(INDEPENDENT BAPTIST)
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CROSSING THE JORDAN: A New Year�s Sermon
The text for this message is found in the third and fourth chapters of the Book of Joshua:
Chapter Three
1. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3. And the commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, and the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
6. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with thee.
8. And thou shalt command the priest that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
9. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD you God.
10. And Joshua said, Hereby ye 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 passeth over before you into Jordan.
12. Now, therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15. And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.)
16. That the waters which came down from above, stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
Chapter Four
1. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
2. Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3. And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests� feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
5. And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel.
6. That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by those stones?
7. Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
8. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10. For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12. And the children of Reuben, and the Children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13. About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14. On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15. And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
16. Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
17. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
18. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests� feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
19. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22. Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel come over this Jordan on dry land.
23. For the LORD you God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over.
24. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
This is the New Year�s season. As we prepare to enter into yet another year upon this earth may we consider that it is to be a new year. We will be encountering things and events that we have not encountered before. These things will either draw us closer to God or drive us further from that Divine Presence. May we be drawn closer to Him.
Joshua, and the entire camp of the Children of Israel with him, was, as he crossed the Jordan River, stepping into a new experience. He, they all, needed something to help him here in this new land. Things were going to be different; there would be new challenges and new roadblocks, and new disappointments. He needed something which he could bring on to in this new land.
God had given Joshua some things to prepare him for the coming battles. There was, of course, the experience of the past. His experience, and those of the entire camp, would be remembered and used to hold him true.
We who are in this service will also be facing problems in the coming year which may well be much tougher than any we may have faced in the past year. Expect them! If we are living for God, Satan will not let us rest. If we are living for God then we must be fighting Satan. Satan is not going to let us rest if we are fighting him. He�s going to hit us back. That is simply the nature of a battle.
I would imagine that there are those among us who have this battle all figured out. Some among us are certain to say that if this above is so, they will just live so as to not fight against Satan. They will not live for God. Well, here�s a bit of a news flash: God will not leave you alone, either!
God will goad you, and prod you, and push you, and allow you to be persecuted to the point that you will be willing to live the life that you are capable of living for Him.
That is being a good Heavenly Parent. He will help us to reach our full potential!
If, however, you are not living for God and you have no problems. you have a problem. A serious problem! You need to get down on your knees and see what is wrong with you. Make certain your salvation! Hebrews 12:6 says, �...who the Lord loveth he chaseneth.�
I don�t believe that God gets all that worried when we do make certain our salvation. It is an important thing that we are certain of our salvation. It is always better, one pastor told me years ago, to be scared of hell than to be scarred by it.
The man who said that the Christian life is an easy life must have been an atheist. He was certainly not a Christian for any span of time! The Christian life is a way of joy and peace; but, it is not an easy way. God never intended that it be so. We are made stronger and better equipped as Christian soldiers through our refining experiences of adversity.
Someone has said that the best education is in The School of Hard Knocks. It is certainly the only one most of us can afford in this day! But, inflation has even begun to hit there. The tuition bill seems to get higher with every passing semester.
Joshua had some experience of the past. So have we. Let�s take a look at some of Joshua�s experience. After all, I Corinthians 10:11 says, �Now all those things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition...�
Today we are going to allow Joshua, and the Children of Israel, to pay part of our tuition to The School of Hard Knocks. What kinds of things were in their past experiences?
For one thing, there was the experience of slavery in their past. For four hundred years they had been in Egypt - mostly as slaves. They had to do whatever their masters told them to do. They could not, in any way, gain their own freedom. Joshua and these Israelites knew that they had been freed from something.
They also knew that this freedom had been given to them; they had not earned it. They had only accepted it.
Do you know that you�ve been freed from your sins? Can you look back to the time when you were miraculously freed from bondage? Joshua could and this realization that he had been freed once led him on in the grace and confidence that he could be bolstered and held up any time that bolstering and holding up were needed. His God had delivered on one promise and that same God could deliver on another promise. If God had taken them from slavery, then God could also take him to conquest.
When our problems seem the most insurmountable may we recall that Jesus Christ surmounted sin and the roadblocks of Satan the day He mounted the Cross of Calvary.
