JESUS, OUR CITY OF REFUGE!
Dr. Larry Petton
Great Chapters of the Bible #7
Text: Joshua 20
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THINK ABOUT THIS
Homelessness is skyrocketing in America. Over 3.5 million Americans live on the streets. Of the homeless male population, 40 % are American veterans who served our country and sought to keep us free as a nation. What a tragedy.
But what bothers me is.........how does that happen in a country where there are more churches than any nation in the world? Where is the Church and why don't we do something to stop this epidemic of homelessness?
Many today are looking for a REFUGE. God addressed the problem of refugees in the Book of Joshua as he gave them commands to build seven cities of refuge for the accidental killer.
BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
Joshua literally means, "God saves". This Old Testament book is all about the triumph of obedient faith. Joshua is the young leader who followed mighty Moses after he refused to obey God at Meribah (Numbers 20). God told Moses to speak to the rock, but not strike it. He struck the rock twice in his anger. God saw the rebellion of his heart and it cost Moses dearly. At the end of Deuteronomy, God took Moses to Mt. Nebo where he could saw across the Jordan River valley. There God showed Moses all that he missed because of his obedience. This is one of the most tragic scenes in Scripture.
Imagine what it would be like for you if God called you Home to Heaven tonight. However, before He let you go Home, how would you feel if God said, "Child, let me show you what you could have had in life. Let me show you what you missed because of your disobedience. Let me show you all the blessings I wanted you to have.......but you missed them." Wow. That's exactly what happened to Moses!
Now, notice Joshua 1:1. Moses is dead, but God isn't. No man is indispensable. An Elijah is taken.......God has an Elisha waiting in the bullpen. He had a plan for His people to plow full steam ahead into the Promised Land.
"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them.”
Young Joshua led the people of God through the Jordan River and into the Promised Land led by the Ark of the Covenant, a visible symbol of the Presence of God, leading the way carried on the backs of the Levitical priests. As they crossed over the Jordan, God spoke to Joshua and made a phenomenal promise: "I will give you every place where you step your foot!" (Joshua 1:3).
This is called the Law of APPROPRIATION. God has given you all things you need (potentially), but you must step them off through obedience. As Darrell Royal, Head Coach of the University of Texas Longhorns' football team once said, "Potential just means you 'aint done nothing yet!" I love that!
You may have great potential for the Kingdom of God, but for you to receive from the Lord, you have to start walking in obedience.
In Joshua 1:9, God made another awesome promise to the people of Israel: "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and very courageous. Do not be afraid nor dismayed. For the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go."
If you travel for your business this week.......
God is with you on the plane.
God is around you while you drive down that busy highway.
God is waiting at the motel for you.
God is sitting there in the business meeting, ready to give you His wisdom if you desire.
God is prepared to usher you back home to your waiting family. He is already there with open arms.
Wherever you go.......He is there.
You can't go anywhere that God is not there.
Then God commanded the Jews to do something entirely unique. He ordered them in Joshua 4:20-24 to build a monument to their faith. They were to take stones from the Jordan River and remember what God had done for them with a monument.
Have you seen the movie, MONUMENTS MEN? It is all about WWII and the sadistic quest of Hitler to capture all of the great works of art from the world and put them into his own art gallery. The movie shows our government commissioning a small group of artists to go and protect the art that remained and to find the thousands of paintings and sculptures that were stolen by Hitler and hidden in salt mines of Europe. It is a very interesting and exciting movie. We have to remember what we have learned from the past to be strong in the present and to pave the way for a future generation.
God was into monuments long before the U.S. Government. He commanded the Hebrews to remember what He had done for them. He knew that one day their grandkids would come along and ask, "Grandpa......why is this monument of stones standing here?" He knew that in that day, those children would be able to hear the great things that God had done in the history of the nation of Israel. They would have an opportunity to pass their faith to the next generation.
