The Book Of Joshua 4 Of 9

That laid me up for a while.” The agent said, “Weren’t those accidents?” “No,” replied the cowboy, “They did it on purpose.”

I believe God’s people should have the same attitude about things in their lives. We have too many Christians today, walking around talking like something happened by accident.

The fact is, God is the one who does the work in our life. It has nothing to do with accidents, good luck or bad luck.

Ephesians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

It is God who does the work in our life, and each day we should thank Him for what He has done, and not pass it off as an accident, or as good or bad luck!

Joshua had just taken over as the leader of Israel after Moses died. He was a man of faith.

What are some of the things we can learn from this part of the Book of Joshua? The Word of God teaches us some very valuable lessons in Joshua.

For example, the crossing is a beautiful analogy of the believer's death with Christ, and the resurrection life in Him.

Romans 6:2-5, we read, “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

The moment we put our faith in Jesus as our personal Savior, we have everything we need in Christ. The Holy Spirit invites us to come and take possession of it.

Joshua instructed Israel to MOVE OUT when the PRIEST began to carry the ARK OF THE COVENANT, which was symbolic of God’s presence. Let’s look at-

I. THEIR MOVING

The crossing of the Jordan beautifully pictures our passing from one level of Christian living to another. As we walk by faith, He fulfills in us what He asks us to do. It doesn't happen automatically.

God was saying to Israel, "The land is already your land, now walk in it.”

• Take it

• Claim it

• Possess it

And God says in Joshua 3:13-14, “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people.”

Illus: We can read through church history, and see great men and women of God doing great things for the Lord. But the difference between them and many Christians, is that they knew how BY FAITH TO CLAIM THE BLESSINGS OF GOD.

Notice the kind of instructions the Lord gave. He told them, “WHEN I MOVE, YOU MOVE, and if I MOVE and YOU MOVE, I will give you every place the soles of your feet land.”

When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, they were cut off from their old life. At the Jordan River they were cut off from all the old pagan Egyptian life styles, and the wilderness wandering.

Israel as a nation had:

• A new identity

• A new law

• A new life in the land

There was no need to go back across the river. The old life style was buried under the waters of the Jordan. That old life was dead. They came up out of the Jordan to start a new life in a new land.

That describes our death, burial and resurrection with Christ, because we have been so identified with Christ.

We have been baptized into Christ. We have been placed into Christ and identified with Him. We have gone through what Christ went through in His death, burial and resurrection. We are so identified with Christ that He not only died for our sins, but we died with Him.

The Apostle Paul described our new identification with Christ as being "crucified with Him," we are:

• Buried with Him

• Risen with Him

Look at Romans 6:11, we read, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”