Get Ready
Dr. Marty Baker /Joshua 3 / October 29, 2006
One
of those quirky tendencies is right here (show bedroom mirror with clothes
draped across them). Almost every evening right before bed I go into my
closet and decide what I am going to wear. Patty would say that’s easy for you …. Khaki pants and a
plaid button down shirt. I’ve been
trying to work on that. Once I
decided when khaki pants and what plaid shirt I am going to wear I take them
and hang the shirt on this mirror and lay the pants across the top. Then I get shocks and shoes and place
them right beside the mirror. On really weird days, I will put my shaving kit
on the counter and a towel and wash-cloth beside the shower.
When
the sun comes up the next morning, I want to be ready. I have a alarm clock beside my bed, but
I’ve set it maybe twice this year.
I tell myself what time I want to get up and then I do it. I know that some of these tendencies
drive my wife crazy, but it’s been a part of my life since I was a kid.
I
use to ride the bus to school. My
mother loves to the tell the story of how the bus would come at 7:00 AM, but I
would go out there and put my books in line at 6:30 AM because I not only
wanted to ride the bus, I wanted to be first in line. This tendency flows natural from my Dad. As you know we have had season tickets
to the Carolina games for 32 years.
When I was a kid, my Dad and I would arrive at the stadium at least two
hours early. I can remember going
to Clemson for a game one year and we arrived at the stadium one hour before
the gates were opened. We
were passionate about being ready when the action started.
What
do you do to get ready for tomorrow?
Do you have a plan or do you just let it happen? Do you lay out your clothes, map out
your day, and plan your meetings or do you show up and deal with it as it
comes?
One of the major story lines in the Old Testament focuses on the journey of
the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised
Land. 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.
God can handle a lot of things, but he has no patience for grumblers and
complainers. This lack of
appreciation and over-all negative attitude brought the judgment of God on the
people. As a result, they wandered in the desert for forty years before they
crossed over into the Promised Land.
They wandered until the entire negative generation died out.
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.
Moses is dead and Joshua, his assistant, is in charge. It is his job to get
them ready to meet with God.
Joshua 3:1-2
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.
Joshua 3:2-3
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
Joshua 3:3
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.
Joshua 3:4-5
4 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. God is calling
us to place that we have never been.
He is calling us as individuals and as a church. The call can be intimidating; it can be
challenging; and yes, it can be fearful.
God
calls us to places that we have never been so that we can learn what it means
to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. When we trust Him, the way that we are to go will be made
clear.
Joshua 3:4-5
4 Then
you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep
a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near
it."
5 Joshua
told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do
amazing things among you."
The Christian experience is a journey. It involves stepping out into the unknown and going places that you have never been. We get some great insights from this account of Joshua leading Israel as they stepped out of the wilderness and into the water and eventually into the future God had prepared.
Embracing God’s Call
The first thing we learn is that in order to take a step of faith:
1. Prepare yourself for what God has in
store for you.
5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
In other words, get ready; prepare yourselves for what God has in store. This week many of you have been the World Series … St. Louis Cardinals verses Detroit Tigers. Congratulations to all of the Cardinal fans. These two teams would have never made it this far without great pitching.
Have you ever noticed the way pitchers prepare themselves for games? First of all, there is the physical preparation. It takes hours and hours of practice and training. Really good pitchers then spend hours getting mentally prepared. They study the opposing batters. They watch films so that they know their strengths and weaknesses. A major league pitcher would never go into a game unprepared.
In a similar way we need to prepare ourselves for what God wants to do through us.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has a plan for your life. He wants you to serve Christ and His Church. He wants you to follow in the footsteps of Christ. He wants you to get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
Joshua told the Children of Israel, “Consecrate yourselves”.
Consecrate means to give entirely, to dedicate yourself. Practically speaking, I see consecration as removing anything from your life that may offend the heart of God. Maybe it’s your attitude. Could it be some things that you are involved? Could it be a sin that you’ve ignored?
Joshua was saying, “I want you to get serious. I want you to prepare yourself for God is going to show up and do amazing things among you.”
So many times we say we want God to move in our lives, but our actions say otherwise. We want God to move, but we never prepare ourselves for the move of God.
Joshua says, “If you will consecrate yourself, God will do amazing things among you.” I believe that God wants to move in your life in ways that you never dreamed possible. I can see Him on the edge of his seat waiting for you to get ready.
As I look at this church, Stevens Creek has incredible potential. This congregation has everything in place to do something significant for God. Through the years, we have enjoyed steady growth. At times we have seen double digit percentage increases, but we have never seen exponential growth. Why? Because we are satisfied with where we are.
God wants us to shake off the lethargy. He wants us to dedicate ourselves to His purposes. God wants to do amazing things, but He is looking for a people that prepared. He is looking for a group that is ready for His appearing.
Joshua said, “Get ready for God is going to do something great.” The second thing we see in Joshua’s story is this. The Children of Israel had to step out in faith. They had to take action.
2. Take action. Be willing to step out into new areas.
It requires action. It takes more than just preparation; ultimately it takes putting one foot in front of the other and taking a first step.
But there was a problem here, a barrier. The Promised Land was on the other side of the Jordan river. There are two million people that need to cross over, but they don’t have a bridge, they don’t have a ferry, they don’t have a way across.