After making the monuments of stone, the children of Israel were prepared to march into victory in the Land flowing with Milk and Honey! They had entered into the land promised to Israel in the time of Abraham. They were finally home! They finally made it to the Promised Land!
THE PROMISED LAND
Growing up in a good Baptist home in Dallas, I have heard all of the old hymns and Gospel songs. My mother was in a women's trio. She sang in the choir. She played the piano and loved the great old songs of the faith. She liked to sing that old hymn known as, "On Jordan's Stormy Banks."
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand
And cast a wishful eye.
To Canaan's fair and happy land
where my possessions lie!
I am bound for the Promised Land,
I am bound for the Promised Land.
Oh, who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the Promised Land!
What a great old hymn about our homecoming in Heaven, right?
But that great old song that my mother sang years ago was not biblically true. Sorry, Mom!
Canaan is not a picture of Heaven.
Canaan is not a picture of what happens at our death.
Canaan is a picture of the victorious Christian life........here and now!
Canaan is a place of many battles, but our battles are over in Heaven.
Canaan happens for us when we walk in obedience to God's Word.
As we now encounter the Promised Land of Joshua, there are three key locations we can identify that will help us clarify where all people are spiritually. In I Corinthians 2-3, Paul tells us that there are three types of people: the natural man, the carnal man and the spiritual man.
The NATURAL man is lost and does not know Christ. He is in spiritual bondage and living in spiritual EGYPT. Satan is his Pharoah. Christ is not Resident in his heart.
The CARNAL man is a believer in Christ who has been delivered out of the bondage of sin in Egypt, but has not been delivered from the power of self in the Wilderness. That Christian life is an up and down experience that is filled with defeat. Christ is Resident, but not President. Sadly, most Christians are hanging out in the Wilderness living a mediocre life.
The SPIRITUAL man is a believer in Christ who is living in the Promised Land of repeated victory in his life. Christ is Resident in his heart and President of all. He is not perfect, but he is living in the power of the Spirit and producing much fruit (John 15:1-7).
Where are you today?
Are you living in Egypt – still bound to sin? Come to Christ today. He will set you free.
Are you living in the Wilderness? If so, you have been brought OUT of the world but you have not been brought IN to victory in Christ?
Are you living in Canaan? Are you enjoying the Spirit-filled life and seeing victory in your life? Don't get proud or you will find yourself wandering in the Wilderness again. Stay humble and give God the praise.
One of the curious questions I have always had concerns the people who actually saw Christ after His resurrection. I would love to have been part of that group to see Jesus in His glorified, resurrected body!
But, for some reason, that incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience didn’t seem to make a difference in many of those people. Paul says in I Corinthians 15 that over 500 hundred saw Christ after His resurrection. Jesus told them to go and wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:8-11). They were to worship and wait for 40 days.
The problem here is........there were only 120 were in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came in power. The question I have is: where were the other 380 plus believers who saw the resurrected Christ personally? Those believers had been with Christ to the Cross.......they had experienced His resurrection power........but they were not partakers of Pentecost!
How many believers today have been to the Cross.......they know Christ as their Risen Savior...........but they have not been endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. They are like the Israelites in the Wilderness ---- they were brought OUT of Egypt, but they have not been brought INTO the Promised Land of victory.
What is the problem? Christ is only RESIDENT in their lives. He is not PRESIDENT.
To test their faith, God allowed the Israelites to be tested right off the bat with a big showdown in the big walled city of Jericho. They didn't seem to stand a chance against this mighty fortress. But God had other ideas.
He told them to obey Him and walk around the city times shouting and singing. Are you serious, God? REALLY?????
But they obeyed and the walls came tumbling down!
Maybe you have walls in your life that you think are impassable and impossible. But God is bigger. Trust Him and walk in obedience.
