NOT I, BUT CHRIST
Last week, we read Joshua 1. We talked about crossing this Jordan. We read what God told Joshua. We read where God told Joshua to cross this Jordan and lead the people to the land which God had promised. About what he should do in the face of this tragedy. This loss of their leader Moses. We read how God had a plan.
Throughout Joshua 1, we read about how God would be with them. How God would protect them. That God would walk with them every step of the way. The one thing we didn’t talk about was HOW TO CROSS THIS JORDAN!
This past two weeks, I’ve been asking that question over and over again. I’ve been seeking answers. I have been searching far and wide for the answers. I’ve been looking deep inside myself for something that can help me understand how to cross this Jordan. Trying to figure out what it is we are supposed to do now. Asking the question, God, why did this happen? Why are we in this situation? I’ve asked it over and over again and still, no answers.
When Charles Spurgeon died in 1892, his son spoke these words… “What my Father has been to me, to many thousands, and the world at large, none can ever fully estimate. There was one trait in his noble and godly character which, among many others, always shone out... His humility. Words of eulogy concerning himself were painful to him; his creed in this, as in all other matters, being "Not I, but Christ."
After asking all of these questions of Why? Trying to figure out God’s plan in this loss, it hit me when I read this quote by Charles Spurgeon Jr., that we are not going to find the answers. Why, because it is not up to us to figure out these things, in our humanity, in our frailty, in our limited abilities, we aren’t capable of finding the answer. We don’t know the answers and we could look for years within ourselves for the answer and we’d never find it. So it must be that we don’t look inside, we look up. Not I, but Christ.
These words are comforting beyond measure. When we realize that we don’t need to figure out why things happen, when we know that we can’t make it alone, we can’t make it on our own, we can’t find our way by ourselves, it frees us to understand God’s grace and God’s provision in our lives.
Josh. 3:1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
OUR GREAT CHALLENGE
These are great words for us as a church. YOU HAVE NOT PASSED THIS WAY BEFORE! Today, we stand at the beginning of a journey that none of us desired. A journey that we didn’t want to take, a journey that we didn’t want to start. But we must! And, we must understand that this journey will be impossible if we merely depend on our abilities to lead us. No, we must lean on God and God alone to lead us. We must understand the principle of NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
Here, we read of Joshua and the children of Israel as they begin their journey without Moses. We read how God told them to go down to the Jordan and to cross it. That God would be with them. That God would lead them. That God would deliver them. And, they trusted Him.
Here in Chapter 3, they went down to the river and prepared to do exactly what God had commanded. And though they believed in God’s plan, they believed that God would do exactly what he had told them, they didn’t simply forge ahead. They knew God would deliver them, yet, they waited. They waited three days. Why? Because they faced a challenge of immense proportions and they knew they didn’t have what it would take to do it on their own. NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
In verse 15, it refers to the fact that at this time, the river was overflowing its banks. It was a raging river, the currents were dangerous. This was a challenge. Joshua and the people of Israel knew that there was a challenge before them. So, they waited. They camped for three days, waiting for God to prepare them for the challenge.
These past two weeks, we have all been waiting for God to prepare us for the challenge. These grueling days we’ve all been through have been so painful, but so rewarding. Why? Because it is in these days that we find God’s great power of comfort. We see His hand in our lives. We know that if left to our own devices, we would not make it. We must trust Him. We must put our faith in Him. We must depend on Him. NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
Joshua knew that they would not be successful without God’s power bringing them through. This was the challenge they all faced, and Joshua knew that they must depend on God for the victory.
OUR GREAT MIRACLE
Josh. 3:7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, “When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
Josh. 3:9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you 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 is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”
Josh. 3:14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
God told them to walk boldly up to the waters and plant their feet right in the midst of those raging waters and God would provide. God didn’t tell them to simply wait around for something to happen. He told them to do something. To move forward. To take action. To take a step of faith and walk into that Jordan.
They didn’t doubt God. They didn’t question His instructions. They didn’t wonder if God was capable. No, they walked right up to the waters and did exactly what God told them to do. They faced their challenge. They faced the Jordan. And what happened?
God delivered on His promise. They received their miracle. They received what God had told them they would receive. They were delivered. As they stood at the side of that raging river, as they stood looking at a challenge that seemed impossible to overcome, God brought them through.
Isn’t that a great promise? That when you face a river that seems impossible to cross, that God will calm the waters. If only we could trust him every day for this type of miracle. If only we could trust him in the midst of our challenges. If only we had faith in His immeasurable power to deliver us. And we know that it wasn’t our abilities that delivered us, NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
Dad often said that God will never put more on us than he puts in us to bear it up. Today, we must look to that quote for our comfort and for our deliverance. For 51 years, we followed a man of God in our spiritual journey. And the words he left are so indelibly marked in our hearts, we will hold to them in the future.
