Scripture reading today comes from Joshua chapter three verses one through six
Joshua three Verses one through six in the word reads Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from from shism and they came to the Jordan He and all the people of Israel and lodged there before they passed At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priest Then you shall set out from your place and follow it Yet there shall be a distance between you and it about two thousand cubits in length Do not come near it in order that you may not know in order that you may know the way you shall go For you have not passed this way before Then Joshua said to the people Concentrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you And Joshua said to the priest Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people So they took the ark of the covenant and went before the people This is the word of the Lord to us Well, you know recently our youngest daughter graduated from high school and Some of you came over the following day and kind of celebrated with us as we had an open house And if you are anything like we are if your home is anything like my home is and I I'm sure it's safe back to say that it is for the most part When you are expecting visitors things change We were expecting visitors not only from the church but we're expecting visitors from out of town So our family came in from out of town especially when people come from out of town like family members and things like that Then things changed you began to look around and see some things that probably need to be short up a little bit Began to look around and see things that probably need to be rearranged and put in their proper places that hadn't been in their proper places for a long time You expecting visitors is causes you to look around and examine things and to see whether or not things are as clean As they should be even the children's rooms get cleaned up And if you're at my place you have to stand that's that's a that's a talk that
When was the last time I want you to think about that when was the last time That you were expecting some significant company I'm not talking about the people who come over all the time, you know the dunker says come over our house. This is going to be what it is you know I'm talking about Significant company of people who don't normally come When was the last time you were expecting this kind of company When what was the attitude towards your home?
What were your expectations? What were your preparations?
There's a question for us this morning Do you ever have similar expectations of God?
Do you ever expect Or anticipate the visitation of God in your life?
Israel did Israel did This morning and that expectation of God the anticipation of God coming Required them to start looking around And making sure some things are in their proper place
We begin Joshua with three Joshua and the nation visual were poised They were poised to enter fully into the land that God had promised to them And for the first time And for the first time in their history you do understand since Abraham left Er of the Caldeans For the very first time in their history They would have a permanent dwelling place all their own
all their own No more wandering around like Abraham And Isaac No more living intent Like Jacob And his sons No more living in a foreign land like Joseph No more wandering through the wilderness like Moses For the first time The nation of Israel Would set feet on their own land And build homes meant to last This is a big deal beloved And Joshua as we saw last time Joshua had sent the spies into the land particularly The city of Jericho and the spies had come back And the spies had given their report The spies had given their testimony The Joshua and the leaders and the nation And now the excitement was high All around the camp The expectation And the anticipation was through the roof They were expecting very soon That they would be led That they would be on the march Into the promised land So they were expecting a word from God They were expecting to hear from Joshua
They were expecting That soon and very soon God would show up And God would move They were expecting God To move
God had moved for Moses They were expecting God now To move for Joshua
And these were legitimate expectations Based upon the word of God You know, sometimes we expect God to do things that God hadn't said he was going to do And we put words in God's mouths that God didn't say But these were legitimate expectations
God had promised that he was with Moses So he wouldn't be with Joshua And they were expecting God To move on behalf of Joshua And give them this promised land
But before They would see God move on their behalf And here's our point this morning Before God would move Before God would come Before God would visit
God required a few things They were expecting God to move But notice what God told them Oh, this is so instructive for us to that
They have to do a few things And you see this in the fact that they had to prepare They had to be a preparation They had to be a preparation You know what it says in verse 1, right The Joshua rose early in the morning And led the people out of shit him Down to the banks of the Jordan River There they made camp
