GOD MOMENTS PART TWO
(JOSHUA 3:1-13)
INTRODUCTION:
A MIDDLE-AGED MAN WAKES UP NEXT TO A ROTTING MOUND OF TRASH IN A REMOTE PART OF A BIG CITY. HE HAS DRIED BLOOD ON HIS FACE AND HIS CLOTHES HAVE BLOOD ON THEM AS WELL AND ARE TORN.
HE LOOKS AT HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR OF AN OLD RUSTY CAR, BUT THE REFLECTION HE SEES IS A STRANGER TO HIM. HE LOOKS THROUGH HIS CLOTHES FOR A WALLET, AND UNFORTUNATELY FINDS NO IDENTIFICATION. HE HAS NO CLUE TO HIS IDENTITY.
HE WANDERED THE STREETS OF THE CITY BY DAY, HOPING THAT SOMEONE WOULD RECOGNIZE HIM. HE SPENT THE NIGHT LIKE A HOMELESS PERSON. THOUGHTS RAN THROUGH HIS MIND. WAS I A HOMELESS PERSON? DID I HAVE A JOB? WHO AM I? DO I HAVE A WIFE, OR CHILDREN?
HE SPENT THE NEXT FEW NIGHTS AT A DOWNTOWN RESCUE MISSION. THEY TOLD HIM HE COULD STAY, BUT THAT HE WOULD NEED TO FIND A JOB. SO HE CLEANED HIMSELF UP AND WENT TO THE BIGGEST BUILDING DOWNTOWN – THE LANSDOWNE CORPORATION.
“WHAT’S YOUR NAME” A LADY ASKED
“ER – I’M NOT SURE. CALL ME JIM, I GUESS.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR NAME? WHAT’S YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER?”
“I DON’T KNOW THAT EITHER, MA’AM. YOU SEE, I WAS MUGGED. EVERYTHING, INCLUDING MY MEMORY, WAS STOLEN. I DON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING. I CAN’T EVEN TELL YOU IF I HAVE ANY REAL JOB EXPERIENCE. I’M SURE I DO. I USED TO DO SOMETHING. I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT.”
“IT’S HIGHLY IRREGULAR,” SHE SAID. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW WE CAN SET UP OUR COMPUTER FOR YOU TO GET YOUR CHECKS, BUT I BELIEVE YOU ARE TELLING THE TRUTH. YOU CAN START TOMORROW ON THE LOADING DOCK. YOU’LL BE UNLOADING PARCEL SHIPMENTS.
JIM WORKED HARD AND MADE ENOUGH MONEY TO MOVE INTO A RUN-DOWN, ONE ROOM APARTMENT. HE TRIED TO REMEMBER WHO HE WAS. THE LONLINESS WAS OVERWEALMING.
ONE NIGHT JIM HAD A DREAM, IN WHICH HE SAW A WOMAN’S SMILING FACE. SHE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LADT HE HAD EVER SEEN. IN THE COMING WEEKS THE DREAM WOULD CONTINUE AND INTENSIFY. AS ALWAYS THOUGH, WHEN HE TRIED TO GET CLOSE TO THE WOMAN, SHE WOULD VANISH.
AFTER SEVEN MONTHS ON THE LOADING DOCK JIM WAS CALLED INTO THE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE. AT WHICH TIME HE WAS OFFERED A PROMOTION AND RAISE.
NOT MANY WEEKS LATER, AS JIM WAS ENTERING THE BUILDING, HE WAS STUNNED WHEN HE SAW HER. IT’S HER, MY DREAM LADY HE THOUGHT. HE WENT UP TO HER “EXCUSE ME, MA’AM. YOU LOOK FAMILIAR. ARE YOU MARRIED?”
SHE LOOKED AT JIM’S UNRULY BEARD AND WRINKLED SHIRT, AND BEGAN TO WEEP. “I DON’T THINK THAT IS ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS” AS SHE STEPPED ONTO THE ELEVATOR, SHE TURNED TO LOOK AT JIM AGAIN.
