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HOW GOD’S PROMISES BECOME REALITY IN YOUR LIFE
Rev. Fr. Kevin Baker
Pentecost 8, July 10, 2005
Crossing the Jordan Joshua 3
1 Early in the morning
Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the
Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After
three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3
giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant
of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it,
you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4
Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this
way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards [a]
between you and the ark; do not go near it." 5 Joshua
told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will
do amazing things among you."
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Unlike human promises, the promises of God can be
trusted with absolute confidence. You and I need never worry about
whether or not God intends to fulfill His promises.
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The apostle Peter said, "The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise" (2 Peter 3:9). Peter was right. Again and
again the Bible assures us that what God said He will do!
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Whenever I think of biblical promises, I am reminded
of the story found in the early chapters of the Book of Joshua where
God promised to make Joshua victorious and give the land of Canaan
to the people of Israel.
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No people ever faced greater obstacles than did the
Israelites in the Old Testament. They had been in bondage in Egypt
for four hundred years.
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Even after their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea
and their deliverance from the Egyptians, they had spent an
additional forty years wandering in the wilderness of Sinai due to
disobedience and rebellion by some of their leaders and people—a
reminder to us that God deals with us as a community, not only as
individuals.
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For all those years they had tenaciously clung to the
promise that God had made to their forefather, Abraham: He would
give the land of Canaan to his descendants.
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They knew that this promised land "flowed with milk
and honey," and that it was all that they had ever heard it was and
more than enough to meet their needs.
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As the children of Israel followed Joshua through the
wilderness to the outskirts of the promised land, they faced two
immediate obstacles:
1. THE JORDAN RIVER.
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The Jordan River, which served as a natural boundary
between them and the land of Canaan, was flooded over its banks as
they approached it. It was an obstacle and challenge to their faith.
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THE CANAANITES.
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Second, the mighty Canaanites occupied the various
parts of that land, and they were not about to relinquish it without
a fight.
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The Canaanites are people who are already there in
the place where God is going to give you—a job, a house, a
competitor in the market place whose market share is soon to be
yours.
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These two obstacles, however, were insignificant in
light of the promise of God given to Joshua—
Joshua 1:3, "The Lord had said unto Joshua,
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I
given unto you".
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He further promised Joshua that none of the people of
the land of Canaan would be able to stand before him if he would
meditate on His Word day and night and obey all that He commanded
him to do.
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With the promise of God before him, and the power of
God within him, Joshua marched forward in victorious obedience.
THIS TEACHES US WE MUST PRAY AND STEP OUT
BY FAITH TO GO INTO THE PLACES GOD HAS FOR US IN LIFE.
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God's promises are always made in accordance with His
plans for us. And it is only to the degree that we lay hold of His
promises that we will see the plan and purpose of God unfolded in
our lives.
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It is also to this degree that we will see the power
of God at work on our behalf.
WHAT JOSHUA TEACHES US TODAY IS THE FIRST STEP OF
OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS ALWAYS THE TOUGHEST.
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Returning to our text in Joshua 3 - to reinforce His
promise to Joshua, the Lord commanded him to bring the people of
Israel to the banks of the Jordan River.
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When they arrived, they found the river overflowing
its banks, making it all but impossible to cross. How many of you
have seen this in your life?
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Just when you have heard God and step out to do His
will, there is an obstacle that arises? What are we to do as we
travel through the uncharted places of living by faith as Joshua and
the people of God did as they crossed the Jordan into the promised
land?
FIRST, THE GODLY LEADER JOSHUA CALLS THE PEOPLE TO
FOCUS ON GOD.
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This is what you and I must do when in personal
crisis. We need to focus on God.
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In order to focus their attention on God Himself, the
Lord told Joshua to command the priests to carry the Ark of the
Covenant into the Jordan River.
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The Ark of the Covenant was the place where the blood
sacrifice was applied to the mercy seat and where the glory of God
resided among the Israelites. In essence, the Ark of the Covenant
symbolized God's power and presence with His people.
SECOND, THE PRIESTS LEAD THE WAY OF FAITH AND
OBEDIENCE BY STEPPING INTO THE WATER.
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The Scriptures tell us that the priests carried the
ark into the river, and as the soles of their feet rested in the
waters of the Jordan, the Israelites were able to cross over on dry
land!