Now, beloved understand something This is hard to really get The emotions of the text And and get into the excitement Of what is going on here Okay, but Joshua rose early in the morning And led the people of God out of shit him And down to the banks of the Jordan River They had to make preparation Hey, what Joshua's doing here God is leading them and preparing them for the move of God And part of the preparation is getting into position Okay, they had to get into position
They had to position themselves For the move of God
In order to position themselves for the move of God Then they had to get into the position Down by the banks of the Jordan
And out of shit him And they had been in shit him for quite some time They had been there since the defeat of the kings Sion and Og and Numbers chapter 21
And by doing so by by by defeating Sion and Og They had secured the land That portion of the land That was just east of the Jordan However Even though they had defeated the king there And they had set up camp in shit him The stay in shit him had not been a very good one
Notice what it says in Numbers chapter 25 Again in verse 1 While Israel lived in shit him The people began to whore with the daughters of Moa Then invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods And the people ate and bowed down to their gods So Israel yoked himself to the bale of peor And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel The stay in shit him had turned foul
In other words beloved it became apparent That they had been in shit him too long
It was time to move on They had been in shit him long, uh, nuff I'm saying to you too long
If God was going to move or never have The first thing that was going to be necessary for them to do Is to get out of shit him And get down by the river Jordan Get down by the banks of Jordan Get down by the place where God was going to move And so they move they moved down by the river But notice It does not say that they moved down by the river And then crossed over the river Not yet Not yet God just moved them down by the river Let's get down by the river
By traveling beloved to the place And position himself at the place of the crossing They were preparing themselves and positioning themselves To cross when the time came
I support and understand this little, little caveat here in the text Okay And that is that they didn't know when the order would come
They didn't know that But whenever it did come I love it, they needed to be ready And sometimes Preparing Simply means positioning positioning God Was going to take them across the Jordan river into the promised land But first, beloved first They had to leave shit him First they had to get down by the river
God was getting them to the place Where God was going to move The love it This is very, very instructive for us
It is important That as you and I anticipate and even pray And even seek the Lord to move in our lives That we are positioning ourselves In the right place God delights to move on behalf of his people But oftentimes his people need to be cognizant of the realities Of positioning themselves Where God is moving Getting in tune with what God is doing The woman in Luke 8 with the issue with the blood This order had to get to where Jesus was Had to push herself through the crowd to get to where Jesus was
Zacchaeus in Luke 19 had to get himself up a tree So that he could possibly get his eyes on Jesus And Jesus get his eyes on him The paralyzed man in Mark chapter 2 Had to have his friends lower him down through the roof So they could get him to where Jesus was moving Sometimes beloved it is just important to get to the place where Jesus is Get to the place where he is being proclaimed Faithfully get to the place where he is being exalted
And you get there You get there and when you get there You don't know exactly when the Lord is going to move on your behalf But you want to get there and prepare yourself for when he does
It's amazing to me and it is wonderful
How often people neglect the fellowship of the same
And at the same time won't God to do something in their lives
And I'm saying excuse me get to the place Position yourself under the preaching of the word of God And be prepared I'm not saying that God going to give you something today But when he does you need to be ready And you not prepared sleeping in your bed on Sunday morning That's not the position I talked to a brother this week hadn't seen him in a few weeks taught him up Hey brother hadn't seen you man Going on It's not relating to me you know that's struggles and work and seeing some distraction I said to myself you just stuck and shit him Trying to get out of shit him brother And get down by the banks of the Jordan Position yourself Where God is promised to move Praise God he's here this morning Side it to get up and get down by the banks of the Jordan
Positioning himself Preparing himself For what the Lord might do They didn't have a time frame I love it Not immediately there was no time frame God just said Joshua get him down by the banks Position them And prepare them So when the time comes They're ready to move The first thing you see there Is the preparation You won't got to move you got to get prepared you got to get in position To get the place where God is moving The second thing you see is the anticipation The anticipation So notice what it says in verse two And after three days Right the officers went through The camp and commanded the people As soon as you see the arc of a covenant of the Lord your God Being carried by the Levitical priest Then you shall set out from your place and follow it
When they got down by the river bank By the banks of the river They waited They set up camp They waited They waited beloved We know we know Okay and this is this is a little new out here We know How long they waited Because it tells us three days But they were not told to wait three days
There was no timeline They had just left their huge encampment and shit them And now they're down by the banks of the Jordan And they're anticipating that any moment God is going to show up There's no timeline could be one day could be two days could be three could be five But they're in position they're in position and you can imagine the anticipation I hope you can't imagine the conversations and imagine the excitement Or what was building around the camp As they're asking one another is it today Is the Lord going to show up today Are you ready? Are you ready? I couldn't sleep last night. How about you Isn't now is it today
You know They didn't have a timeline They understood something very important Okay This is it They didn't have a timeline But they knew one thing That the Lord had not brought them down to the banks of Jordan for nothing
God didn't move him down in just to set up another shit him
In fact They were in position to feed the promised land God brought them down by the banks And they could look over Jordan and they could see it Unlike the previous generation There was no murmuring Unlike the previous generation in the Moses There was no complaining against documents There was only the anticipation of what God was going to do But they would have to wait
Wait a day Wait Two days Wait three days God has moved them down by the Jordan The question that I had is I am going over this is Well, if you're going to move down by the Jordan Why don't you just cross over? Why wait Why wait three days Well, I don't know for sure Bible doesn't tell us exactly why God told them to wait Why God told them to wait Days but I think and I believe it's always important to remember that God always has a purpose Even in waiting has a point and a purpose even in the darkness
You know sometimes the Lord is pleased Don't you understand this and I want you to hear me when I say this Sometimes the Lord is pleased to leave his people in the dark Concerning when he is going to move He won't leave you But he might leave you in the dark
So why would he do that Why would the Lord choose to leave his people in the dark from the time the time concerning When and where and how he's going to move Well, he doesn't because he wants to prove to you And I that whatever happens he alone can do it You get the movement real fast and you get to think and you're comfortable going at these Species you get the idea that you do in this
God will slow us down And even make us wait and put us in a little darkness And hence our ignorance So that when he finally does move We understand that it was God alone did it It is God who brings his people out of darkness Into the life To prove that he alone can do it another reason why often leads his people in the darkness concern it is move It's to build our faith To build our faith to remind us as difficult as it is for us to understand Sometimes that we walk by faith and not by sight That the Lord will leave us How to place Well, we can't see our way through So that we even know We can't see his hands Would learn to trust his heart He didn't bring him down by the banks of Jordan for nothing I have a long lay had to wait in England And darkness concerning The move of God It was for the purpose of God building their faith Well, that's how it is with you That's how it is with me If we would allow it to be so If we would put our spiritual end and sinners up If we would see that even as the Lord leads us into dark places And leaves us oftentimes in places where we lack understanding and insight That he does so though so that we might learn To trust in him
So that we might learn that we walk by faith
And not by sight That we are people who see first and foremost with the eyes of our heart Before we always depending on the eyes of our head
To prove that he alone can do it to build our faith And indeed To test our faith To see if it's really genuine To see who's really with him
To see who's really on the Lord So in to say Lord If you leave me down by the banks of the Jordan I have a situation I'm going to wait
See if it's genuine And Isaiah chapter 50 verse 10
Bible says Who among you physical And obeys the voice of the servant Let him who walks in darkness And has no light trust in the name of the Lord Let him who is walking in the darkness And has no present light Let him trust in the Lord Let him rely on his God It's God that the Lord is pleased When we are willing to wait on him 37 in verse 34 The Bible says wait on the Lord Wait for the Lord and keep his way And guess what he's going to do He will exalt you to inherit the land Just wait Just wait Wait on the Lord Sometimes you wait By the river and beloved but you wait Sometimes you wait on the other side of the river But you wait on the Lord You wait on the Lord to tell you when to move Sometimes you have to wait in the darkness And can't exactly see what's going on
Wait Wait Wait Regardless of where you are this morning Now whether it's up or down Whether you're in or out I think the Word of the Lord See you this morning There is no other words Wait Wait on the Lord Wait And if you wait in the right place Your change is going to come Don't be too quick to get up
