How To Get Past Your Jordan- Part 2
Joshua 3:1-6
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 they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the
covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests 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.
Joshua 3:14-17
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.
Intro:
In Joshua 3 and 4, God illustrates for us three essentials for moving ahead
by faith and claiming all that He has for us:
The Word of faith,
The walk of faith, and
The witness of faith.
They are ready to claim their inheritance in the land of promise. However,
before they can enter Canaan, they must first get past one final, major
obstacle:
There are 3 steps that we must take to guarantee that we will be able to get
past that obstacle that blocks our way and enter our Canaan.
I. 3:1-13 EXAMINE THE MESSAGE
A. V. 3-4 It Involved A Challenge -
Joshua 3:3-4
And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the
covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests 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.
When it came time for the people to move forward to cross
Jordan, God has a message that they needed to hear.
In the words they heard, they were challenged to do three very
important things.
1. Watch God -
The Ark, you may remember, Represented God's presence in
the midst of His people.
In other words, when God moved, they were to move. When
God stopped they were to do the same.
(Ill. There is a valuable spiritual lesson in this passage for you
and me. We need to learn to be sensitive to the movement of
the Lord in and around us.
It is a fact that God loves you and that He will show you what
He is doing, John 5:19-20.
If you will watch Him, He will teach you how to live day by day.)
1. Watch God -
2. Follow God -
When they saw the Ark of the Covenant move, they were to "leave your
place, and go after it" Not only were they to watch God, they were to
move when He did. They were to pursue God!
(This may require us to leave our comfort zone! If you ever expect to get
past your obstacles and enter your Canaan, you must learn to follow
God.)
3. Honor God -
Notice that the Israelites are told to stay at least 3000 feet behind the Ark.
This was so that they could easily see what was happening ahead of them.
Another reason is that the Lord wanted no one but the Levites near the Ark.
To get too close would have meant death.
( We must never be guilty of treating God like is one of our buddies.
There must always be a holy reverence and a fear of the Lord in our hearts.
God help us that we never allow a spirit of familiarity cheapen or walk with
the Lord.
A. V. 3-4 It Involved A Challenge -
B. V. 5 It Involved A Command -
Next, the people were told to "sanctify yourselves."
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A. V. 3-4 It Involved A Challenge -
B. V. 5 It Involved A Command -
C. V. 9-13 It Involved A Commitment -
Joshua 3:9-1O
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the
words of the Lord your 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.
This message to the Israelites reminded them that getting across the
Jordan did not rest on their shoulders, but on the Lord's.
Often, we are unable to get past the obstacles in our lives because we
live a life that exhibits a deep lack of faith in the promises of God! How
do I know?
Because of the worry and doubt that marks the lives of the people of
God.
Romans 4:21
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also
to perform.
I. 3:1-13 EXAMINE THE MESSAGE
II. 3:14-17 EXPECT A MIRACLE
A. V. 15b There Was A Problem -
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 all the time of harvest,)
The river was over 1 mile wide and there were 2 million people who had
to cross, and yet the Lord wanted them to go over.
They couldn't build a bridge, there wasn't enough time or materials.
They couldn't transport everyone over in boats, there were no boats
and they would have ben sitting ducks for their enemies.
There was only one way around their problem and that was through it!
(Ill. Have you ever sized up your problem and thought about how big it
was? Maybe you looked at it and concluded, "There is no way around,
through, over or past this problem." I suppose we have all been like the
10 spies that returned from spying out the land of Canaan with Caleb
and Joshua.
We have sized up our problem and think that it is more than we can
ever face, Num, 13:31-33. Our problem was the same one we always
have when we face a difficult situation: we forget about God! Where we
see only problems, God sees only solutions. Where we look at things
and say, "There's no way!" God looks at the problem and says, "Follow
me, I have a plan!"
B. V. 15 There Was A Plan -
The plan was this, God said, "When the feet of the priests enter Jordan,
I am going to part the waters and lead you through on the dry ground!"
There was a catch in this plan and it was that the waters would not part
until the priests who were carrying the Ark stepped into the water. In
other words, it took a step of faith, whereby the people obediently
followed the Lord for them to see the miracle come to pass.
(Ill. What a lesson for you and me. Too often, we want the Lord just to
fix everything in our lives for us.
We don't want to have to make any decisions nor do we want to have
to exercise our faith in Him.
We just want Him to do it and that will be the end of it.
However, most of the time, God will require us to take steps of faith in
order that we might see our Jordan parted.
God had a plan, but for this plan to work, it required faith on the part of
His people!
The same is true for you and me!
As long as we are trying to solve our own problems we are not walking
in faith.
It is when we turn loose of the reigns of the problem, step away from it
and let the Lord have it that we will see it taken care of for His glory. It
never is about what we can do, it is always about what the Lord is able
to do, Eph. 3:20!)
Ephes. 3:20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
C. V. 16-17 There Was A Performance -
Joshua 3:16-17 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.
When the priests 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 them a path through the water that was more than adequate
for His people to get through.
(Ill. We need to remember that faith honors God and God honors faith!
When He does it, it won't just be patched up and ready to fall apart
again, it will be done right and it will be done forever.
Folks, I want to encourage you by reminding you that this God Who did
this great thing for Israel is still the same God we are serving this
morning! What He did them, He can do now.
He was ABLE all the way through the Bible, and He is still ABLE today!
Regardless of the circumstances, He is still God and He still can!
Ill. The question that plagued the Jews,
Psalm 78:19
Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the
wilderness?
God can! Just ask, Noah, Moses,
Daniel, the 3 Hebrews, a widow down in Zarephath, the Disciples on a
little ship, and Saul of Tarsus.
Just look back over your own life.
How many times has the Lord opened your Jordan already?
He is all we need!
He is still the same miracle working God that He always had been.
Learn to expect miracles when you are dealing with God!)
I. Examine THE Message
II. Expect A Miracle
III. 4:1-24 ERECT A MEMORIAL
(Ill. When all the people had passed over Jordan, Joshua
commanded one man from each of the 12 tribes to get a rock
from the midst of Jordan and build a memorial on the Canaan
side. That memorial is worth taking a look at IN A MESSAGE BY
ITSELF !)
Conclusion: Some of you are facing troubled
waters this morning. I want you to know you can
cross over. I invite you to come before the Lord
this morning.
Tell Him about the Jordan you are facing and allow Him to get
you past it today.
There is a place of victory where you can shout in spite of your
troubles.
The first step in getting there is dealing with what is keeping
you out: your Jordan.
It may sin, it may be some person,
It may be some trial, but whatever it is, God is greater than it is.
Come and let Him take care of it for you.