You have Not Passed this Way Before
Joshua 3:1-17
Last Wednesday evening I made a statement that we all like new things. A new car. A new house. A new watch, A new hair do. A new suit etc. It is natural to like new things. We all have something new every year that is a new year. The old year is passed and we stand on the brink of a new year. We could look at last year and see where we have been. We could look at out past mistakes and vow not to make the same ones again. We could start out the New Year by making resolutions. We could make all kinds of promises about turning over a new leaf and doing things better next year. And then when 2007 comes to an end we are apt to find a trail of excuses and broken promises.
The New Year started off rather uniquely for a "nameless" woman in Laingsburg, Michigan. She heard "angry, accented voices" coming from her living room. Fearing her husband was being held hostage by terrorists; she hid in a bathroom closet and whispered to the police on her cellular phone. Sheriff’s deputies and a state trooper surrounded the house as the woman stayed on the phone line. They entered the house with guns drawn only to find a man sitting on the couch watching TV - alone! Police graciously did not release the woman’s name.
At least she was partially right - TV, and many other pastimes, do hold many people hostage. What bad habits and old patterns do you want to break this New Year?
Today we want to examine a scripture that speaks to us in this day and time. Our lives and this church can be compared to the children of Israel when they were preparing to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land.
Let’s read about it in Joshua 3:1-16
Joshua started early the next morning and left Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing.
After three days the officers went through the camp
and commanded the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it.
But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before."
Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow."
Then he said to the priests, "Take the Ark of the Covenant and go on ahead of the people." So they carried the Ark of the Covenant and went ahead of them.
The LORD spoke to Joshua: "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses.
Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant: ’When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’"
Jos 3:9 Then Joshua told the Israelites, "Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your God."
He said, "You will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites
when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.
Now choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass."
When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant ahead of the people.
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge
and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.
The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
Think for a moment if you will about all of these people preparing to cross the river Jordan. Someone has estimated the number of the Israelites to be 600,000 men plus women and children. That would make over 1.2 million
Normally the ark was carried by the Levites now the priests are required to carry it.
Usually the ark was carried in the middle of the people now it was to go in front of them.
Usually the ark was as a symbol of the presence of God now it was a symbol of God’s leadership.
I. Always wait for the leadership of God.
A lady called American Airlines and asked the reservation clerk, "How long does it take to get from Dallas-Fort Worth to Frankfort, Germany?" The clerk had to wait a moment for the information to come up on her computer screen, so she said, "Just a minute." The caller responded, "Thanks very much," and hung up! Most of the things that really matter in life do not happen in "just a minute". They come for those who learn to wait upon the Lord.
A. The people were to watch the ark.
1. The ark had to be out in front about 1000 yards so all the people could see it,
2. As God is out in front of us we can all see Him and know when to follow.
B. These are exciting times at Simmons Loop.
1. We are standing on the threshold of a new and exciting year.
2. I say exciting because we are going to see God at work.
3. We have waited for the Lord to move and make it possible for us to get this new building.
4. God has placed us in the middle of a growing area.
5. The possibilities of growth are endless
C. God’s blessings do not come without challenge.
1. A challenge to pay for the building
a. We can say, “God you led us here now you pay for it.”
b. But God works through His people.
c. Explain the debt retirement fund. Give over and above
2. A challenge to fill the building.
a. Invite friends and neighbors.
b. Place invitations in homes
c. make people know that we are here
d. If we are faithful God will be faithful.
e. Here is how it works: We visit and invite some people but they don’t show up. Don’t be discouraged God will send someone that you did not invite.
II. When you see God move you must follow.
A. We must keep our eyes on Jesus our leader
B. We have not traveled this road before
1. We have never had a 2007 in which to live.
2. Only God knows the way
C. God said consecrate yourselves.
1. Consecrate means to set apart for God’s use.
D. We consecrate ourselves through prayer
E. We consecrate through dedication.
F. Make a vow to God
1. Daily quiet time in prayer and bible reading
2. Vow to tithe
3. Vow to use the spiritual gifts he has given.
4. Vow to forgive someone who has wronged you
5. Vow to witness to that friend or neighbor who is lost
6. Vow to be faithful in Sunday School and all worship services.
G. After consecration God told the people that He would do wonders among them tomorrow.
1. If we are faithful to carry out the vows we have made we will see God doing wonders among us.
God then told Joshua that he would let the people know that he would be with him as he was with Moses. When we choose God’s man to be our next pastor, God is going to show us that he is with him the same as he was with with our last pastor. God is not interested in how we feel about a certain preacher; God is interested in our faithfulness to Him.
III. God will not act until we have stepped out on faith.
A. The Jordan did not dry up until the feet of the priest touched the water.
1. The Jordan was overflowing its banks
2. The water was too deep to wade across.
3. The people had to step out in faith.
4. Had they not made that first move the water would have remained deep and cold.
B. We too must step out in faith.
The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $50 to $200 a ticket to watch the Bucs huddle. What if you went to a Bucs game and for 2 ½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a circle and talk? That’s not what you pay for!! People want to see what difference the huddle makes. What they want to know is, having called the play in secret, does it work in public? The challenge for the church is not what we do when we call our Sunday morning huddle, but what we do when we break our huddle and head to our Sunday morning assignment. When Satan lines up against us, what difference does it make that we are Christians?
1. When God has told us to do something we must begin to do it and God will show the way.
2. If we had not started to build that ground would have remained vacant.
IV. God will stay on the job until it is finished.
A. As long as the priest stood in the middle of the Jordan on dry ground, the waters stayed until all the people had crossed.
B. When all the people had crossed the water came back to flood stage.
C. God will remain on the job until it is finished.
1. When God calls us to do something he will see us through.
2. Weather it is building a building, teaching a class, witnessing to someone, or anything else, God will see you through.
3. That does not mean that you will not have a part in it all.
4. As you remain faithful to God and keep doing what he has called you to do, then he will be faithful to you.
Con. Here we are at the beginning of a new year. What does this year hold? I do not know. We have not passed this way before. But I know that the God I serve has passed this way because he made the way.
The greatest thing that he did for us was to provide a way for us to have eternal life with Him. Maybe you would like to go back to 2006 and undo or redo some things that you messed up. Impossible! But God can turn things around in your life.
If you do not know Christ as your Savior this is the day for you. This first Sunday in 2007 is the day for you to put your trust in Christ as your Savior.