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Just as Moses had miraculously led the children of
Israel across the Red Sea at the beginning of their journey, now the
priests and Joshua led them miraculously across the Jordan River at
the end of their journey.
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Over and over again when the nation of Israel goes
into battle, the troops are led out by the priests—the Church first,
then the people. This is what we are experiencing in our church
too!
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God called me, first, as the priest, to step out into
the waters where it takes faith for us to move into our future as a
church! Then, God will call on you to follow by faith as we move
into the abundant blessings of God for our church!
AS YOU WALK BY FAITH IN YOUR LIFE, LEARN TO KEEP YOUR
EYES ON THE GOAL.
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Joshua had God’s promises that the land of Canaan was
theirs, and wherever he set foot that place would belong to Israel.
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There are more than 3,000 promises in the Word of
God. Once we begin to understand the nature of these promises and
our own potential to see them fulfilled, we will begin to mature in
our walk of faith.
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These promises are designed to activate our
confidence in God. Once we realize that He has made abundant
personal promises to us, our minds will be enlightened, and we will
catch sight of what God is doing in this world.
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At that point, nothing else will matter. All the
things that we have put before the Lordship of Christ will fade into
insignificance.
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Once you taste of the great things that God has for
you, you will never want to go back to a mediocre spiritual walk
with Him.
WHAT I WANT YOU TO TAKE HOME TODAY—HOW TO MAKE GOD’S
PROMISES BECOME REALITY IN YOUR LIFE:
In the Book of Joshua, chapter 3, the Bible presents four
prerequisites for seeing God's promises come to pass:
(1) GOD PROMISES WILL BECOME YOUR REALITY WHEN YOU
HAVE A CLEAN HEART.
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As Joshua prepared the children of Israel for their
miraculous crossing, he told them to sanctify themselves (v.5). He
was calling upon them to repent and cleanse their hearts so that
they might serve the Lord.
(2) GOD PROMISES WILL BECOME YOUR REALITY WHEN YOU
HAVE A FOCUSED MIND.
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Not only were the Israelites to properly prepare
themselves spiritually by the means of spiritual sanctification, but
they were also to focus their attention on the Ark of the Covenant,
and thereby, on God Himself.
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Leaving behind their negative traditions of the past,
they focused on the future. When Joshua told the people of Israel to
follow the priests into the Jordan River, they could have easily
questioned the wisdom of such a command. But they did not—they
obeyed and were blessed.
(3) GOD PROMISES WILL BECOME YOUR REALITY WHEN YOU HAVE UNQUESTIONED
OBEDIENCE.
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Joshua told the priests to put the Ark of the
Covenant upon their shoulders and to step into the waters of the
Jordan River. Then he told the people to follow them across the
river to the other side.
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The Israelites did not stand there and argue with
Joshua or try to present an alternative plan. When God shows you
what His will is, do it.
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You can only live life in two postures toward God’s
authority—obedience or rebellion. Remember, God’s authority was
represented in the priests as spiritual leaders and Joshua as the
civil of governmental leader of the nation. To disobey and rebel
against them is to disobey and be in rebellion against God.
(4) GOD PROMISES WILL BECOME YOUR REALITY WHEN YOU
ARE EXPECTING THE MIRACLE.
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In order to see God's promises fulfilled for us, we
must expect those promises to be fulfilled. If Joshua and the people
of Israel had not expected God to fulfill His word, they would have
turned back into the wilderness, even as their forefathers did.
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Instead, they realized that they were in a position
to trust God as they never had before and put Him to the test.
WHAT ARE YOUR SWOLLEN RIVER AND RUTHLESS ENEMIES
TODAY?
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It was a difficult position to say the least:
crossing the swollen River Jordan with hostile enemy forces waiting
for them on the other side.
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Yet, that is exactly where they needed to be-where
they were absolutely forced to expect God to deliver them.
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That is the challenge before all of us today. We all
have a choice if we want to move beyond the wilderness and into the
promises of God for our life where will find the abundant life—Jesus
says “I have come that you may have life, and that m ore
abundantly.”
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CLEAN HEART, FOCUSED MIND, UNQUESTIONED OBEDIENCE,
AND EXPECTING THE MIRACLE.
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Are you ready to move into the promised land of
abundant life? Are you ready to move into your destiny? Here’s
what the whole Book of Joshua says is the key:
Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord."
Let us pray.
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