We must trust God for our miracle.
OUR GREAT MEMORIAL
As they crossed this great river, God wanted them to never forget what He had done. Let’s read in chapter 4.
Josh. 4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
Just as God had delivered them 40 years earlier at the Red Sea, here God had delivered them at the Jordan. God had performed a miracle in the midst of their great challenge. And, God wanted them to remember.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. A day when we as a nation we reflect and remember the many men and women who have laid down their lives for our freedom. Memorials are always a good thing. It is always wise for us to remember what God has done in our lives.
When you face a trial or a crisis, there are steps we must take, steps that will remind us that God is in the rescue business:
1. Establish your own Memorial Stone- Here is another example---In 1 Samuel 7: 12, God saved His children from destruction by the Phillistines. To mark the moment, the Bible says Samuel set up an EBENEZER. It was a rock of remembrance. Every time the children of Israel looked at the rock, it reminded them that God is always faithful
… even in the midst of the storm
… even when the sky is dark
…even when you don’t understand
As we look back over 51 years of miracles, we can see time and time again, lives that have been changed. Families that have been healed. People who have been delivered. And souls that have been saved. By the millions. And we must remember.
Just as Joshua told the people of Israel to place those stones to memorialize what God had done, we too must remember what God has done in this ministry and through the man that God gave to us.
We must always remember the many miracles that have made TRBC so meaningful in our lives. We must remember so that we will never forget how powerful our God truly is. These stones that Joshua set at the side of the Jordan River not only provided a memorial to honor God for what He had done that day. But they also provided a symbol of great hope for the future.
So that we will always know that he can deliver us in the toughest days. That He will comfort us in our sorrow. That he will protect us in our storms. That He will shield us in our battles. That He will lead us in our valleys.
We must always remember. Why? So that we will always know that it is NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
OUR GREAT PREPARATION
But notice with me back in Josh. 3:5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
For tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you. As we stand here today, are we trusting God for tomorrow’s wonders. Are we trusting him for the miracles we need tomorrow? Do we believe that He will deliver us?
Joshua said to Sanctify yourselves. Sanctify - to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate, to purify or free from sin.
To sanctify ourselves. Do we want God to deliver us? Do we want God to protect us? Do we want God to comfort us? Do we want God to give us the victory? Then we must sanctify ourselves. We must make ourselves holy.
And what is it exactly that makes us holy? It is when we empty ourselves of our imperfect, human nature and fill ourselves with His cleansing power. Or more simply put, NOT I, BUT CHRIST.
This is what will bring us through the trials in life. This is what will deliver us through the darkest of days. This is what will help us cross this Jordan. Trusting fully in Him, Not I, But Christ.
I believe today that God has a great plan for our church in the days to come. I believe that God has brought us to this Jordan, to this place that we have not passed before. I believe He has a miracle in store for all of us.
And just as Joshua set those stones on the side of the Jordan so that all of Israel could see what God had done, we too should mark this miracle. We too should make sure that all who come behind us know what God did for us, how God delivered us in our time of trial. Not only to see what God had done, but to also have the hope that God will do the same for them.
Do you know why we establish this stone memorial, this Rock of Remembrance? Because eventually…we BUILD on that ROCK.
Matthew 16:18
Christ said, "And I tell you, Peter, upon this ROCK I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
The ROCK is not just a Memorial…
The ROCK is not just a SHELTER…
The ROCK is our FOUNDATION.
Those stones…reminded the children of God that ultimately…CHRIST is our ROCK.
HE is our Remembrance
HE is our Shelter
He is our FOUNDATION.
NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—"By my God I can leap over a wall" ( Psalm 18:29 ). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . ." Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.
These words were written by a man named Oswald Chambers in his book, My Utmost For His Highest. As you know, my dad read this book every day of his life. The reading that I just shared was from the reading for May 15. These words were among the last my dad read on this earth. Listen to them again.
Today, we all face great trials. Dad liked to say that you’re either in crisis, just came out of crisis, or you’ll get the phone call this afternoon. We all face raging waters of some sort, great challenges before us. These past two weeks, my family has faced an amazing challenge. A challenge that without God, there is no way we would have been able to move forward. Because dad taught my family that we can trust in God, that we can put our faith in Him in the midst of adversity, because God is there for us in the darkest valleys, we have been able to cope. Because dad taught us, Not I, But Christ.
Just as God delivered Joshua and the people of Israel at the banks of the Jordan, God too will deliver you from your challenge. God will bring you through your valley. He will give you this miracle. He will allow you to cross this Jordan.
He will allow us to walk on dry ground. He will allow us to see His great hand at work. He will dry our tears, soothe our pain, comfort our hearts, wrap His arms around us, lead us through the waters and deliver us to the other side.
He will bring us through, BUT ONLY IF WE REALIZE, NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God.
