[The sermon thoughts here taken and adapted from Edmund Chan’s book Growing Deep in Faith]
God has promised to give His people the land of Canaan and to guide them there.
• It does not mean, however that the journey will be smooth and easy. In fact, the opposite is true - there are obstacles and many difficulties.
• But if the people are willing to trust God and obey what He says, they will surely inherit what God has promised them.
This is easier said than done, because people are often discouraged when they face problems and difficulties.
• They complained, they get discouraged and they give up too soon.
• We must not fear problems, but tackle them with God. We must trust that God will give us the strength and wisdom to overcome them.
The nation was now camped out by the side of River Jordan. Joshua faced a big obstacle.
• And verse 15 says the Jordan is at flood stage now, being spring time.
• It was impossible for them to cross over. UNLESS God helps them.
And God did, and they crossed over.
• Without God, it is impossible, but with God, everything is possible.
• We learn from this event 3 principles about overcoming obstacles in life.
(1) Having a Heart to Follow God
We must be determined to follow God fully.
• When faced with a problem, we often hear these words, “I do not know what to do.”
• This is not unusual. Many of us have similar experiences. But this is not the problem.
• The problem is not that we do not know what to do, but rather, we don’t do what we know.
And what we do know is that we must follow God. If you are feeling unwell, you should look for a doctor. If you are tired, you should rest.
• There are some things we do know – we need to seek God and pray.
• Joshua instructed the people: “When you see the ark of the Lord, follow it.” (v.3)
• [The Ark was built at the command of God, according to the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exo 25:10-16). God was to communicate with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark’s cover (Exo 25:22).]
The instruction was clear – follow God!
• The focus was not on the river, or the leaders, and not even on Joshua himself.
• Rather, the people were asked to focus on the Ark of the Covenant.
• It is mentioned 17 times in chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 3 alone, it was mentioned 10 times. Everything revolves around the ark.
Note the position of the Ark during the entire crossing. It is described as being in 3 places.
• The Ark was ahead of them (vv. 6, 11 and 14) – the Lord leads the way.
• And then the Ark was moved to the middle of Jordan (v.17) – He was right in the middle of their difficult path. In the midst of the crisis (difficulty), God is there with His people.
• Lastly Exo 4:15 tells us the Ark came up from the river after everyone has crossed – He made sure that everyone was safe. It symbolises His protection.
This is our God. He is with us, every step of the way.
• He wants us to follow Him and He wants us to know He is with us in the midst of our difficult journey.
• Faith is rooted in the conviction that God is with us, and He will show us the way.
(2) Having the Faith to Believe
Some things are beyond us. In fact, many things are beyond our control. We don’t need to feel bad about it.
• Joshua faced an uncross-able river. There was nothing he could do, except to trust God and let God tell him what to do. We need to let go and let God.
• He has to listen to what God says and follow Him. There is no other way.
• “The end of man is the beginning of God.”
He did not even question God, even though he does not fully understand.
• Why cross during the flood season? Should we wait a few more months, until the water level goes down? Or shall we build a boat instead?
• For Joshua, having experienced God’s faithfulness in the wilderness journey, there was no need for negotiations with God.
• God knows best! If He says so, then He can be trusted. We can trust God’s Word today, even when we don’t understand fully.
• In fact, we will NEVER fully understand – that makes us gods!
(3) Having the Courage to Act
The heart to follow and the faith to believe are the attitudes of the heart.
• The true expression of these inner qualities is the courage to act in obedience to God.
• That is why Joshua was able to say with great confidence: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (3:5)
Do you dare to say that? Joshua was very confident that God will perform.
• He believes God’s presence, God’s promise, and God’s power to accomplish what He has promised.
• We like to see and then move; but God wants us to trust Him enough to move and then see. You have to step in, and then we will see the wonders of God!
• 2 Cor 5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight.”
• Pray for courage – for God to grant us the courage to do what He says.
The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead and step into the river, and a miracle happened.
• The instruction was clear. The Lord says in 3:8 “…go and stand IN the river.”
• Even standing by the edge of the river is not enough. They got to get into the waters.
• And they did. 3:15 says “their feet touched the water’s edge.” And verse 16: “the water from upstream stopped flowing.”
• The miracle happened when they obeyed God completely and did what He said. We are blessed when we obey God.
Josh 3:16 “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.”
The people had the experience of crossing the Red Sea. The waters parted then. But it was different this time.
• It was piled up in a heap a distance away at a city called Adam (3:16).
• Scholars do not know where this is, but it was near Zarethan, about 20-25km up North. (That’s the distance driving from Clementi to church.)
We learn TWO lessons here:
(1) God did not repeat the same feat as He did at the Red Sea. He used a different way.
• In fact, in the Scriptures, God seldom perform miracles in exactly the same way.
• The people might have expected the Jordan to part, as in their Red Sea experience. But it did not happen that way.
• Isa 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
• If we expect God to do things a certain way, or our way, we may be disappointed. We have to learn to trust God. He will do things the RIGHT way, the BEST way.
(2) The people did not see what God has already done or is doing.
• When the priests stepped into the waters, they did not see anything happening.
• But at Adam, “a great distance away”, God has already caused the waters to stop flowing.
• What God did, men did not see. God has already done something, but men did not know. We are called to walk by faith and trust that God is doing what He needs to do.
We need not have to worry for God. God will do His part, but men must TRUST Him.
• Eph 1:4-5 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”
The actual fact is God has already prepared everything for us today. To us, things aren’t prepared, not done yet; but this is not true with God.
• In Christ, we are victorious. Not maybe, not later on, but already victorious. The Lord has already won!
Believe this. Though nothing seems to happen, God has already acted.
• He has already done something. God is already on the move. God is already answering prayers.
• A great distance away, in the city of Adam, unseen by our eyes, the miracle has already begun!
We must have
(1) a heart to follow (keeping our eyes on God);
(2) a faith to believe (trust and obey Him), and
(3) the courage to act. Then we shall see and experience His power.
God has already blessed you, and is still doing that today.