JIM WAS CONVINCED THAT THIS WAS THE WOMAN OF HIS DREAMS. HE WAS CONVINCED BY THE FEELING HE HAD FOR HER, THE DESIRE TO HOLD HER. HE DIDN’T KNOW HER BUT HE LOVED HER. HE FORGOT ABOUT HIS LUNCH AND FOLLOWED THE WOMAN TO HER HOME.
IT WAS AN EXQUISITE NEIGHBOURHOOD AND AS HE SAT IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE MEMORIES CAME STREAMING BACK. HE REMEMBERED THE IMAGE OF THREE CVHILDREN IN A BACKYARD, AND A DOG RUNNING WITH AN OLD SHOE IN ITS MOUTH. JIM SAID “HE FINALLY GOT MY SHOES.”
JIM WENT AND RANG THE DOORBELL. WHEN SHE CAME TO THE DOOR SHE JUST STARED. “EXCUSE ME MA’AM,” JIM BEGAN.” I SUPPOSE YOU REALIZE THAT I’M THE MAN WHO SPOKE TO YOU AT THE LANSDOWNE BUILDING EARLIER. PLEASE HEAR ME OUT. A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, I WOKE UP IN A REMOTE PART OF TOWN BADLY BEATEN AND ROBBED. I COULDN’T REMEMBER WHO I WAS OR HOW I GOT THERE. MY ONLY MEMORY WAS OF A BEAUTIFUL LADY I WANTED TO HOLD. I REALIZED TODAY THAT YOU ARE THE LADY IN MY DREAMS. AS I SAT IN FRONT OF THIS HOUSE I REMEMBERED CHILDREN AND THAT OLD DOG WITH MY SHOE. DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU?”
HER KNEES TREMBLED, AND LIP QUIVERED, AND SHE LOOKED PAST THE BEARD AND INTO JIM’S FACE. “ZACH, IT IS YOU! IT’S REALLY YOU. WE ASSUMED YOU WERE DEAD. BUT IT’S REALLY YOU. THIS IS YOUR HOME. I’M YOUR WIFE CINDY. DO YOU NOT REMEMBER IT ALL NOW?”
“I DON’T REMEMBER IT ALL. BUT I REMEMBER I LOVE YOU AND HOW I WANT TO HOLD YOU. MAY I?” ZACH PICKER HER UP AND SPINNED HER AROUND. “IT MUST BE YOU – YOU USED TO LOVE TO SPIN ME LIKE THAT.”
CINDY THEN INTRODUCED HIM TO HIS CHILDREN AGAIN AND EVEN THE OLD DOG GOT PATTED. “NOW THE BIG QUESTION,” HE SAID. “WHO AM I?”
THE YOUNGEST CHILD JONATHON SPOKE UP “DAD, WE’RE THE LANSDOWNE FAMILY. YOUR NAME IS ZACHARY LANSDOWNE III. CINDY CONTINUED “YOUR GRANDFATHER STARTED THE LANSDOWNE COMPANY. YOU BEGAN WORK THERE IN THE MAIL ROOM. HE TURNED THE COMPANY OVER TO YOU WHEN YOU GOT YOUR MBA. YOU ARE THE CEO AND MAJORITY STOCKHOLDER OF THE COMPANY. BUT NOW OUR QUESTION, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF?”
ZACH SMILED “I’LL TELL YOU, BUT I DON’T KNOW IF YOU ARE GOING TOBELIEVE IT.”
CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING THAT HAPPEN TO YOU. POSSIBLY DURING THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE YOU’VE HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING AMNESIA FOR A TIME.
CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO WAKE UP, NOT KNOWING WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOUR FAMILY IS, WHAT IT IS YOU DO, OR WHERE YOU LIVE? I’T MIND BOGGLING TO SAY THE LEAST. YET IT HAPPENS ON A SPIRITUAL LEVEL ALL THE TIME.
TAKE 911 FOR EXAMPLE. IT’S AMAZING HOW PEOPLE FLOWED INTO CHURCHES AND REMEMBERED GOD IN THE MIDST OF THIS CRISIS. SOME PEOPLE WOULD EVEN CALL THIS A GOD MOMENT, AND FOR SOME I’M SURE IT WAS. BUT NOT FOR THE COUNTRY. BUT HOW SOON SPIRITUAL AMNESIA SHOWS IT’S UGLY FACE. ABOUT THREE OR FOUR WEEKS AFTER 911 CHURCH ATTENDANCE STARTED TO DROP AGAIN AND SOON IT WAS BACK TO ITS USUAL LEVEL FOR THAT TIME.
THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR WE AS A COUNTRY SHOULD BE TURNING TO GOD. WE CAN INCLUDE THE U.S. IN THIS AS WELL. TODAY WE FACE AN ECONOMIC CRISIS. WE HAVE LOVED ONES IN HARMS WAY OVERSEAS. WE FACE A DISMANTLING OF THE FAMILY, INCREASED DRUG ABUSE, HIGH CRIME LEVELS, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER ISSUES.
YET IN FACING THE VERY THINGS THAT SHOULD BE DRAWING US CLOSER TO GOD, WE FIND OURSELVES TRYING TO FIND ALL KINDS OF ANSWERS, BUT GOING TO GOD. HE IS NOT ONLY OUT OF OUR MIND, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN’T THINK OF HIM. IT’S AS IF WE HAVE SPIRITUAL AMNESIA.
SPIRITUAL AMNESIA ROBS US OF THE BLESSINGS WE CAN HAVE WITH GOD, AND THE HELP HE CAN SHARE WITH US, AS WE DEAL WITH CRISISES AND MOUNTAIN-TOP EXPERIENCES.
TODAY I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU A VERY DISTINCT CASE FROM SCRIPTURE OF SPIRITUAL AMNESIA. I ALSO WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW YOU CAN AVOID SPIRITUAL AMNESIA IN THE FUTURE BY USING THE GOD MOMENT PRINCIPLE.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND:
I FIND THE BACKGROUND FOR THIS PASSAGE FASCINATING. THE CONTEXT FOR MY MESSAGE ACTUALLY SPANS A PERIOD OF FORTY YEARS, AND BEGINS IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS. THERE ARE TWO ACCOUNTS OF GOD PARTING THE WATER FOR THE NATION OF ISRAEL TO GO THROUGH. WE’RE GOING TO BEGIN BY LOOKING AT THE FIRST.
GOD HAD JUST SET ISRAEL FREE FROM EGYPTIAN SLAVERY. HE HAD SENT THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND HAD KILLED THE FIRST-BORN MALE OF THE EGYPTIANS INCLUDING PHAROAH’S SON, AND IN HIS GRIEF HE SENT THE ISRAELITES AWAY. LATER HE DECIDED NOT TO FREE THEM AND SENT HIS ARMY AFTER THEM.
NOW AT THIS TIME IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT GOD SIGNIFIED HIS PRESENCE AND LEADING BY A PILLAR OF CLOUD DURING THE DAY AND A PILLAR OF FIRE AT NIGHT. WHEN THE EGYPTIANS STARTED AFTER THE ISRAELITES GOD PLACED THE PILLAR BETWEEN THEM. GOD LED THEM TO THE RED SEA, OR AS SOME THEOLOGIANS SAY THE SEA OF REEDS, AND WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT, HE PARTED THE WATERS FOR THEM SO THEY COULD CROSS ON DRY LAND. AFTER THEY WERE ACROSS HE CAUSED THE WATERS TO COME TOGETHER AGAIN AND DROWN THE EGYPTIAN ARMY.
NOW I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I WOULD THINK THAT THIS MIGHT QUALIFY AS A GOD MOMENT. BUT IT DOESN’T, AT LEAST NOT FOR MANY. NOW ALL ISRAEL SAW THE POWER OF GOD AT WORK. YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD LEAD THEM TO HAVE FAITH IN GOD.
EXODUS 15:22-26:
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”
NOW LOOK AT CHAPTER 16 THE FIRST FOUR VERSES:
EX.16:1-3:
The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
NOW LOOK AT CHAPTER 17.
EXODUS 17:1-2,5-7
The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
THEN THERE IS THE DEFEAT OF THE AMALEKITES IN CHAPTER 17.
EXODUS 17:8-16:
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
THEN FROM EXODUS 18 TO 31 YOU HAVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND A SERIES OF FEAST DAYS AND LAWS CONCERNING SACRIFIECES AND WORSHIP. IS GOD JUST TELLING THE PEOPLE HOW TO WORSHIP? I DON’T THINK SO. GOD IS ALSO TEACHING THE PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE AND MOTIVATION IN WORSHIP. HE IS GIVING THEM THE BLUEPRINT OF HOW TO REACT TO ANY OF THESE GOD MOMENTS.
YOU SEE, A GOD MOMENT IS ONLY A GOD MOMENT IF IT LEADS TO A LIFE-CHANGING REALIZATION IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER. WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN IN THESE CHAPTERS GOD IS DIRECTING THE BEHAVIOR AND THE MOTIVATION FOR THE PEOPLE TO INDICATE THEY TRULY HAD A GOD MOMENT, BY FOLLOWING THEM, NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO, BUT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO.
SO HOW DOES ISRAEL REACT TO THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WORSHIP GOD? HOW DOES ISRAEL REACT TO THESE GOD MOMENTS? LOOK AT CHAPTER 32.
EXODUS 32:1-4:
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
WHY DID THE ISREALITES HAVE TO WANDER IN THE WILDERNESS FOR FORTY YEARS. BECAUSE THEY REJECTED A GOD MOMENT.
DEUTERONOMY 1:19-22, 32-36:
Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”
In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. 34 When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
THE COMMON PATTERN IN ALL OF THIS IS A SERIES OF GOD MOMENTS FOR ISRAEL, IN WHICH THEY CHOOSE NOT TO LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP AND TO FOLLOW HIM. THEY WOULD RATHER TRY ON THEIR OWN. AS A RESULT THE WHOLE GEREATION OF THE ISREALITES IS WIPED OUT.
THIS BRINGS US TO OUR PASSAGE TODAY. JOSHUA STANDS POISED AT THE JORDAN, READY TO CROSS INTO THE PROMISED LAND. THE GENERATION IS NEW, AND HAS NOT YET BEEN GIVEN A GOD MOMENT. THAT TIME WAS TO COME NOW, AT THE JORDAN.
IN JOSHUA CHAPTER THREE JOSHUA STANDS AT THE BANKS OF THE JORDAN WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. NOW MANY VIEW CROSSING THE JORDAN INTO CANAANLAND, THE PROCESS OF DYING AND GOING TO HEAVEN. THIS IS NOT THE CASE HERE. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL ARE LOOKING AT THE LAND THAT GOD HAD PROMISED THEM.
STANDING ON THE BANKS OF THE JORDAN 40 YEARS OF WILDNERNESS EXISTENCE WAS ENDING.
THE END OF 49 YEARS OF WALKING IN A CIRCLE GOING NOWHERE
THE END OF STRIVING WITHOUT ARRIVING
THE END OF WALKING BY SIGHT
THE END OF INDEPENDENT LIVING
THE END OF NEVER BEING ASSURED OF VICTORY OVER THE ENEMY
THE END OF BIENG CONSTANTLY REMINDED OF PAST FAILURES
THE END OF FEAR
THE END OF SELF-CENTERED EXISTENCE WHILE LIFE WAS ALL ABOUT THEM.
THE GOD MOMENT FOR A NEW GENERATION HAD FINALLY ARRIVED, AND IT WAS AN OBSTACLE. NORMALLY CROSSING THE JORDAN WOULD BE A SIMPLE MATTER. IT WAS NOT DEEP NOR WIDE UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. BUT THE JORDAN RIVER WAS AT FLOODSTAGE AND ANYTHING BUT NORMAL. THE JORDAN RIVER AT FLOODSTAGE COULD BE AS HIGH AS FOURTEEN FEET ABOVE IT’S NORMAL LEVEL, AND WITH THE SPEED OF THE WATER PRESENTED A GREAT OBSTACLE FOR THE ISRAELITES.
NOTE THE SEQUESNCE OF EVENTS IN THE PASSAGE.
1. THE PEOPLE ARE TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR CROSSING. AFTER THREE DAYS THEY TELL THE PEOPLE THAT TOMORROW THEY ARE CROSSING THE JORDAN. THE PEOPLE STILL DON’T KNOW HOW GOD IS GOING TO DO IT(VERSE 5) THEY ONLY ARE TOLD TO HAVE FAITH AND FOCUS ON GOD AND FOLLOW.
2. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT IS TO GO FIRST. THIS MEANS THAT ONCE AGAIN GOD IS GOING TO LEAD THEM THROUGH THE WATERS AND THEY WILL NOT FLOW OVER YOU.
ISAIAH 43:1-2:
But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3. KEEP A SPACE OF 2000 CUBITS BETWEEN THEM AND THE ARK. A CUBIT IS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ELBOW AND TIP OF THE FINGERS, AVERAGING OUT TO ABOUT 20 INCHES. THIS MEANS THEY WERE TO KEEP A DISTANCE OF 1000 YARDS OR 3333FEET FROM THE ARK. THIS SHOWED THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AS NOONE COULD EVER COME NEAR HIM, AND IT ALSO GAVE THE ISRAELITES SOMETHING PHYSICAL TO FOCUS THEIR FAITH ON. THE ARK WAS NOT THEIR PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE SIGNIFYING GOD’S PRESENCE.
4. THE PRIEST’S WERE TO TAKE THE ARK AHEAD OF THE PEOPLE. WHEN THEY REACHED THE EDGE OF THE RIVER, THEY WERE TO GO AND STAND IN IT WITH THE ARK.
5. TWELVE MEN WERE TO BE CHOSEN AT THIS POINT, ONE FROM EACH TRIBE. THEY WERE TO TAKE TWELVE STONES FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE JORDAN, CARRY THEM TO THE PLACE THEY WERE TO SPEND THE NIGHT, TO SERVE AS A SIGN. WHAT IS THE SIGN FOR. TO REMEMBER.
REMEMBERING IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF A GOD MOMENT. REMEMBERING THE PAST WILL DETERMINE HOW WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE. IT IS WHAT WE BUILD OUR FAITH UPON. IT IS WHAT WE KNOW. JOSHUA WAS MAKING A SYMBOL FOR THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL THAT WHEN THEY SEE IT WOULD ASK WHY IT IS THERE. THIS WOULD GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO TELL ABOUT THE MIRACLE THAT HAPPENED AND LET GOD CHANGE THEIR LIVES AS WELL.
6. WHEN THE PRIESTS SET FOOT IN THE JORDAN THE WATERS STOPPED FOWLING AND THEY STOOD AND CROSSED ON DRY GROUND, RIGHT DURING THE FLOODSTAGE. TRULY A GOD MOMENT FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.
7. BECAUSE OF THEIR OBEDIENCE THEY WERE NOW ABLE TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND AND CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER.
