Joshua Chapter 3 & 4
A Step Of Faith
October 9th 2022
Joshua 3:1-5 (NASB95)
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 “However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
Matthew 3:2 (NASB95)
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17 (NASB95)
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Exodus 34:10 (NASB95)
10 Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
1) Prepare your hearts
for the work that God is going to do
.
Joshua 3:6-14 (NASB95)
6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people. 7 Now the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. 8 “You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand [still] in the Jordan.’” 9 Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11 “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12 “Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13 “It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, [and] the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.” 14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
2)
will go
us.
Isaiah 45:2 (NASB95)
2 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NASB95)
3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Joshua 3:15-17 (NASB95)
15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), 16 the waters which were flowing down from above stood [and] rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 And 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 crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
3) A
is required before we begin the next chapter.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB95)
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
Romans 1:17 (NASB95)
17 For in it [the] righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS [man] SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
James 2:17 (NASB95)
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, [being] by itself.
Joshua 4:1-8 (NASB95)
1 Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6 “Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” 8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there.
4) We are called to have a
on the
to come.
Joshua 4:21-24 (NASB95)
21 He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 “For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
Psalm 78:4-8 (NASB95)
4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know, [even] the children [yet] to be born, [That] they may arise and tell [them] to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Joel 1:2-3 (NASB95)
2 Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has [anything like] this happened in your days Or in your fathers’ days? 3 Tell your sons about it, And [let] your sons [tell] their sons, And their sons the next generation.
Life Group Questions:
- What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message?
- What sins do people in your stage of life struggle with?
- How can we get victory in these areas?
- (Read Galatians 5:1,16) What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
- How do we walk in the Spirit daily? What evidence should be present?
- How is this done in the church body? What evidence should be present?
- What kind of faith was required for Israel when crossing the red sea? What kind of faith was required when crossing the Jordan river? What is the difference between the two and which one is more challenging for you? Why?
- What are different ways we invest in the generation to come? At your stage of life how can you invest personally? What keeps us from investing in the next generation?
- How can we pray for you?