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Sanctify Yourselves |
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Joshua 3:1-17
“Sanctify yourselves…” God instructed Joshua to have the people sanctify themselves in preparation for the work that they would have to do to take the Promised Land. This was a command to every single person. Each of the approximately 3 million people would have to be prepared spiritually before they could enter the land. This wasn’t an order just to the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant. It wasn’t just to the elders who were leading the people. It wasn’t just to the officers and soldiers in the army who had to do the actual fighting. No, everyone, down to the most insignificant shepherd boy, had to make himself right with God before the Israelites could cross into the land.
Now if God wasn’t concerned with the spiritual status of every member of the congregation, he wouldn’t have cared if they were all sanctified or not. If the spiritual condition of each person didn’t play a role in the success of the mission for the entire people, He wouldn’t have insisted on everyone being ritually pure. From these verses, we can see that the spiritual state of one member of the body directly affects God’s ability to act through and on behalf of the whole body.
Too many Christians don’t understand the full ramifications of this principle. They go to church on Sundays. They consider themselves members of a local body of believers. But they live their lives during the rest of the week any way they want. They think that their spiritual state is no one else’s business and assume that their Christian walk affects only themselves. This is not what the Bible teaches.
The church isn’t the four walls, roof and carpet of the building that you meet in on Sunday mornings. It’s not the pastoral staff and the elder board. The church is the sum total of all the individual believers who meet together regularly to worship, learn and fellowship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And just like the human body, in which an injury or illness in one part affects the health of the rest of the body, the sin of one church member can hinder the ministry of the whole church. This is why there is provision in the Bible to call out and discipline sinful members of the congregation, and eventually remove those who remain unrepentant.
You are an important member of a body of believers. If there is unconfessed sin in your life, you are negatively affecting the work of the ministry of that body. Sanctify yourself!
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump… 1 Cor 5:6-7
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God is in This Place |
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Joshua 3:1-17
It must have been reported back to the city of Jericho the minute the Jordan was stopped and the Israelites began to move across. Those in the city had naturally assumed that they had some time to get ready considering that the Jordan was still at flood stage. They thought that the Israelites would be stuck on the east bank for a long while yet. They knew that 3 million people couldn’t cross at the fords, so they were safe for the time being. It was a shocker then, when the Israelites began to cross without any troubles at all; they were just walking right across the river. The city of Jericho, and with it all of Canaan, was in a panic. Everybody knew that God’s people had just moved into the land. And if God’s people are there, then God is there. The Canaanites’ courage just melted away before them.
Christians are God’s people in the world today. Each one of us represents God’s presence everywhere we happen to be. Corporately as the Church or separately as individual believers, when God’s people get involved, God Himself is present. When Christians arrive on the scene something’s got to change. When Christians show up, somebody ought to realize that God is there too. They may not know Him by name; they may not acknowledge Him as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. They may not understand what’s written in the Bible; they may not comprehend a lick of theology. But they ought to understand that when Christians are around there’s a difference in the situation.
So I want to ask you a question. When you show up in a situation, do the other people around sense that there’s a difference? Do they realize that God just walked in?
When you step into the office or on to the jobsite or into the classroom, do people recognize that a representative of the almighty God has just come? When you join a group of your fellow students or coworkers, does the tone of the conversation immediately change? Does your presence in a situation cause people to rethink their actions and attitudes? If there is worry and distress, do you instill confidence and resolve? If there is immorality and sin, do you exude goodness and righteousness? Do the wicked feel uncomfortable in your presence? Do the hurting and downtrodden sense the love and mercy of God when you are around? Or do the people that you hang out with even know that you are a Christian?
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Mt 5:16
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Get Your Feet Wet |
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Joshua 3:1-17
God had instructed Joshua to have the priests with the Ark of the Covenant move out first. They were to take up the Ark and walk right out into the water of the Jordan. I’m sure they were talking among themselves about the inconvenience of getting their feet wet and wondering if they just might end up drowning under the weight of the gold-laden Ark. Of course, God miraculously stopped the river and the priests found themselves standing in a dry riverbed. The entire people were then able to cross safely.
The crossing of the Jordan has some obvious parallels with the crossing of the Red Sea 40 years earlier. God intervened miraculously in both cases so that His people could cross easily on dry ground. Both instances were a type of baptism into a new relationship with God, first for the Exodus generation under Moses, and then for the new generation under Joshua. In fact, God used the event at the Jordan to validate Joshua as heir to Moses in the eyes of the Israelites as they remembered the earlier crossing. But there is also an important difference between the two occasions.
At the Red Sea Moses said, “Be still and watch God work.” And God split the Red Sea without the Israelites even moistening a toe. God intervened as the people stood and watched. On the banks of the Jordan, however, it was different. God said, “Start walking, step into the water, and once you get wet, then I’ll stop the river.”
As believers, we look for the Red Sea type experiences in our lives. We want to sit back and watch God act on our behalf, answer our prayers, and save us out of the situations we find ourselves in. We want to witness the power of God move in our lives from the vantage point of a comfortable armchair. We want to be told, “Be still and watch God work.” Sometimes God decides to work this way. Praise God, when He does! Our problem is that we expect Him to work like this all the time. And when he doesn’t, we complain and doubt and murmur – reminds me of the Israelites in the desert.
But that’s not the way God chooses to move in our lives very often. God expects us to get our feet wet first, just like the Israelites on the banks of the Jordan. God often waits to answer our prayers until we have taken those first steps of faith. Only after you have put yourself into the position in which either God will come through or you’ll look pretty stupid, will you experience the real power of God in your life. You know what God wants you to do, so step out into the water.
And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Mt 14:29
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No Other Gods |
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Joshua 3:1-17
“When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God…” The Ark of the Covenant was an amazing piece of furniture (though, not something you’d want in your living room – my wife would make me use a coaster for sure). It was the most important piece in the Tabernacle. It was kept in the holiest place behind the curtain. It was only 3 feet 9 inches long by 2 feet 3 inches wide and 2 feet 3 inches deep, made of acacia wood. In it were the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. On top of the Ark was the Mercy Seat with the figures of two cherubim standing over it. The whole thing was overlaid inside and out with pure gold. Only the priests were allowed to touch it.
The Ark of the Covenant represented the holy presence of God with His People. When the Israelites saw it, they were reminded that God was with them in a unique way. It was a powerful symbol of the relationship between a righteous and holy God with His people. The Israelites would take the Ark with them into battle, and its presence would instill confidence in them and dread in the hearts of their enemies. Any offence against the Ark was an offence against God; it was quickly and harshly dealt with.
Not too many years after the conquest, the Israelites began to mistake the symbol for what it stood for. They forgot that an object made of fine wood and pure gold isn’t itself their god. They put their trust in the thing, rather than in the God it represented. On one occasion, the Israelites were faring badly against the Philistines. So they decided to go and get the Ark and bring into the battle. They thought of it as a secret weapon that would magically help them win. But at that time, they were not right in their relationship with God. The Ark was in the battle, but God wasn’t. The Israelites were soundly defeated and the Ark was captured.
As Christians, we need to be careful that we don’t allow things to take the place of God in our lives. That’s called idolatry. It could be bank accounts and investments, job title or health, spouse or possessions. Anything that you build your life on, that you cling to for security and happiness, is an idol if you can’t give it up in the service of God. If there are things in your life that “you can’t live without”, would devastate you if you lost, or things that define who you are, consider whether or not they’ve become your idols. In whom do you put your trust?
"And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them." Deut. 4:19
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Just Do It! |
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Joshua 2:22-3:8
Upon getting the report from the two spies, Joshua thought it best to form a special steering committee. He also wanted to spend some time exegeting relevant Bible passages. And he instructed the elders to go on a weekend planning retreat.
Wait, is that what the Bible says? Nope! When Joshua heard God’s message reported by the spies, it was all he needed. He got up early the next morning to begin the process of moving the people into the land. He knew what God expected of him and he knew that it was time to do what God had been preparing him to do. There was no need for more discussion groups, prayer services, or study sessions. He didn’t even call for a vote of the people. It was time to go.
Unfortunately, many Christians don’t respond with Joshua’s determination and resolve even when they know what God expects them to do. Why do we procrastinate? Why do we make excuses? Why do we always say, “I’ll pray about it,” when we already know what the right thing to do is? You know how the conversation goes. Someone gets asked, “You’re not serving anywhere at the church, I noticed.” “No, I’m not.” “We have some needs, would you serve in the nursery?” “Uh, gee… Let me go and pray about it.” All the while, they’re really thinking, “I’m going to say, ‘No’ but I’m going to look spiritual when I do say, ‘no.’ And if I say I prayed about it, then they can’t question my answer.”
You may be similarly putting off doing what you know God wants you to do. For example, you know that God commands you to give your time and resources to support the work of His ministry. You don’t need to pray whether to give or server; you know the answer already. The only thing you need to be asking God is, “How much?” Or you may be in a dating relationship and you know you need to make some changes. But you refuse to do it; you keep putting it off. Does this person love God and respect you? You don’t need to pray whether to continue in the relationship or not; you already know what you should be doing. Or you may be holding a grudge against a fellow Christian. Do you need to pray to find out that you must forgive and seek reconciliation? No. If you know that God wants you to do something you’re not doing, or stop something you are doing, why waste time praying about it? What’s another Bible study exercise going to reveal? Why make excuses? Why procrastinate? Just do it!
But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hears who delude themselves. James 1:22
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