APPLICATION:
WHAT WE HAVE ARE TWO SITUATIONS WITH DIFFERENT RESULTS. IN THE FIRST SITUATION THE PEOPLE DEVELOPED SPIRITUAL AMNESIA. THEY FORGOT IT WAS GOD THEY HAD PUT THEIR FAITH IN WHEN THEY CROSSED THE RED SEA. THEY FORGOT THE MANY MIRACLES THEY HAD WITNESSED AS GOD TOOK CARE OF HIS PEOPLE. THEY ONLY GRUMBLED ABOUT THEIR PRESENT SITUATION, NOT LOOKING AT PAST BLESSINGS TO REMIND THEM THAT GOD WOULD BLESS THEM IN THE FUTURE IF THEY FOLLOWED HIM. THE RESULT IS THEIR DEATH, THE DEATH OF THAT GENERATION.
IN JOSHUA’S SITUATION THE PEOPLE LISTENED TO HIM, AND ENJOYED A TIME OF GREAT PROSPERITY UNDER THE GOD. NOW THESE SITUATIONS TEACH US SOME THINGS.
1. FACE GOD MOMENTS WITH EXPECTANCY. THE JORDAN CROSSING WAS EXPECTED. THERE WAS NO QUESTIONING ABOUT IT, NO SEARCHING FOR OTHER WAYS. IT WAS THERE AND IT WAS GOING TO BE DONE, AT THE TIME SPECIFIED BY GOD IN THE MANNER SPECIFIED BY GOD, WITH THEIR FAITH IN GOD.
DO NOT PRAY FOR A MIRACLE FROM GOD WITHOUT EXPECTING GOD TO PERFORM THAT MIRACLE. DO NOT ORDER GOD BY DETERMINING THE MANNER, AND TIMEING OF THAT ANSWER. THAT’S GOD’S BUSINESS. PRAY FOR A MIRACLE IN EXPECANCY OF GOD ACTING ON YOUR PRAYER.
2. FACE GOD MOMENTS WITH IMMEDIACY. NOW THIS IS NOT SAYING THAT WE EXPECT GOD TO ANSWER IMMEDIATELY. TIMING FOR AN ANSWER IS IN HIS DOMAIN NOT OURS. WHAT IT IS SAYING, IS THAT WHEN GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYER, WHEN WE ACT POSITIVELY ON THAT GOD MOMENT, AND WE SEE THE CHANGES IN OUR LIVES, THAT WE SHOULD GIVE GOD PRAISE IMMEDIATELY. YOU KNOW WE NOT ONLY TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO SAY “PLEASE”, BUT ALSO “THANK YOU” . WE NEED TO SAY THANK YOU TO GOD, TO BUILD OTHERS UP BY SHARING HOW GOD ANSWERED PRAYER IN OUR LIVES. WE NEED TO REMEMBER HOW GOD ANSWERED PAST PRAYERS WHEN WE FACE FUTURE CRISISES.
3. WHILE GOD MOMENTS ARE PRIMARILY INDIVIDUAL THEY CAN ALSO BE COMMUNAL EVENTS. THIS HAPPENED IN THE LIFE OF ISRAEL. GOD MOMENTS CAN HAPPEN IN THE LIFE OF A CHURCH, A CITY OR NATION. AGAIN HOW WE RESPOND TO GOD MOMENTS CAN HAVE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE RESULTS.
CONCLUSION:
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT SPIRITUAL AMNESIA IS THIS. JUST LIKE ZACHARY LANSDOWNES MEMORY CAME BACK TO HIM, SO TOO CAN OUR SPIRITUAL MEMORY COME BACK TO US.
GOD HAS OFFERED US HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO REFRESH OUR MEMORY.
JOHN 14:25-27:
All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
THE SECRET TO REMEMBERING GOD’S GOODNESS IS THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. IT’S TIME FOR OUR SPIRITUAL AMNESIA TO BE HEALED. WE NEED TO ADMIT THAT WE ARE FORGETFUL. IT’S THE KEY TO OPENING GOD MOMENTS IN OUR LIVES. OUR PRAYER IS THAT GOD WOULD USE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BRING TO OUR MINDS THE MANY TIMES THAT GOD HAS BLESSED US, SO THAT WE WILL LOOK TO THE FUTURE EXPECTING GOD TO BLESS US, AND PRAISING HIM WHEN HE DOES.
