Sermon Central
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It's Time For A Miracle
Contributed by Marty Baker on Sep 19, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: God opens and closes doors to accomplish His will in our lives.
Knock, Knock
It’s Time for a Miracle
Dr. Marty Baker /Joshua 3 / August 3, 2019
You know that I like to start with something funny, so a couple of months ago, I challenged you to send me your funny stories. Several of you sent me this story.
Did you hear about the pastor that went out each Saturday to visit his church members? At one house, it was obvious that someone was home, but nobody came to the door even though the preacher knocked several times. Finally, the preacher took out his card, wrote out Revelation 3:20 on the back of it, and stuck it in the door:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.
The next day, the card turned up in the collection plate.
Added to it was this cryptic message, 'Genesis 3:10'
I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Today, we are going to start a brand new series called Knock, Knock. It’s only appropriate that we start off with some classic Knock, Knock Jokes. You have to play along with me.
Knock, Knock. Who’s there?
Knock Knock! Who's there? Goliath. Goliath who?
Go lieth down, you looketh tired!
Knock Knock. Who's There? Noah. Noah Who?
I Noah guy if you need an ark.
Knock, knock. Who's there? Doris. Doris who? Doris locked, that's why I'm knocking.
If you can do better, send me your best Knock Knock jokes or funny stories to lol@stevenscreekchurch.com.
So the more serious people in the room are saying, “Marty, what’s the point?”
You know life is all about doors. We go in them and out of them. We open them and close them. Some of us have even been known to slam them!
In this series, we are going to see how God opens and closes doors to accomplish His will in our lives. I want you to see that there are God-opportunities knocking on your door right now. And together we are going to find and embrace those opportunities.
One of the major story lines in the Old Testament section of the Bible focuses on the journey of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. This is more than a history lesson because this is your story and it is my story. The message of the Bible is simple: You can find freedom.
Moses led these people, around two million of them, through the desert to the edge of their new land. The story of their deliverance featured several miracles … God-sized events that continue to marvel the greatest skeptics.
Early in the journey, some of them got their eyes off of God and began to grumble and complain. They wanted to go back to where they came from. Their lack of appreciation and over-all negative attitude brought the judgment of God on the people. As a result, God allowed them to wander in the desert for forty years before they were able to cross over into the Promised Land.
Today we are going to pick up on their story as the forty-year desert experience is up. They are ready to cross over into the Promised Land.
At this point, Moses is dead and Joshua, his assistant, is in charge. It is his job to get them ready to meet with God. We pick up the story in Joshua 3.
1 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 the officers went throughout the camp,
3 giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God,
What is the Ark of the Covenant? The ark is the sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments
3 giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.
The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. In other words, you are to follow God. When God moves, you should move.
Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.
I love this verse. This is the story of my life and your life. This is the story of faith. Could it be that today, God is calling you to place that you have never been? I believe so. I believe that God is calling you, me and this entire congregation to step out in faith.
