GET READY FOR A MIRACLE TODAY
Joshua 3-4
Joshua 3:1-2
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days
Joshua 3:5-8
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.'”
After spending 40 years in the desert, the nation of Israel were prepared by God to cross the Jordan River into the land promised them over 700 years
Earlier to Abraham. God keeps His promises, but He is on his time not ours.
Joshua had led them to the Jordan River which was at flood stage. The Jordan River flows 156 miles from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, from 600 feet below sea level to 1300 feet below sea level. The crossing of the Jordan river was somewhere in between, near the same spot where Jesus was baptized.
Some estimated that the water was 100 feet deep and 2 miles wide at the crossing during the flood stage.You can imagine that the water was turbulent rushing downstream. To understand the magnitude of the Miracle
That God performed we have to consider what Word says. The water backed up to the town of Adam(VERSE 3:16), 20 miles upstream of the crossing making 50 plus miles of dry river bed to the Dead Sea,
The Jordan River flowed from the Sea Of Galilee where many of Jesus’ miracles were performed to the Dead Sea where no miracles were performed. From freshwater to saltwater. From life to death. Jesus
Meet us where we are.
PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A MIRACLE
Joshua 3:5-7
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.
Joshua 3:13
And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord-the Lord of all the earth — set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
Everyday God is performing miracles in our lives. Man cannot duplicate what the body does naturally. Look outside. Man cannot make a sun, a moon, a star. Man does not have the power to keep the planets in their orbit or control the heat of the Sun. These are miracles God does for everyone. There are miracles that God does specifically for believers.
The people were commanded to set themselves apart for God’s use through prayer, meditation, repentance and belief in the Word. God’s got
Blessings He want hold from us if we are obedient. God instructions are
Plain and clear to us in the Bible. You can always find something in the Bible that gives directions for your situation. God will not send you on a
Journey and leave you lost,
God commanded the Israelites to wait three days at the site of the crossing before moving forward. God gives us time to get prepared to serve Him. We live in the flesh and don’t always respond overnight. Patience with the
Lord is an attitude of gratitude. We don’t know what is best but God does.
STEPOUT ON FAITH
Joshua 3:14-17
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Except for Joshua and Caleb, the people who crossed the Red Sea who were 20 years and older were dead. A new generation was born in the desert. This generation had never crossed a sea. But they knew enough to follow the commands given them.
The levite priest had to step out on faith for the waters to back 20 miles
Up stream, We don’t have to know all the details of how God does things but be obedient to His commands. We have to trust if God said He will do
Something that it will be done. We must ask what we want, believe He will answer and wait on His timing.
Before their eyes, God performed a miracle for Israel to see. The waters of the flooded river dried up immediately when the feet of the Levite priest touched the water. They did not see the waters heaped up at Adam. They did see the dry river bed with Ark of the covenant held by the priest who went and stood in the middle of the river bed until all Israel walked to the other side. By this they understood that Joshua was under the direction of God.
Everyday for believers is a day to see God do miracles. For a sperm and a
Egg to combine in side of a woman to generate another human being is a
Miracle that happens many time a second all over the world.
THE PRESENCE OF GOD
The Levite priest stood in the middle of the river bed while all Israel
Crossed over to the otherside. The Ark of the covenant represented
The presence of God.
It represented the glory of God
It represented the power and authority of God.
It represented the directions of God.
It represented the protection of Gpd
It represented the love of God.
It represented the salvation of God
It represented the grace and mercy of God.
The Ark went into the river bed before Israel
The Ark stood still while Israel went to the other side
The Ark followed Israel to the other side of the Jordan River
We are either getting ready to go into a storm. In the middle of a storm or
Coming out of a storm. God is with us always. You can be sure God knows
And cares about your situation.
COMMEMORATE THE MIRACLES OF GOD IN YOUR MIND.
Joshua 4:2-3
2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
Joshua 4:7 These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
Every believer has a testimony or eventually will have a testimony of what God did to save them from something they were in that could not get out by for themselves.
We must commemorate these events in our lives to share with someone
God will put in our lives. You will never know when someone will need a
Word of encouragement from you. What you remember about the goodness of God will be encouragement to you in your next storm.
For me, many times when I lay down to rest from a days work is the time when I can reflect clearly on what God has done for me. I know the day would not have turned out the way it did if it had not been for the Lord’s guidance.
God has given us a memory to reflect and be grateful.
The Israelites were to ask “what does these stones mean?” What do my
Experiences mean? It means that God was with me in the midst of my troubles. God brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light.. God
Made a way for me to see the fulfillment of His promises. God loves YOU like He loved the Israelites.
GOD OPEN DOORS AND CLOSES DOORS FOR HIS PEOPLE
God opened a door for the Israelites to walk through the flooded Jordan
River to see His glory, His power, His authority and His sovereignty.
God is doing the same thing for us today. He is getting us prepared for
Another great event in our lives. The Isralites was being prepared to
See the walls of Jericho fall down before them so they could charge
In shouting victory. God has prepared successes in our lives before we show up for a battle, before we even know that there is a battle. The walls of a mighty city, protected by a mighty army fell down by power of the Lord
For them to see and rejoice.
There are some walls in your life that God is going to bring down. Don’t know what you are going through, but I do know you got a God that is going with you. He will bring down hurts, and heal your broken heart, He
Bring down frustrations and replace it with peace. He will bring down sadness and replace it with joy. He will bring down fear and replace it with hope. He will bring down death and replace it with eternal life.
IN SUMMARY, GET READY FOR A MIRACLE TODAY
Thank God for the moment, Then ask God the question. How can I serve you today?
Listen and be obedient to God’s divine instructions
Trust in God’s Timing
Be Prepared To Move When God Calls
Follow In God’s Presence. Let God order your steps
Prepare Yourself Spiritually; prayer, meditation, repentance, complete submission
Step Out On Faith. You don’t need to know the details, God’s in control
Follow God’s Divine Instructions
God’s control over nature reveals His glory and power
Every believer has a role in God’s plan of redemption. Count yourself worthy through the blood of Jesus