My wife and I went to Six Flags Over Mid-America near St. Louis this past summer. In one of the exhibits we saw a film in which an automobile roared up to the edge of a cliff. From the position of the camera it seemed as though I was driving that car. I tried to step on the brake to keep the car from going over the cliff. I didn�t have a brake. I didn�t even have a car. Even though the scene seemed vivid and real, there was no real danger to me.
The traps of Satan are like that. As long as we remember that we are in Christ and not any longer under the domination of Satan, there is no real danger. Satan can not overcome Christ. We have been delivered from slavery to Satan once; we can be free from his clutches any time we have need to be delivered form him.
Joshua also had the experience of manna. What is manna? Suffice to say that it was food for those who needed food. Food supplied from the bounty of God!
God did not let the Children of Israel starve. But, neither did He feed them intravenously. He made them go out and gather their own manna. God could have made the manna appear on their plates. He did not choose to do so. God made the manna appear on the ground for the people to go out and gather.
God wants us to also be fed in a Spiritual sense. Again, He does not intend for this to be done intravenously. God wants for us to use our legs, both physical and spiritual, to get into the place where we may be fed. Does God really care whether or not we go to church? He certainly does.
Hebrews 10:25 says: �Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.�
Verse 24, just before the above verse, says that we may provoke one another in such a way as to help them to come and assemble together. This provoking is to love. People ought to come to church because they love to do so, not merely to get us off their backs. Now, if you can get someone to come that way - go for it! Just make sure that it is the leading of God! Many will not come at all if they do not love to come.
We dare not have a fight, or a jealousy, with a brother or sister in the church. That may drive them, or someone else, away. Besides, the provoking of one to something other than love is acting contrary to the known will of God. That is simply sin. There is no other word for it!
We also need to use our Spiritual knife and fork of private devotion and Bible reading to help us feed on the manna of our Christian experience.
We need the Spiritual drink of prayer. Without this we will dry up into mere religion.
Yes, Joshua had some tremendous experiences of the past. But, he also had some experiences of the present. We cannot live on yesterdays religious experience. We need to constantly seek the face of God.
Joshua, and the Children of Israel, went up to the Jordan River and an amazing thing happened. That river parted so that they could pass through on dry land. This made the passage much easier.
It is always much easier to walk a mile than to swim a mile. In my case it is a necessity; I can�t swim. God will do things to make life a little easier for you, if in these things you are in His Will. That is not to say that everything will be pleasant. But, things will be easy because of joy when we walk with the Lord. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:11, �...I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.�
There are some rules to follow in order to gain this help from the Lord. There are four little rules that I�d like to mention today: You must take. You must leave. You must consider. And, you must stay.
First of all, to get the blessing of God, to get the help and leading of God, you must take the Spirit of God with you. Joshua 3:6 says, �And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.�
These people were commanded to take the Ark of the covenant with them. That Ark was the symbol of God in their presence.
The symbol of God in the life of the Christian is the Holy Spirit. More than that, The Holy Spirit is very God in the life of the Christian! We need to take the Holy Spirit into consideration in everything that we do.
The Bible, in Ephesians 4:30, says, �And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.� Is it possible to grieve the Spirit of God? Of course it is. That�s just what this verse said!
What a sad day for the person that does so!
How may we grieve Him? By committing acts and permitting thoughts that would bring discredit to His Name and that would be foreign to His Nature.
We need to consider that we do have the Holy Spirit with us in all that we say and do and think if we are Christians. We should try to please Him. If you�ve ever worked in a factory you might know exactly what I mean. When that foreman is standing over you, watching you work, you work just a little bit harder trying to please him. The Holy Spirit is always with us; may we take that into consideration and try to please Him.
As He is with us, may we also take action with Him.
The second thing we must do in order to receive His blessing is to leave any other foundation than that which He has given us.
Notice Joshua 3:15: �And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks at the time of the harvest.)�
Note that this verse says that when their feet touched the water something happened. It makes no mention of their shoes or sandals. It makes no difference what your religion is founded upon if it is not founded on the pierced feet of Jesus Christ. Any other foundation is the wrong, and a useless, foundation.