THE CITIES OF REFUGE
After complete victory in Jericho, the children of Israel were willing to listen to God. He was establishing the nation in their new land. To establish a nation you have to have laws. But you have to have laws that are fair and merciful. So, God spoke to Joshua in chapter 20 and called for him to establish SEVEN CITIES OF REFUGE. These cities would be a safe haven for any who had accidentally killed another Hebrew:
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. 4 When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 5 If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6 They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”
There are SEVEN SIGNIFICANT facts about the Cities of Refuge and how they point to Christ and His Church today:
1. THE CITIES OF REFUGE WERE A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR ANYONE WHO ACCIDENTALLY KILLED ANOTHER.
Accidents do happen even in the lives of Christians. I have read about the life of George W. Truitt, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas for years. Dr. Truitt went deer hunting in West Texas with one of the men in his church who was a sheriff in Dallas County. On the hunting trip, Dr. Truitt accidentally shot and killed his friend. It devastated his life and ministry, but it was an accident.
How often are we involved in accident these days? They happen in all generations, including during the time of Joshua. So, God gave a law specificially for this situation. Joshua was to designate 7 cities for a place of refuge where a man who accidentally killed another could run and find shelter. He would be pursued by family and friends of the one slain wanting vengeance. If he could outrun the pursuers and make it to the city of refuge and cling to the High Priest of that city......his life would be spared.
2. THE CITIES OF REFUGE WERE APPOINTED BY GOD.
The cities of refuge were not the idea of man, just as the Gospel is not a human invention. In like manner, God’s appointing of Christ to be the Savior of sinners was no afterthought. In the Divine purpose and plan, Christ was the Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).
3. THE ROADS LEADING TO THE CITIES OF REFUGE HAD TO BE KEPT CLEAR SO THAT THE SINNER COULD FIND HIS WAY TO SAFETY.
I love this point. If anyone left their plow in the road or another obstacle, the innocent manslayer might stumble and fall as he tries to get to the City of Refuge. The roads were to be kept clear so that men could find refuge in time of need. What an incredible application to the life of the believer in Christ! We are to keep our "road clear" so that others are not stumbling over us. We are to examine our hearts and our lives to make sure we are not causing others to miss Heaven. It could be that you may be on the way to Heaven but IN THE WAY of someone trying to find Heaven!
I read a very funny story this week of a humorous incident in the life of Billy Graham. When he was a young preacher, he had a meeting scheduled at a church in North Carolina. When he got to the small town, he wanted to send a letter to his wife, but did not know the location of the Post Office. So, Billy Graham stopped a little boy on the sidewalk and said, "Young man, do you know how to get to the Post Office?" The little boy said, "Sure, mister. Just go to the first light, take a right and it will be on your left."
Billy Graham said, "Thank you for telling me how to get to the Post Office, son. And I want to invite you to come to First Baptist Church tonight. If you will come to church tonight, I will tell you how to get to Heaven!"
The little boy thought about it for a moment and said, "No, sir.......I don't think I want to come to church and hear you. You don't even know how to get to the Post Office!"
Is there anything in your road that is causing someone to stumble?
4. IF THE MANSLAYER WERE CAUGHT BY HIS ACCUSER, HE COULD BE SLAIN. If the manslayer made it safely to the city of refuge he was safe. He faced a trial before the elders of the city to determine if the killing was accidental or not.
God was showing to His people that no man is an island. We should work together with others in our community of faith to hear God's voice and confirm what He is doing. Proverbs tells us that there is a wisdom in a multitude of counselors.
5. IF THE MANSLAYER WAS FOUND TO BE AN ACCIDENTAL KILLER, HE WAS SAFE AND LIVED IN THE CITY OF REFUGE UNTIL THE DEATH OF THE HIGH PRIEST.
What a remarkable picture of the Gospel. We run to the City of Refuge and find our protection in the arms of the High Priest. So, understand this: the safety of the accused one was found, not in a PLACE, but in a PERSON ----the High Priest.
Our safety is not in man.
Our safety is not in a building.
Our safety is not in a tradition.
Our safety is not in a religious organization.
