Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro: We’ve examined the faith of Rahab and the two spies; now the focus moves to the faith of an entire nation.

I want us to keep in mind that the Book of Joshua deals with much more than ancient history.

What God did centuries ago for the nation of Israel, He can do for us, the church and America as well, if we will trust Him because God is faithful.

God’s faithfulness is what will encourage us to step up and Cross Our Jordan

Text; Joshua 3:1-5

1.

The Jordan; 1

Crossing the Jordan is not as symbolic of going to heaven as some may consider.

Crossing the Jordan is more of a type of moving into a daily walk with the Lord.

It is growing our faith and trust in Him.

The Jordan is an obstacle that can only be overcome by faith in God.

The Jordan River is normally only 100 feet wide at Gilgal where they crossed.

But God brought them to the Jordan at the time of harvest [3:15].

During the harvest time the Jordan swells to an width of over 1 mile, 50 times wider than normal.

How was Joshua going to get 1 million people across a mile wide river without the loss of life and the enemy taking advantage of their exposure?

God!

So for 3 days the nation camped by the river that was overflowing it’s banks and no doubt thoughts went through their minds, “we are gonna die.”

2. Command of Faith; 2-3

The Ark of the Covenant- The Ark was a symbol of God’s presence.

It contained the Word of God, Aaron’s rod of resurrection, and the jar of manna which was the bread of life.

The Ark was covered with the mercy seat where God met with Moses.

Go after it- follow God.

This was a command not an option.

Forty years earlier they didn’t follow God and look what it cost them.

In the Christian life we’re either an overcomer or you’re overcome, victorious or a victim.

Just like Israel, as God’s people, we are to focus our eyes on the Word of God, the Resurrection, and the Bread of Life.

Jesus Christ is all three.

We are to follow Christ’s leading in our life.

We don’t have an Ark to lead us today but we have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

John 16:13 (NKJV)

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

If we ever expect to get past our obstacles in life and cross our Jordan, we must learn to follow God!

3. Challenge to Stay Focused; 4

The Ark was in the center of the camp and the tribes were camped around it according to their designation [Num.

2].

Whenever the camp was moved the Ark always led the way.

The tribes then followed in order at a certain distance for two reasons.

Reverence of God- God is our companion as we go through life, but He is not “the man upstairs” or “our best bud”.

There must always be a holy reverence and a fear of the Lord in our hearts so we won’t cheapen our walk with Him.

b.

You’ve not been here before- Israel was going somewhere they had never been and would encounter situations they had never dealt with before.

They needed to stay focused.

Before this point in Israel’s life.

God had provided all their needs [water, manna/food, clothes never ruined for 40 years, He protected them, guided them, freed them from bondage].

God would continue to do this, but now Israel had to put forth a “faith effort" to receive the promises of God in the land.

We need to stay focused on God because there are situations we’ve never encountered before and “faith effort” in Christ will get us through.

Health issues, financial issues, family issues, faith issues that we’ve never gone through before and we have to stay focused on God and walk by faith or we will become victims of our circumstances instead of being victorious in Christ!

4. Call to Sanctification; 5

Sanctify- be holy, removed from common use, set apart

In the Bible the imagery of washing one’s body and changing clothes symbolized making a new beginning with the Lord.

Since sin is pictured as defilement, God has to cleanse us before we can truly follow Him.

But we have a call to keep ourselves holy, clean and usable to God.

When Jacob made a new beginning with the Lord and returned to Bethel, he and his family washed themselves and changed their garments (Gen.

35:1–3)

After King David confessed his sin, he bathed, changed clothes, and worshiped the Lord (2 Sam.

12:20)

When we sin we must confess our sin [sanctify ourself] and move forward in the Lord.

Close;

Following after God is not always easy, but it is always rewarding.

If we will follow Him, He promises to always lead us to victory in Christ as we Cross Our Jordan!