I think it's amazing how many people You know they come to church for For time They come to church for time And then after a while they look around They say I guess they none here for me
And they take off and you don't see them anymore
Got him down by the Jordan bank And they said they just couldn't wait Just couldn't wait Okay, well y'all beloved Get yourself in position And once you're in position just wait The Lord is faithful He didn't bring you here for nothing
It may be one week It may be two It may be ten Wait He's coming
Wait On the instruction Just there coming You see that right You see that See the preparation See the anticipation See the regulations Right God is going to regulate this thing He had to use regulations Because they're rhyme With anticipation And preparation Instructions Then rhyme But it's just instruction Okay That's what it means But I had to find another word So instruction Regulation You know the same thing All right All right You get the regulation And three And four With just instruction He commanded the people As soon as you see the arc Of the covenant of the Lord Your God being carried By the Levitical priest Then you shall set out From your place And follow it Yet there shall be a distance Between you And it's about Two thousand cubits in length Do not come near it In order that you may Know the way you shall go For you have not passed this way before When instructions are given After three seemingly long days Of anticipating God's mood
The message was clear Okay, the message was clear And this was the message Stand back And watch what God does Just stand back and watch what God does When God did finally give the instruction
And instructions for the nation Was just watch this Watch this 20 told him watch this Because it was all centered around the arc of the covenant
You're down about a bank She got in position Now all I want you to do is watch this Hey watch This is the arc of the covenant Thought it would keep your eye on the arc The arc was designed by God We know this from Exodus chapter 20 by verse 10 and following It was it was it was it was kept It was kept in the tabernacle And the tabernacle was kept at the center of the nation Because the arc was important because it represented some very important things It was the seat of God's mercy to his people It was the place of his presence It was the visible reminder in the nation that God is God And reminder of his power It was the place of the love it Where the tin commandments Where the tablets were kept They were kept in the arc For the arc was the visible reminder of Yahweh Presence and glory
And notice what they were told to do Personally and they were told to do Was it look for the arc Right look for the arc As soon as you see the arc of the covenant As the key As soon as the arc begins to move You know God is on the move In other words keep your eyes open Look be looking for God Look for God to show up God promised that he would be with his people Look for God to keep his promises
To get in position And you anticipate God is going to do something And keep your eyes open
He's looking around
God is promised he's going to move He takes exactly when But when he does Oh you and I need to be looking for it Look Soon as you see the arc look And then when you see it What's the next thing that they'll do? Follow Follow the arc Then you shall set out from your place and follow it Why because it is God who gives the direction It is God who will mark the path It is God's word that is as it says in Psalm 1 In 19 and 105 His word is a lamp unto our feet And a light unto our path Here was the word of God Going before the people Lighting the way
Look for the arc When the arc begins to move You follow it You follow it You follow Isn't it interesting? I think it Should be interesting to us That when Jesus Called his first The disciples he only gave them two words And what were they? Follow me That's what it means to be a disciple A beloved is to be a follower The Jesus told his disciples Follow me Here is God Telling his people I move You follow That's follow That's follow Why we see Where he leads me I will follow Where he leads me I will follow I'll go with him with me All The way They were to look for the arc And when they saw the arc They were to follow the arc But notice the special instruction given to them In verse 4 Now though they were to look for the arc And when they see the arc They were to follow the arc But then They were not to follow too close
Don't let your excitement get the best of you Hey Keep your wits about you You are to see it You are to follow it But don't you follow too close They were to keep themselves At a comfortable distance They were to follow the arc But remember not too close Stay about a Thousand years or a half a mile behind Why not too close I love it why not too close Well First thing you don't follow the arc too close Is because the arc is holy And it reminds us because God is holy The arc was God's visible presence And though God was with Israel The arc was the reminder that Don't God is with us And though God is in the midst of us God is still holy other
He is still distinct from us He is still not like us And therefore Israel must always be Reminded of the fact that God was not to be toyed with
It reminded a number chapter 4 And in verse 15 That whenever the arc Was to be a transport To be careful that you don't touch it Don't touch it Don't touch these holy things
These were God's means of grace To the nation The arc was a symbol of his grace To the nation but the arc was also a symbol Of his wrath and judgment As the means of grace always are That you don't trifle with them below Some amazing people People when we come to the Lord's table We come to the Lord's table every Sunday That is a table That gives us the visible reminder Of the presence of the Lord in our lives Both in grace and judgment
And this is why we do You probably wonder why we say the same things every week This is why This is why we fence the table This is why we say That if you belong to the Lord The Lord says come Come Come But understand beloved that not only at this table Is the grace of God Also at this table Is the severity of God
Is that if you take of this table In an unworthy manner If you take of this table Having not examine yourself If you take of this table Not trusting in And confessing the Lord Jesus Christ Then you take of this table Until your own judgment and condemnation So it was with the ark of the covenant This is not to be trifled But oh yes, yes, yes God is in the midst of his people And it is a means of his grace And his goodness His kindness to his people I am with you When you see it you follow But don't forget also that this is also A means of my wrath And judgment And you be careful You be careful What it says, right Turn this idea I've understand the presence of God The midst of his people For this salvation is goodness And at the same time His wrath and severity In Romans chapter 11 Verse 22 The Bible says Note the kindness and severity of God Both, beloved God is both kind and severe God is both good and like severity So are those who have fallen But God's kindness or you Why did you continue in this kindness Otherwise you too will be cut off You don't take like You don't take like the love The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ this morning And don't take like we are just The Lord is both kind and severe And the arc of a covenant Was a constant reminder To the people The nature of God Don't follow too close Because God is holy But also don't follow too close As our text says here Because God wants to be Clear About what's happening There must not be any confusion About what God was doing And who was doing it God was going to do something great He was going to do something That had never been done before And he didn't want them to confuse it With the things that they had done Don't miss that Stay back and watch God work God will go to take them to a place They had never been And show them things They had never seen But when he did that He wanted to make sure they understood It was him doing it And not them Because God is pleased Beloved to do great things In the lives of his people Especially those Who delight and are quick To acknowledge that it is God doing it If they stay back They're not going to be able to take any credit If they stay back They're going to see That it's God alone who is doing it Was to be a reminder That no matter what happens Or how successful you are Or how far you go It is always God Who is working on your path Always God Who is going out before you see It's always God The Bible says in Philippians To an verse 13 Who is at work in you To accomplish both his will and his good pleasure With God who do you So you stay back And watch what God does When they were to see the art on the moon Then they were to follow it But then they were to stay back So that God would get the glory But before any of this was to happen You see the last bit That must take place When you're expecting the Lord to move The consecration Verses 5 to 6 Got the preparation, got the anticipation We got the regulations And now You see the consecration Then Joshua said to the people Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow The Lord will do wonders Among The final instructions the Lord gave to children of Israel As they stood on the banks of the Jordan Was to consecrate Was to sanctify them So this Beloved It's perhaps the most vital element In expecting God to move It is the element of self-examination Self-examination Israel not only had to get their families And right in the right place Israel not only had to get their homes In the right place But God said you also had to get your hearts In the right place I'm expecting from God We're expecting from God Let's not just get our house in one But also As we would with anybody who did But also You got to get your heart right When you come and visit my house I ain't got to worry about my heart I just got to get the house together But when God shows up It's not just the house It's the heart Getting our heart in the right place This is reminiscent of what God told Moses Coming down from the mountains Prior to giving the people the Ten Commandments And extra to September 19 Verse 10 Prior to this great move of God In the nation whereby he was going to give them his word The Lord said to Moses Go down to the people Consecrate them today and tomorrow Have them wash their clothes And be ready by the third day Because on that day the Lord will come down From side to side In the sight of all the people So I'm not only going to get their hearts together I don't want to get their homes together but they got to get their hearts right I don't think I don't think the love of it that you and I should ever And I think we do but I don't think you and I should ever underestimate the power of self-examination Never underestimate the power of self-examination Never underestimate the power of confession And seeing