Our safety is in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest (Heb. 4:15). “For there is one God and one meditator between God and man and that is the MAN CHRIST JESUS” (I Timothy 2:5).
6. THE NAMES OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE ALL POINT TO JESUS HIMSELF.
The comparisons and parallels between the Cities of Refuge and Christ are incredible!
Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are open to all; no one needs to fear that they would be turned away from the place of refuge in Christ.
Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are the only alternative for the one in need; without this specific protection, they will be destroyed.
Both Jesus and the cities of refuge provide protection only within their boundaries; to go outside means death.
With both Jesus and the cities of refuge, full freedom comes through the death of the High Priest.
But, go even deeper with me. Check out the names of the cities and how they apply to Christ!
• Kedesh - meaning “righteousness” (You are clean).
• Shechem – meaning “shoulder” (I care for you).
• Hebron – meaning “fellowship” (You are not alone).
• Bezer – meaning “fortress” (You are safe).
• Ramoth – meaning “exalted” (I am your God).
• Golan – meaning “joy” (You are my people).
As awesome as that is, the Gospel of grace in the New Testament is better. There is one key difference: in the Book of Joshua, only the accidental killer could find refuge. In the Gospel, even the guilty sinner can find a refuge in Christ! At the very end of His life, Jesus granted pardon to a guilty thief who cried out to Jesus and said, “Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom!” And Jesus said to him, “This day you will be with Me in Paradise.”
In most cases, the sermon would STOP RIGHT NOW. I would give the invitation and that would be the end of the message. But there is more. Ponder this next point well. God has been speaking to me about this all week. It was fresh manna to my soul and I had never really dealt with this idea before now from this text.
7. IF JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE, THEN THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, SHOULD BE A REFUGE TODAY FOR THOSE IN NEED.
Casting Crowns has a great song about the Church entitled, “If We Are the Body”. Read these convicting words. What a sermon in a song.
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way, there is a way.
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
The most common name in the New Testament for the Church is……….the Body of Christ. It means that Christ is living on the earth today through us. It means that the same Christ who came meeting needs, healing the sick and helping the poor, is desiring to do the same through us today. Jesus understood the fact that hurting people can’t understand the Gospel in their hearts when there is no food in their stomach.
So, what should the Church be saying to a hurting world today? We should be Cities of Refuge for hurting, lost people. We should be crying out to them:
You can be clean in Christ!
We care for you!
You are not alone!
You are safe in Christ!
He is your God!
He wants you to be in His family!
THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF THE CHURCH TODAY
Sadly, the Church today in America is becoming IRRELEVANT because we have become IRREVERENT. We are called to be holy. The main Greek word for “holy” is agios, meaning, “to be different.” If we don’t take a different direction in the church in America……we will not only be IRRELEVANT, we will become INVISIBLE!
Many writers have told the traditional story of the thirteenth century Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who visited the Vatican in Rome. He was escorted through the fine buildings housing the vast Papal treasury. The Pope, referring to himself as Peter’s successor, also referred to the instance in the Book of Acts of the lame man who was healed at the Temple gate. The Pope gestured to the incredible display of gold, wealth and precious jewels and said to Aquinas, "Peter can longer say, ’Silver and gold have I none."
Aquinas, upon hearing that statement, turned and said to the Pope, "And neither can he say, "Rise up and walk in the Name of Jesus!’"
The Church in America appears to be mostly principle and very little power. We say the right things and believe the right things, but produce very little evidence to confirm what the Bible says. You might say that the modern church is much like a FROZEN WATERFALL. It has all the form and shape of its early days...but none of the movement!
Oh, that the fire of the Holy Spirit come upon our churches, leaders and ministries and thaw us to today! May we find our refuge in JESUS alone and be a city of refuge to all who are in need.
Dr. Larry Petton
Please contact me if I can talk to your further about this message or pray for you about a need in your life.
The audio version of this message can be found at www.crosspointenwa.com.
