The Walk Of Witness Series

THE FORWARD WALK ¡V PART FOUR

¡§THE WALK OF WITNESS¡¨

JOSHUA 22:9-34 (NIV)

¡§So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses. [10] When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. [11] And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, [12] the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.¡¨

[22] ¡§The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. [23] If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.¡¨

[27] ¡§On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ’You have no share in the Lord.¡¨

[31] ¡§And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand." [32] Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. [33] They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived. [34] And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: ¡§A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.¡¨

Introduction:

Explanation of text: Tribes of Ruben, Gad and half tribe of Mannasseh requested from Moses the fertile land east of the Jordan for their inheritance. Moses agreed providing the men fight with the rest of Israel until the land is conquered on the west side of Jordan. Five and half years later the men from these tribes return home and upon arriving on the other side of the Jordan they build a memorial altar similar to the altar of the Lord used by the people of God to worship the Lord at Shiloh in the Promised Land. Word gets out to the other tribes regarding this altar and there is a misunderstanding and the potential for war. The bottom line of this situation is that the tribes on the east simply wanted to build an altar that they would give the name ¡§WITNESS¡¨ that would serve to remind future generations of the fact they are united with the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD.

Explanation will be provided for FORWARD BY FAITH ¡§Tent of Witness¡¨ that will be used for our Prayer Journey in preparation as we seek the Lord¡¦s will concerning our commitments that will be made June 1st. Key points to remember in the Prayer Journey Tent of Witness:

„X Families and Friends will come to the Tent of Meeting to pray for God¡¦s leadership in their lives and to ask for His Blessings.

„X Tiles will be provided to record your witness for future generations

„X Children will draw pictures or put their hand print and name on tiles to provide their witness

„X One outside wall of the new Community Life Center for our Families will be dedicated as the WALL OF WITNESS for all future generations to see the witness of the Lord and the legacy of faith that was given by the sacrifice of God¡¦s people.

God confirmed this direction as I read in our Daily Walk this passage of scripture, Monday, April 21, 2003. The Spirit of God prompted my heart to lead us to create a wall of witness however; we must first be committed to the wall of witness of our life. We will join together to build a legacy for future generations and it applies to our personal legacy and witness that we are building each day in our life, in our marriage in our families, in our neighborhoods, our schools, our marketplace and our world.

Three obvious biblical truths appear in this vitally important message regarding our FORWARD WALK OF WITNESS: