Crossing Jordan Live Service | Sunday, March 12, 2023

Thank you very much, Anthony. Praise the Lord! Good morning to you all. I hope you are doing well. You can have a seat. It’s great to see you here. I guess the time change didn't affect you all that much. How many of you are missing that hour of sleep this morning? The second service may not be as bad as the first; I don't know.

It’s good to see you all here. We are going to be getting into the Scriptures in just a moment. In fact, if you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We will be in the Book of Joshua this morning.

Before we get into our study, though, I have one other thing I want to announce. For the last several weeks, we have been gathering together here on Sunday nights for a time of worship. We are getting together at six o'clock, and we will continue to do that through the end of this month, March. So, we have a few more times to gather together. I would like to invite you to come out tonight at six o'clock here in the sanctuary. We will spend some time in worship and in prayer. I will talk a little bit more about that as we get into the Scriptures today, but we are going to be in the Book of Joshua, so open your Bibles to the sixth book of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua.

We will be in Joshua chapter 3 today. I’m sure you have encountered in your life, as it is common to all, the reality of facing challenges, difficulties, and obstacles. There are times when we encounter obstacles or difficulties that seem almost too great. They appear too big for us. In our minds, as we face these challenges, we think there is no way we will be able to get through, around, or over them.

That obstacle seems too great for us. I think that was absolutely what was in the minds of the people of Israel when they were under the thumb, if you will, of Pharaoh. They had been in that situation for centuries; in the end, they were in Egypt for 400 years. For much of that time, they found themselves as slaves in Egypt. Being in that situation, as slaves under what the Scriptures describe as severe and harsh taskmasters, they felt for sure that there was no way they were getting out of this. This obstacle, this challenge, was too great and too big for them.

Then, you add to it that it wasn't just the harsh taskmasters over them, but eventually there came the decree of...

Pharaoh had given the command to all the people among the children of Israel in his land that they were to commit infanticide; they were to put to death every one of their sons that were born to them. In that situation, it must have seemed like there was no way out. It was in the midst of that dire circumstance that God delivered them by His great power.

If you've read through the book of Exodus or watched the classic film The Ten Commandments, or perhaps the animated feature The Prince of Egypt, you know the story of how God sent Moses to declare to Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Through a series of plagues, ultimately, the children of Israel were delivered. That obstacle, which seemed impossible for them to overcome, was surmounted by God's great power and glory.

You can be certain that after they celebrated the Passover together and the next day were delivered, there was great joy in their hearts and minds as they moved out of Egypt. However, that joy was short-lived. Nearly immediately, they found themselves in what appeared to be another impassable situation. The Red Sea was before them, and the Bible describes two mountain ranges on either side, named Pihahiroth and Migdol. Behind them were the pursuing Egyptian armies because Pharaoh had a change of heart after letting them go; he wanted them back.

There they were, with the Red Sea in front, mountains on either side, and the pursuing Egyptian army behind them. In their minds, they must have thought, "Here we are again, in an impassable, impossible situation. There's no way to get through this." It was in that moment that God spoke to His people, as recorded in the book of Exodus, chapter 14. Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."

I love that phrase, "stand still." There are times when it is so hard for us, as our minds and hearts race, to just be still. Yet God says, "Stand still, and you will see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever

Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. I love those words. Why are you sulking, moaning, complaining, and crying to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

Yes, but before us is a body of water, the Red Sea. Yes, I want you to take the staff that's in your hand and hold it up. I am going to part the waters, and you shall pass over on dry ground. Over and over again, we see Israel, in the years that pass after that, coming to points where there are other obstacles, challenges, and difficulties. Whether it was them lacking water in the wilderness, and God provided water from a rock, or them having a lack of food, and God giving them manna every single day for thirty-eight years, He provided food for them. For forty years, He provided fruit for them.

When they came against enemies and foes that seemed to be stronger than them—and were stronger than them—they had no ability and no resources in and of themselves to face those challenges. Yet God was the one who repeatedly reminded them to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord your God. From venomous snakes that came into the camp to armies they faced, God, at every single point, showed them that He was able to stand against those things or stand for them.

By their own strength, resources, and plans, they had no hope. This is a constant lesson we are learning as well: in and of ourselves, we have no strength or strategy. We cannot face these things on our own without God. To assess the difficulties they faced in their own strength, they would have to conclude that there is nothing they can do to come through this or overcome it. But God! He is the one they would have to turn to constantly. The obstacles were, at times, far too great apart from God.

Now, the question could arise: Was it God who orchestrated those events to bring them to that conclusion? Possibly. Was it the fact that we live in a broken and fallen world affected by sin that we face such challenges? That could possibly be true as well. One of the other things that the Bible makes us aware of is that there is an enemy who opposes the working of God through His people. So, the enemy might be that which is coming against us. All of those things could be true, whatever the case may be.

There are times when we face circumstances that seem hopeless. In thinking about this last week, I was reminded of a beautiful passage from the Psalms, specifically Psalm 107. You may have seen it before. The psalmist writes about those who go down to the sea in ships, stating in Psalm 107, verse 23, "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep."

They witness the magnificent power of the ocean that God has created, for He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. The waves mount up to the heavens and then go down again to the depths; their souls melt because of trouble. Perhaps you've never been in that exact scenario, but many of us have experienced storms and difficulties in our lives where it seems like things are mounting up and then going down, leaving us feeling at our wit's end.

The psalmist continues, "They reel to and fro and stagger like drunken men, and are at their wit's end." Has anybody ever been in that situation? Maybe you are in that situation this morning. Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble. That is the key point: they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distress. He calms the storm so that its waves are still, and then they are glad because they are quiet. He guides them to their desired haven.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men! It is a difficult lesson, but an important one to learn. I have observed this frequently, not just in my own life but also in interacting with others and seeing their lives as well.

Point number one, if you're taking notes this morning: the greatness of God's power and glory is seen most clearly when we are at our weakest. This is illustrated perfectly in the New Testament through the Apostle Paul. He had something in his life that he referred to as a thorn in the flesh. There is much speculation among Christians, Bible teachers, and commentators about what that thorn in the flesh was, ranging from an eye disorder to various other issues. We do not know the exact nature of the problem, but he had a thorn in the flesh. I think it is not named specifically so that we can recognize that it speaks to us in a generic sense as well.

Because we all have something in our life that is like that. This thorn in his flesh, he says in Second Corinthians chapter 12, three times he asked that God would take it away, and God did not. But God said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness." I love that—my grace is sufficient, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore, Paul says, "I will most gladly boast in my infirmities so that the power of God may rest upon me." He said, "Okay, fine. If what I'm learning in the midst of this is to rely completely upon You, then I will accept this. I will take this."

You see, weakness on our part oftentimes promotes reliance upon God. It is when we are weak that we are strong. In the text of Joshua chapter 1, a few weeks ago, we saw that God three times says to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous." To whom do you encourage with strength? It is the one who is weak, the one who is lacking strength and courage. So, three times God says, "Be strong and of good courage."

Where was this strength and courage for Joshua, and not just for Joshua but for all of Israel, going to come from? Was it going to come from Joshua's strategy, his great plans as a military leader? Was that where his strength and courage were going to come from? Was it going to come from the immense stores that he had of military equipment—swords, spears, bows, and shields? Was it going to come from the highly trained and battle-hardened army that he had prepared for him? You know, if it's multiple choice, none of the above. That is not where his strength is going to come from.

God says, "Be strong and of good courage." We read in Joshua chapter 1, and if you're in the Book of Joshua, chapter 3, turn a couple pages to the right to chapter 1. Now therefore, verse 2: "Now therefore," God says, "arise and go over this Jordan. Joshua, I want you to take the children of Israel into the promised land. Arise and go over this Jordan, you and all the people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given, as I said to Moses."

Verse 5: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance."

Inheritance, the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Was it going to be his strategy, or his military, or his armaments? No. Be strong and of good courage. The source of Joshua and all Israel's strength was the greatness of the power and promise of God. God says, "I am the resource that you are to rely upon," and that would be God's word to you and to me today as well. Do you trust me? It was going to be their faith in God and their faithfulness to His word.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may prosper wherever you go. So, faith in God and faithfulness to God were going to be the keys that would make them strong in all the things they went into. God's command to them was, "Arise and go over this Jordan, you and all this people."

How did Joshua respond? Immediately, it says, "Then Joshua commanded" (verse 2 of chapter one). Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, "Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.'"

In chapter 2 of Joshua, as we consider together, if you were here last week, we saw that Joshua sent two spies into the land. They went to the city of Jericho and met a woman named Rahab there. Ultimately, as we will see, God's plan is to bring about a redemption for this woman Rahab, a Canaanite woman in the city of Jericho. God sent those spies into the city of Jericho and connected them with this woman Rahab so that they would hear her report and bring it back to Joshua and the children of Israel.

What was their report? The very last word in chapter 2, verse 31 of Joshua states, "Truly, the Lord has delivered all of the land into our hands, for indeed all of the inhabitants of the country are faint-hearted because of us."

Then we read in chapter 3, verse 1, "Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and he set out from Acacia Grove or Shittim. They came to the Jordan, he and all of the children of Israel, and they lodged there before they crossed."

After three days, the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, saying, "When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it." They moved from the place where they had been camping near some Acacia Grove, Shittim, and now they came to the edge of the Jordan River. Israel was now closer to the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob than they had ever been to this point. The only thing standing before them was the River Jordan, which, as we will see in the text, was at flood stage, higher than it normally would be.

They faced this obstacle, but they had been in similar situations before, where something stood before them, making them wonder how they would get through it. However, God had said, "Go, arise, and go over this Jordan; you’re going into the promised land." They had positioned themselves in a place where they were ready to do what God was calling them to do. They were prepared, and now they were given instructions about how to advance.

The officers of the people went throughout the land and said, "Listen, you are to be ready. You are here at the right place, but you are to watch and wait for a key indicator about when we are to move. When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord carried by the priests and the Levites, you are to go after it."

What is this Ark? The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was a three-by-four box made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold. On top of it was a cover, and over the top of this cover were the castings of two angels with their wings outstretched. This place, underneath the wings, was called The Mercy Seat. The children of Israel were commanded to build it during the time they were erecting the Tabernacle at the end of the book of Exodus. This Ark was to be placed in the Tabernacle in a place called the Holy of Holies, where the manifest presence of God would appear to them.

Now, God tells the children of Israel, through Joshua, that the Ark will go before them, carried by the priests, and they are to follow it. When it moves, they are to move.

Which is interesting because, really, as you follow the story of the children of Israel, that's exactly what happened throughout their journeys over the last 40 years. When God moved, they moved. Here they are now, positioned and ready, and the picture is very clear: God was going to go before the people, and they were supposed to follow Him.

Point number two: God's victorious strength is witnessed by those who are ready to follow Him. Here they are at the Jordan River, positioned in the right place, watching and waiting for God to move. When God moves, we will move, and His victorious strength will be witnessed by those who are ready to follow Him. This is an important truth for us to remember today. I’m assuming that you being here this morning are one who wants to see God move in your life and desires to see His power at work in your life. Are you positioned and ready to follow Him wherever He would lead?

This was how the children of Israel were led throughout their entire time of wandering in the wilderness. They came out of Egypt, as Exodus chapter 14 tells us. They crossed the Red Sea and came to Mount Sinai a couple of months later, where they stayed for a couple of years. During that time, they received the law from God, entered into a covenant with Him, and built the Tabernacle along with all the things that go into it, including the Ark of the Covenant.

The very last chapters of the book of Exodus tell us the story of how they built the Tabernacle. They put it up, consecrated it, and then something awesome and amazing happened. It says that the glory of the Lord came and filled the Tabernacle, enveloping it like a cloud or thick smoke. This was the manifest presence of God. After that happened, if you read the story of what occurred with the children of Israel, you will see that they had been at Mount Sinai building the Tabernacle for two years.

After two years, they celebrated the Passover—the same meal they had the night before the Exodus, the same meal that the children of Israel have been celebrating and feasting on for thousands of years. They will have it here this next month, right around the same time that we are celebrating the resurrection. So, they celebrated the Passover. The book of Numbers says, and after they celebrated the Passover, we read this in Numbers chapter nine. Note it down in your notes if you want to.

Check it out later. Numbers chapter 9, verse 15 says, "Now on the day that the Tabernacle was raised up." Numbers is talking about what happened at the end of Exodus. They built the Tabernacle, and on the day that the Tabernacle was raised up, the cloud of God's presence covered the Tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, from evening until morning. It was above the Tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So, there it was: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.

Imagine the story, if you can. The nation of Israel sat as a camp around this tent in the middle of their camp called the Tabernacle. During the day, there was like a pillar of cloud that went up from this, and at night, it looked like a pillar of fire. That was the manifest presence of God in their midst.

Verse 17 of Numbers chapter 9 says, "Whenever the cloud was taken up." The cloud was resting on the Tabernacle, but at certain times, it would take up from above the Tabernacle. After that, the children of Israel would journey, and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would establish their camp. They would put up their tents.

So, what do we have here? God is directing His people. They have to follow the cloud or the pillar of fire by day or by night. They have to follow God by faith. Wherever He would move, they would move. The picture throughout their 38 years of wilderness wanderings was that the cloud would remain upon the Tabernacle for a period of time. Then, at some point, without any sort of advanced warning or information, one day they would wake up and see that the cloud had gone up. What do we have to do? Well, let's break camp and follow the cloud.

Really, this is what they did. Yes, for 40 years, 38 years in the wilderness, wherever the cloud moved, they moved. The text says in Numbers chapter 9 that it would settle and remain, and then they would build their camp. Sometimes it would stay there for a day; other times, it might stay there for a week, many weeks, or even a year. The cloud would remain, and then it would be taken up and move, and they would go to the next place. They would follow God in this way for 38 years. Israel did not move until God moved, completely by faith. They faithfully followed the cloud in the wilderness.

This is a great teaching lesson for you and me: to be seeking to follow God wherever His manifest presence is going. God, where are You moving? We want to be those who are waiting and watching to see where You will move. This has been their life story for 38 years, and now here they are at the border of blessing, right at the Jordan River.

Joshua says, "When you see the ark carried by the priests, go after it." I want to suggest to you that this life of faith, which the children of Israel were living thousands of years ago, is the same life of faith that God calls you and me to live. This is challenging because we would like a three- or five-year plan, would we not? God says, "No, I want you to be watching Me, following Me, waiting for My direction and My moving."

But, Lord, what if You don't move? Well, if the cloud didn't move, what did Israel do? They stayed put. That's really hard for us; we don't like to stay put. We find ourselves wondering about, trying to find where we ought to be going and what we ought to be doing. The Lord is saying, "No, I want you to remain here."

The Scriptures tell us in the New Testament, in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for those who come to God must trust that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." He will lead, guide, provide for, bless, and take care of those who diligently seek Him. Sometimes that means just waiting and watching. God's victorious strength is witnessed by those who are ready to follow Him by faith.

So, how do we do that? I think there are a couple of important lessons in this text that prepare us, or at least teach us in part, how we ought to follow God by faith. Faithfully, as those who are watching for His manifest presence, where He would lead. The first one is found in verse 4 of Joshua chapter 3. He says, "You are going to follow the ark wherever the priests carry it."

In verse 4, there shall be a space between you and it, about 2,000 cubits by measure. A cubit is about a foot and a half, so 2,000 cubits is about 3,000 feet. "Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." The New Testament says we walk by faith and not by sight, which is a challenging thing for us. It's hard to walk by faith and not by sight, but the only way to be pleasing to God is by faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for those who come to Him or follow Him must trust that He is and trust that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Seek Him. He says, "I want you to be watching Me. Position yourself in the right place where you're ready to move, but watch where I am going and then follow Me." There shall be a space between you and the Lord; you should leave a gap.

Why the gap? Well, I'm sure some of you have experienced the challenge of getting out ahead of the Lord. There are times, perhaps because of zeal or ignorance, when we find ourselves getting ahead of the Lord as we walk with Him. This is a dangerous place to be. When you get out ahead of the Lord, you are going to a place that you do not know yet—the direction or where you are going is uncertain. You are entering uncharted territory, so you don't know where you're going.

What happens when you don't know where you're going and just keep going? You get lost. Some of you have been lost before or have found yourselves in a place where you are exposed, outside of God's will or protection. This is a dangerous place to be. Therefore, we want to make sure that we are, if you will, following at a distance. We want to position ourselves where we are ready to move.

That's what the children of Israel did. They moved from the Acacia Grove, that shady place where they had been for a while. Because it's an Acacia Grove, there was probably water there, but now they were moving to a new location where they were ready to move out. They were in open territory, somewhat exposed, but they had positioned themselves. They were ready to move, and now He says, "You will move when I move," but you are to keep a distance of about a half mile, a little bit more than that, so that they might see where they were to go and also that they might see the wonderful works of God.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: God's acts and His ways are only observed by those who follow and gaze upon Him. We need to be those who are seeking to follow God by faith, faithfully, while intently watching Him. I'm sure there are probably some stories here this morning of people who got out ahead of the Lord, whether out of zeal or ignorance. Whatever the case may be, when you get out ahead of the Lord, you find yourself in an exposed place, often feeling lost. We find ourselves an open target, and so we need to be those who, as we saw in Exodus chapter 14, are mindful of our position.

Standing to see the salvation of the Lord, we are watching Him to see what He will do, where He will go, and how He will work. That's what He wants from us as faithful followers. He wants us to be looking to Him, focused upon Him, and setting our minds, our hearts, and our affections upon Him.

We see this a number of times in the Scriptures. I already brought up the one in Exodus chapter 14, where the children of Israel were facing a challenge and an obstacle with an army behind them. God said, "Stand and watch and see what I will do." Another place is found in the book of First Samuel. We will get there eventually, but in First Samuel chapter 12, the judge of Israel, the leader of Israel, was a man named Samuel. In that passage, he says to the people, as they are at a moment of transition as a nation, "Stand and see the wonderful works that God will do."

Then, in another place that comes to mind, we find a time in Israel's history where multiple armies invaded their land and were coming against them from multiple directions. The children of Israel were in a moment where they had no idea what to do. So, what did they do? They gathered together. Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel, gathered the people together, and they prayed this prayer: "Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

I can tell you there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of times in my life over the last 25 years where I found myself in my private time of prayer saying, "God, I have no idea what to do, but my eyes are upon You." In that passage, the priest of the nation at that time, whose name I believe was Jahaziel, stands before the people and says, "Stand and see the salvation of the Lord. You will not have to fight this battle; He will fight for you."

Recently, God calls us to wait and position ourselves where we will see Him move. There are some important lessons to learn in this passage. The first one is that we need to make sure that we are looking to the Lord as we walk and follow after Him, keeping Him as our focus. We should not be looking at all the other things that are going on around us, because it is when we focus on those things that we find ourselves sinking, like the story of Peter walking on the water. When his eyes were upon the Lord and he was following Him, things were just fine, even though everything around him was total chaos. He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts.

In Him, Isaiah 26:3 states, "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him." Is your mind stayed upon the Lord, or is it focused on all the wind, the waves, and the problems? All the issues going on around you can be amazing distractions. They can pull our attention in such a huge way that they grip us. But God is saying, "Hey, over here! Look here! Focus on Me."

I remember the day after we had our last child, Elliot. My wife and I were in the hospital, and we turned on the TV. There was this insane nut job, Walinda. Have you heard of this guy? He walks on tightropes, and he was walking across the Grand Canyon. He was holding onto this pole, and they were recording him the entire time. We were gripped, watching it live, thinking this guy's going to die on live TV. What on earth is this nut job doing? Yet, he was just looking ahead and walking across. He may be a complete nut job, but this gripping event made for good TV.

We have to maintain that focus. Isaiah says, "But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Those who wait upon the Lord—that's what Israel was doing at this moment. They were waiting upon the Lord, watching to see when He would move. They would move and keep a distance so they would know where He would go and see what He would do. That is what He is calling you to do today as well.

So, the first thing is waiting, watching, and keeping your eyes fixed upon the Lord. The second thing is found in Joshua 3:5. Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." Point number four: God's wonders are seen by those who are set apart unto the Lord. Sanctify yourselves. Do you want to see the greatness of God's power and glory at work in your life?

Do you desire to see His victory in your life? Are you wanting to see God's acts and know His ways? I'm assuming the answer is yes. If that is the case, then you need to position yourself in the right place and keep your eyes upon the Lord, for where He is going to follow after Him.

The third thing He tells us to do in this passage is to sanctify yourself. What exactly does that mean? To be sanctified is to be set apart or consecrated. This is my cup; it is sanctified and set apart for me. Hopefully, nobody else drank out of it, but it is my cup, set apart and sanctified. In our lives, there are various things that we sanctify or set apart. You get a paycheck, and hopefully, if you are a wise steward of those resources, you sanctify or consecrate a portion for your mortgage so that you can pay that bill or the other bills. You are setting it apart and sanctifying it, so you have sanctified for yourself a portion of that money.

Here, God says to sanctify yourselves, to set yourself apart unto the Lord. You are committing that to Him, consecrating that to Him. I am Yours, Lord. If we want to see God move mightily in our lives individually, in our church corporately, or in our nation—which I think probably you do—we need to recognize that we, in and of ourselves, cannot do it. We have to keep focused upon the Lord. We have to position ourselves in the right place, ready to follow by faith, and we need to consecrate ourselves to Him, to commit ourselves to Him.

We will see this again in a few weeks when we get into Joshua chapter 5. In Joshua chapter 5, there will be another moment where the children of Israel have to consecrate themselves at a place called Gilgal. The root of the word Gilgal has to do with commitment. They are going to commit themselves to the Lord, rolling everything over to Him. The same word is used in Psalm 37, where it says, "Commit your way to the Lord."

So here we have this picture of them consecrating themselves to the Lord. How do we do this? How do we sanctify ourselves? The first thing we must recognize is that ultimately, the work of sanctification is a work of the Spirit of God. So, in one sense, we need to begin this.

Sanctifying work begins with saying, "God, would you consecrate by your Spirit? Sanctify my life." One of the aspects of the word "sanctify" is to cleanse. We experience the cleansing of God's grace by His Spirit through confession. First John 1:9 says, "If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you." He has the power to pardon us, but also to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

We have been gathering together on Sunday nights to worship God. Tonight at six o'clock, I invite you to come. We will spend some time in worship, but we will also dedicate time to sanctifying confession—a time of confessing and committing ourselves to the Lord. If you take the time to study the moves of God throughout history, what some people call spiritual awakenings or revivals, you will find that these are always preceded by a time in which the church is worshiping and consecrating themselves to God.

If we want to see God move, He is saying, "Your move," and it begins in that place of worship and prayerful confession. What does confession mean? The word in First John 1:9, where it says to confess your sins, is "homologeo" in Greek. This word consists of two parts: "homo," meaning the same as, and "logeo," meaning to say. It signifies agreement; you are agreeing with God about your thoughts, words, and deeds. You acknowledge that what He says about them is true: it is sin, and you ask God to take it away. He is faithful to forgive and to cleanse of all unrighteousness.

Every move of God is preceded by a sanctifying of oneself. "Sanctify yourselves." God, would you by Your Spirit sanctify us? That is the first aspect of this whole idea of sanctification. But what else ought we to do? I believe we also have a responsibility and a part to play. As I have shared many times before, my favorite passage in the Scriptures is Philippians 2:12-13: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure."

Pleasure! So, who is working in this sanctifying work? God. Are you? Yes, that's the answer. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is working in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. He does His work; He will be faithful to do His work, and He says, "Your move."

So, what else can we do? Well, Jesus prayed in John chapter 17, what's called the High Priestly Prayer of Christ. He said, "Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth." In Ephesians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her by the washing of the water by the word."

How does God sanctify and cleanse us? By His word, by His Spirit, by His word at work in us. We need to develop the habit in our lives, individually and as a church. We do this as a church, but individually, we need to develop the habit of getting into God's word so that His word can get into us and clean and transform us.

We can do this by reading it, by memorizing it, by meditating upon it, and by studying it. You might say, "Well, I don't know how to do that." Well, we did a class here last year, and you can find it if you go on Right Now Media. Log on to lifeinconnection.com right now and register. You can find all of the teaching that we did in that class online to teach you how to study the Scriptures and get God's word into you, because God's word has a cleansing effect.

How many of you have recognized that God's word reveals, like a light shining in a dark place, the depth of the depravity of our hearts? When we see it, sometimes we're like, "Where did that come from?" And God goes, "Yeah, it's been there a long time. I've been trying to get you to see it." Then He says, "Do you want me to take it away?" Yes, Lord, it's bad. "Take it." Okay, I'm faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. This is a repetitive thing that goes on and on throughout our lives.

You will never get to a point in this life where you are without sin. I know there are some people in the church who say, "Well, you know, I'm a real Christian; I do not sin." Yeah, you're a liar. That's called a lie; that's sin. "Well, no, I don't sin." Yes, you do. You just did. I saw it; God saw it; we all saw it. You need to see it and repent.

Anyways, the Spirit of God sanctifies, the word of God sanctifies, and there are also some habits, or what are sometimes called spiritual disciplines.

Discipline, like prayer, is a spiritual discipline. It's not something that we use to try to get God to move on our behalf; rather, God uses it to move in our lives and to bring us closer in alignment with His will. So, prayer is a spiritual discipline.

Here's another one that's hard for many: fasting. I know I got the same reaction in the first service. Fasting—what is that? Well, generally, it's associated with food, where you give up something for a time, maybe a meal or multiple meals, or perhaps even multiple days. You give up eating a pleasurable experience that God has made, something that our flesh really craves and likes.

Here's the real problem: because our flesh craves and likes it, we live in a flesh-saturated culture. There are times when this flesh, this body, begins to dominate our actions. It dictates to us what we will do. This happens especially during the holidays. Have you noticed? Then we see the effects of it. It's like, "Well, you haven't been fasting right," and we need to bring this under control.

A great passage in Corinthians states that Paul says, "I beat my body; I buffet my body to make it my slave." Such beautiful illustrative language! I beat my body to make it my slave, lest when I have proclaimed the truth to others, I myself become disqualified. Fasting is a buffeting of the body; it's an afflicting of the soul. It might not just be food; maybe it's entertainment. Perhaps it's removing social media or news media from your life for a time.

A few weeks ago, we were talking with our children about what Lent is all about. Before I could even get the words out about what Lent was and the idea of giving up something for 40 days, my youngest said, "I'll give up my Kindle for 40 days." I about fell over! This kid is like attached to his device, like all of us are. He said, "I'll give up my Kindle for 40 days," and I was shocked.

In fact, the other day, something came up about it, and he said, "No, I can't have that until Easter." I thought, "Okay, well, there you go. Put me to shame, Elliot. Good job!" He asked me the next day...

So, what are you giving up, Dad? That's a good question, son. I'll get back to you on that.

Fasting breaks the attachment and the strength of your flesh so that you rule it and it doesn't rule you. It quiets and instills the flesh, which is constantly active. I mean, the flesh wakes up first and just starts going from the moment you open your eyes, and it continues until well after you sleep sometimes.

Another incredibly and increasingly difficult spiritual discipline for us is silence and solitude. This makes us uncomfortable, but spending time in quiet solitude with God—without devices, without notifications—is hard for us. There are other helpful spiritual disciplines, but these are just a few that are involved in this sanctifying work. The sanctifying work is important if we want to see God work in and through our lives.

"Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow God will do wonders among you."

So, what happened after Israel was positioned in this place? They were watching for the Lord's movement, ready to move when He would move at a distance. After they sanctified themselves, Joshua chapter 3, verse 6 states, "Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, 'Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people.'" So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people.

The Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you." He instructed Joshua to command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, "When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan."

I imagine Joshua saying, "Okay, listen, you're going to go up to the edge of the water, and then you're going to stand in the water." Wait, come again?

So, Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here and hear the words of the Lord your God." He continued, "By this you shall know that the Living God is among you and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Gergashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth is crossing over."

Before you enter the Jordan, yes, into the Jordan. Now, therefore, take for yourselves twelve men, and we will see them again later, one man from every tribe of Israel. It shall come to pass that as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the Earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off. The waters that come down from upstream shall stand as a heap.

So it was when the people set out from the camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people. As those who bore the Ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the Ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of the harvest, the early spring barley harvest), the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose up in a heap very far away, in Adam, the city beside Zarethan. The waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off, and all the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

Then the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground until all the people had crossed over completely.

I am convinced that God wants to take you individually and us corporately deeper into the experience of His fullness and abundance of life. He wants us to enter into His fullness; He wants us to enjoy the greatness of His goodness and His blessing. All of those things are found in Christ. In the same way that all of Israel's inheritance and blessing was in the Promised Land, they had to cross over to come into the Promised Land to take possession of it. We have to, by faith, faithfully step into all that God has for us in Christ. All of the promises of God are in Him, yes, and in Him, Amen, to the glory of God through us.

God wants to bring about His glory through us individually and as a church. The people would see the glory of God in us in a dark world. Oh, that the Lord would do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think!

As a final note on this passage, I found something as I was reading through this week that stood out to me. I thought, "That's interesting," and I started looking through every commentary I could find, but I could find nothing about it.

In Joshua chapter 3, Israel is referred to as "the people" eight times. Seven of those eight instances use the Hebrew word "am," which is translated as "people." However, we come to the very last verse of chapter 3, which states that the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

Eight times the word "people" shows up. In the first seven instances, it is the Hebrew word "am." In this last eighth instance, when it says that all the people had crossed over, it uses the Hebrew word "goy." You may have heard the term "goy" before; it is the word for Gentiles. This is what Jewish people call Gentiles. The "im" at the end is like an "s," making it plural, so "goy" means "nation."

Interestingly, they are called "the people" until they cross the Jordan and enter the land, at which point they are referred to as "the nation." Why the change? I suggest it is because, 400 years prior, God had called Abraham, the father of these people. He said to Abraham, "I want you to leave your father's house and come follow me to the land that I will tell you of, and I will make you a great nation." This is the same word. God promised that Abraham would be a blessing, and his nation would be a blessing to all nations.

The people did not become what God intended them to be until they stepped in by faith into all that God had for them. This is instructive for you and me as well. We do not fully become what God desires us to be until we step in by faith into all that He has for us.

Point number five, and we'll close: we only fully become what God intends us to be when we step into the fullness of His blessing. Oh, that we would step in by faith!

How do we do that? Well, we position ourselves in a ready place to move, and we set our eyes upon the Lord to see where He will move and how He will direct. We prepare ourselves through sanctification so that we are ready to step into all of His wonders, following Him by faith faithfully into what He has for us.

I think there's a really key important truth in this: God wants to do a new work in our midst. I will ask the worship team to come up and invite you to stand as we close in just a moment. But I want to share something with you. I was standing here during the last song of the last service, and something happened that doesn't occur very often. I believe the Lord spoke a word to me. We have been praying that God would do a work here at this church.

As I stood there, God spoke this word to me right at the first service: "I’m going to cause people to return back to Me here." I had to write it down. He said, "I’m going to cause people to return back to Me and back to His church." Some of those people left in an unrighteous way, but I want you to receive them graciously and mercifully.

God spoke to my heart and said, "I can't do what you're asking Me to do here until you willingly accept people who left here and hurt you when they left. When I bring them back, you have to be willing to receive them graciously and mercifully. Can you do that?" I said, "Oh Lord, God, only You know. Lord, help."

God, I pray that You would do a work in our midst. If there's any root of bitterness, any unforgiveness, or anger in any of our hearts, God, would You cleanse us? We confess that that's wrong. God, do a work in and through Your church. As Peter observed, judgment begins at the house of the Lord. So, God, would You do a work? Holy Spirit, come, move in our midst, and sanctify us. Cleanse us.

We offer ourselves up to You. We commit ourselves to You. If that's you today, just lift your hands up to the Lord. God, we commit ourselves to You. We ask that You would move in our midst. We lift our hands and we say, "God, do a work," because North San Diego County needs Your grace and Your light. California needs Your grace and Your light. America and the world need Your grace and Your light.

God, would You do a work through Your church, we pray. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." Let's sing to the Lord.