible.
God was actively doing very visible, mighty things.
The people had the Ark that was given to them to follow.
It contained the very words of God.
His law for His people.
We don’t have that but even without ark-like holy objects in our possession, God remains a powerful presence in our lives.
He channels that power through Scripture and empowers both the Word and God’s people through the Holy Spirit.
It might be nice to have a spiritual magic wand that would, on command, release wonderful blessings or unleash terrible destruction.
But Christians are not powerless.
even without ark-like holy objects in our possession, God remains a powerful presence in our lives.
He channels that power through Scripture and empowers both the Word and God’s people through the Holy Spirit.
It might be nice to have a spiritual magic wand that would, on command, release wonderful blessings or unleash terrible destruction.
But Christians are not powerless.
In Scripture they have the mighty Word of God, and in their midst moves the Spirit of God, both of which have power to work “amazing things” even today.
We still have have evidence that God is living among us.
We have the scripture, the mighty word of God, and we have the Spirit, both of which have power to work amazing things even today.
They may not be things like a river standing up during its flood stage but we have greater miracles.
We see the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of degenerate, sinful people, completely opposed to God, repenting, changing direction, to place their faith in the one and only true God.
The world hates Jesus followers because sin is so pervasive, deeply rooted into each and every person from birth.
The fact that we as believers are here at all, is evidence of God’s presence with us.
He convicts the world of its sin because (hoti) the people who constitute the world do not believe in Jesus (v.
9).
If they did believe in Jesus, they would believe his statements about their guilt and turn to him.
The righteousness, the good deeds of the world, are nothing but filthy rags without Christ.
The Presence of God has some serious implications for how we understand the church.
The church is referred to as a temple for a reason.
The temple in the Old Testament was where God’s presence dwelt.
The church today is each and every person that places their faith in Jesus for salvation.
Through this image, we see that the community of Christ is, in this time of waiting for Jesus return, the instrument that the Lord uses to spread his presence to a lost and sinful world.
You as a believer, or an instrument that God is using to spread His presence.
The church as a whole has a couple of clear purposes
To work within itself for the sanctification of its members.
To become more like Jesus.
The church works externally to share the gospel so that the lost may enter into the joy of God’s presence now and forever as well.
We work externally to share the good news that Jesus forgives brokenness, forgives hurt, forgives sin.
God has promised a future kingdom, a new heaven and new earth.
We move by faith towards that promise.
God is going to do miracles along the way for us to see.
Perhaps people we never thought would turn to Christ, making that decision.
Our job is to be faithful and take those steps.
Our job is to move in light of the miracle God has done in our lives.
Moving by faith in light of a miracle.
14-17
The miracle that God does for the people of Israel is no small thing.
The Jordan River
Priests enter.
Looking at the water below, they were probably terrified of what would happen if they stepped in.
Remember this was fast moving water.
During the flood season, the Jordan river could become as much as a mile wide.
But trusting God, the priests took the first step into the Jordan.
Immediately, the river water stopped and the people could pass through on dry ground (Josh.
3:16).
The water stood up in a heap, like a wall, at Adam.
This was about 20 miles upstream.
It was a miracle of God in response to the faith of the people.
When Israel crossed the Jordan River, it was not the obedient arm of a leader that brought the miracle but the obedient feet of the people.
Unless we are willing to step out by faith and obey His Word, God can never open the way for us.
In our lives, in our relationships with God, we cannot stop in the middle of the river so to speak.
We cannot stop with our salvation.
God is calling us, through His mighty miracle, through His saving work, to move.
The Christian life is a process.
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