When the house which is now the parsonage was built, the bathroom facilities were built in the back yard. With time indoor plumbing was added. When we first moved into this house, we noticed that the bathroom ceiling leaked. We tried patching the roof. It still leaked. We tried re-roofing with all new shingles. In time the leak came back to visit with us. We finally checked the foundation to the bathroom, it being a built on room. There was no foundation. Because of this every time there was a ground freeze or defrosting, the room would shift slightly and tear at the roof.
Until the foundation was laid, the room was flawed.
It is the same way in the matter of our personal walk with God. The Bible nowhere says that good works will save a man. The Bible does say that a saved man will do The Bible nowhere says that a moral life will save a man. The Bible does say that a saved man will live a moral life. The Bible nowhere says that anything will save a man except Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12 says, �Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Apart from salvation in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone!, there is no blessing of God. Neither, under such condition, is their any lasting peace.
The third thing that we must do in order to obtain the blessing of God is to consider the harvest. Souls are to be reached. Notice the phrase is, are to be reached rather than need to be reached. That is important!
Notice back in Joshua 3:15 that it was the time of the harvest when the children of Israel entered the land. God wants us to be out gathering in His harvest. If souls are to be reached, we must be doing the reaching. It is our God given duty!
But, there is also another harvest out there in the world. That is the harvest of Satan. Many have grown secure in the assumption that all is right between them and God. Satan has cultivated this lie. Satan is feeding and tilling his crop for judgement.
We need to approach those who are falsely secure in false belief. We need to reach this crop and weed Satan out of it so that the crop may be harvested for good and not merely plowed under to provide fertilizer for another crop heading to damnation.
The fourth thing which we can do to obtain the blessing of God is to stay.
Joshua 3:17 says, �And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on the dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
These priests stood their ground. They stayed where God had put them. We need men and women, Christians who deserve the name, who will do this today. If we fluctuate and change our doctrinal ground every few months, how is the world to believe our report of salvation - or anything else?! If we who have been saved for some time are unsteady, how can we expect growth in a �babe� in Christ?
These priests stayed and in so doing they showed their faith in God. The water was walled up about them. It must have looked threatening. If must have seemed as though the water would rush in and drown them at any moment. But, they stayed in testimony to the protection and trustworthiness of God. They were a true testimony to the rest of the group.
As we move into this new year may we follow this example. It may seem, often, that the waters of trial are ready to engulf and drown us. May our faith in God remain strong and may we show that faith to His glory. He will surely bless us in this.
Joshua was a blessed person. Israel was a blessed nation. Because of this blessing there was an experience of praise. How can we forget to praise God when we see Him act? How can we? But, we do! The example of Joshua and the children of Israel had been one of praise for past blessing.
The people had real reason to bless God. Joshua 4:23 says, �For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which He dried up from before us, until we were over.�
How the children of Israel remembered that crossing of the Red Sea. It seemed to be indelibly stamped upon their memories. They looked back at it as a personal experience. This was not something from a history, or text, book. This was a time when God had stepped down and touched their own lives in a miraculous way.
Has God saved you? Has God changed you life? Is God real to you? People do not want to hear about an experience of which you have read or heard. They want to know what you have experienced. Each of us has a persona testimony of the Power of God. It is real to us. May we relate this story of the Power of God to others.
Some undoubtedly will say, �Wait. I have no story to tell!� Such persons as this, you if you are one like this, had best look for one. When God saves a person, that person will know it. I�m not speaking of mere emotion and sensationalism. I am speaking of the witness of God within our hearts.
If you can�t look back and see that experience of salvation, I would venture that you are not saved! Seriously. Very seriously. Your eternal destiny is at stake. You need to tall on your knees before God and pray for forgiveness.
There is more blessing than just this for the Christian. But, this is fundamental. Without this blessing there can be no other blessing.
These Israelites did not live, however, on past blessing.
Joshua 4:7 says, �The ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.�
Christ gave us victory over sin and victory over Satan when He saved us. We are now to live with victory as a matter of course. �Well, it�s Tuesday, Lord. What blessing do I have for today?� That is not sacrilege; that is merely looking at the plan of God for us. He wants to bless us every day.
May we take. May we leave. May we consider. And, may we stay. God wants to bless us. May we not be satisfied until we obtain the blessing, even if it comes in the face of adversity. With God at our side - and in our hearts - it makes no difference what we face in the coming year.
We shall be blessed.