the good and the glory of God So 51 David is confessing his sin With that sheba And he is desiring for God to have a fresh move in his life He is desiring to see God and to understand God He is desiring for God To move him out of darkness into light He is stuck You know what he says Psalm 51 verse 16 You do not desire sacrifice Or I would offer one You do not want a born offering But the sacrifice you desire Is a broken heart You will not reject a broken and repented heart Beloved Beloved listen Listen to me Listen to me this morning God does not require perfection Before he moves on behalf of his people But what he does ask is that we acknowledge that he is God He does ask that we acknowledge our need for him He does ask That we admit That we are sin Unworthy of his grace and goodness While the only sacrificing At the Lord requires And he delights the move on behalf of his people Who humble himself before his holiness Beloved, when that happens When you truly humble yourself Be before the Lord Then I say to you with all assurances You can't expect from God But because you have humbled yourself before the Lord Because you have self Because you have examined yourself Guess what? You are going to wait It may be one day It may be two It may be three But you are going to wait with an expectancy Knowing one You are unworthy of God moving So whenever you move Lord Praise the God This is why God's people can be expecting people This is why we should be expecting people This is what Christians do Christians live with expectations We should be expecting people We are people of anticipation I anticipate the Lord does something every time we come to service Anytime that the church is called to gather Anytime that the people of God are called to gather together And fellowship of any kind I anticipate and expect the Lord to do something Okay, when it is Sunday morning When is they even Church picnic Bible study Prayer meeting VBS I don't care Whenever God people come together And humble themselves In fellowship and encouragement to one another I anticipate and expect God to do something That's why you should be there In anticipation We live in expectation We expect the gospel to say people Don't you? We expect the gospel to say people We expect the Holy Spirit to change people We expect the fellowship of the saints to encourage people We expect God every day to hear the prayers And help in people We expect these things We expect Christ to return And raises people
Are you expecting these things, beloved? I mean, really, are you really expecting these things? Do you anticipate God doing great things in your life And in the life of the church? You come with these expectations Do you expect Jesus Christ to come? We really Are you expecting the Lord? Are you standing on the banks of Jordan looking over And saying, Lord come We are waiting Come Are you expecting the Lord to come? Are you expecting to receive from the Lord? Are you expecting to come for Christ to come and be saved forever From your sins? Do you know what the Bible says? The Bible says in 1 John 3 verse 2 and 3 Different Now we are children of God And what we will be have not yet been made known But we know that when Christ appears We shall be like Him But we shall see Him as He is And then it says All who have this hope All who live with this expectancy All who are anticipating the return of Christ They purify themselves Are you expecting these things? That's what it says again Do one beginning in verse 20 But you, dear friends, Are building yourselves up in your most holy faith And praying in the Holy Spirit Be yourself in God's love as you what? Wait as you expect As you wait and expect For the Lord Jesus Christ to bring you in eternal life Build yourself up in your holy faith Keep praying in the Spirit Keep yourself in God's love As you sit by the banks of the Jordan waiting And anticipating God to come For the Bible says Are you expecting these things? Are you expecting God to move? Are you expecting Jesus to come? That's what it says We can go on and on. Notice what it says in Titus chapter 2 In the verse 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offer salvation to all people It teaches us to say no To ungodliness and worldly passions And to live self-control upright And godly lives in this present age While we what? Wait While we hope in expectation While we anticipate the blessed hope And appearing of our great God And Savior Jesus Christ Are you expecting the Lord to come? You get down by the banks of the Jordan You get out of shit him You get down by the banks of the Jordan And every day you're looking over And you said, Lord is it today? Is it today? First verse says Hebrews This means something to God Notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 9 Verse 27-28 And just Just as it is appointed to man To die once and after that comes judgment So Christ Haven't been offered once to bear the sins of many Will appear A second time Not to deal with sin But to save those who are what? Eagerly waiting on him All those who are standing by the banks of the Jordan Looking over and saying, Maranatha Lord Maranatha the Lord comes and says I've come to save him Those are the ones I've come for Follow the ark And dissipate it And consecrate it yourself And prepare For his coming Lord, prepare Prepare For your coming Prepare And when you shall Break through this world And receive your people unto yourself Lord, prepare us this morning Let's pray