When you study Joshua, you will see how God gave the people a role to play in the amazing things He had promised. God said, “Pick up the ark of the Covenant.”
Joshua 3:6-7
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.' "
Symbolically, picking up the Ark is like picking up the promises and the presence and the commands of God and placing those promises and commands on your shoulders, knowing that God is going with you. It's about trusting God. It’s about taking action. It’s about getting your feet week. “Go stand in the river.”
Today, it’s time for you to get your feet wet. God does not save a person just for them to sit on the sidelines watching everyone else get in the river.
There are too many people here at the Creek that are sideliners. Some of you have never made a decision to follow Jesus Christ. You are just watching from the bank of the river. Today is the day to say “Yes to God.” Today is the day for you to get your feet wet.
There are too many people here at the Creek that come and enjoy the show, but never engage in what God is doing here. You are just sitting here waiting for Jesus to come. It’s time to get your feet wet. You have been given great gifts and talents. You have been called to make a difference. What are you doing with what you have been given? It’s time to get ready. It’s time to take action. It’s time to get your feet wet.
And, there are a few people here … just a few … like the Children of Israel, they are mumbling and complaining that the music is too loud. The church caters to one group over another. I can’t sit where I want to sit. I can’t park where I want to park.
It’s my desire to help you see what you are missing. I don’t want you to die in the desert and miss the amazing things that God is going to do. I don’t want you to bale out and miss the miracles of God.
The priests carried the ark to the river. They stepped into the water and they trusted God for a miracle.
3. Trust God for a miracle.
As soon as the priests took those first steps into the Jordan River, instantly the flow of the water stops.
God could have stopped the water all by Himself but He wanted His followers to get involved so that they could experience the thrill of seeing God work through them.
God wants to do miracles through you. I know for some of you that sounds like religious jargon. But, I really believe that God releases supernatural power through people who trust Him. In this room today, there are scores of people who have see miracles take place in their lives or the lives of their family and friends.
The greatest miracle that I have ever seen is the miracle of a person’s sins being forgiven. They don’t have to carry around the guilt and shame of their past. They are free to love, they are free to live.
I can hear some of you say, “This sounds great, but what happens when you end up on the side of the road and there is no miracle in sight?”
Maybe you've been there. Perhaps you've had a time in your life when you've heard the promises of God, you have stepped out in faith, and you have looked around you and things don't seem to be any better. Nothing seems to be happening – in fact, things may even seem to be worse.
Maybe it was a ministry or a new opportunity where you felt Jesus was sending you to get involved – and you stepped out in faith only to discover frustration and failure. Or perhaps it was a relationship where you just knew that God was calling you to reach out – and so you do, only to encounter rejection.
Or maybe like Israel you are stepping into new territory, into an uncertain future and as you look around you aren't sure you are moving in the right direction.
Sometimes it seems we get out of the boat and all we get in return is wet. But look closely at what happens at the Jordan River.
Joshua 3:15-16
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.
Now here you need to read the text carefully and you need to know a little bit of geography and some simple physics. The town of Adam is about 20 miles upstream from where the priests are standing. The water in the Jordan River is flowing at maybe about 5 miles per hour. This is like a math word problem: Water leaves Adam traveling south at 5 miles per hour. How long before the water reaches the priests 20 miles downstream?
Do you get the picture? The instant the priests' feet touch the water God performs a miracle. But the miracle is 20 miles upstream. To their eyes nothing happens. In fact it is going to be hours before there is any evidence that God is at work.
These guys stepped out in faith, but they did not see any visible change. They've got to be thinking, Joshua, this just isn't working. We've stepped out in faith and as you can plainly see these amazing things God promised just aren't happening.
But imagine how it must have felt after hours of patiently waiting, standing there in the middle of the Jordan River, as the water began to recede until finally they were standing on dry ground.
You see the good news is that when we step out in faith, and maybe things still look hopeless, and it looks like the promises of God aren't being fulfilled, that somewhere upstream, or maybe just out of sight around the corner, God is already at work.
And little by little, as we continue to step out in obedience, God begins to reveal the miracles and the amazing tomorrows that He has in store for our lives.
So here is the point I want us to remember. Jesus is calling disciples today just as He did 2,000 years ago. He is calling us to Get Ready. God is calling us to prepare ourselves because He wants to do amazing things among us.
Sometimes we'll take those first steps and we'll walk on water. But at times we get out of the boat, and we don't know where to go next because nothing seems very different. Everything seems the same. But that doesn't mean God isn't at work.
Hebrews
10:35-37
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.
You see the truth is, even when we don't see miracles all around us, even when we aren't walking on water, somewhere upstream, just out of sight, God is at work.
It’s time to get ready. What are we getting ready for? We are getting ready for God to move in our lives. Where do we begin?
We begin by consecrating ourselves. It’s time to dedicate you life to higher calling and a higher purpose.
It’s time to repent of our self-centeredness. It’s time to surrender our past, present and future to Jesus Christ. It’s time to submit to Jesus and allow him to be the leader of your life.
John 3:30
He must become greater; I must become less.
Today is the day for you to change the way you live and live for Christ. Serve Him and Serve His Church.
Prayer / Song: I
AM READY NOW