Joshua 3

Welcome to Church of the Crossing. My name is Andrew, and I'm so

glad that you're here today, and I want to wish everybody happy New Year.

If you are new, if this is your first time at Church of

the Crossing, I'm so glad that you chose to spend the last day of

this year here with us at Church at the Crossing. Now, I don't

know what twenty twenty four is going to hold for you. I don't know

what it's gonna hold for me. I'm sure that many of us here are

excited about the new year because you've got some things that you're looking forward to.

I know there are some young couples in our church who are getting married

in this new year, and that's exciting. I know there are some people

who might be starting new jobs or new opportunities that's exciting. Or you might

be expecting a baby in the new year. But whatever it is, many

of us are excited for the new year. I also think some of us

are a little bit hesitant about the new year. There's a little bit of

anxietiety about the new year. Maybe you've received a diagnosis, or you're going

through some treatment, or there might be a surgery or procedure coming up,

and you're not quite sure where that journey is going to end, or someone

else might be moving, or there's an unexpected change at work that's creating some

anxiety, or you're starting college or a new degree and a little bit unsure

of that. And I got to imagine that there are some of us who

are just ready to put twenty three behind us, because twenty three, for

you, it was a difficult year, and in some ways you are a

little bit broken because of what happened in twenty twenty three. It might have

been a year of disappointment, a year filled with grief, and a year

filled with loss, and you're just ready to move on. Whatever your feelings

are about the old year, and whatever your anticipations are for the new year,

I want to encourage you today to dedicate the new year to the Lord,

to dedicate yourself to the Lord this new year. Now. I can't

predict what's gonna happen in twenty four. The Lord has not given me any

more insight to the new year than you have. But I do know that

this year is gonna be filled with some surprises. There's gonna be some unexpected

opportunities, maybe some challenges, and there may be a lot of change for

many of us. And I want to be really clear, you and I

cannot control and we cannot predict what's gonna happen in the new year. But

I believe you can prepare for the new year. Now. I'm a person

who really likes to be prepared for as much as I can, because I

don't like when anything doesn't go according to plan or when something goes wrong,

especially when I'm traveling. That's why when I fly, I like to fly

direct flights. I don't like connections because too much can go wrong on a

connection. You can have lost luggage, unexpected delays, long layovers. I

like direct flights. One time, I was traveling to Nicaragua to visit some

of our ministry partners there do some ministry work. And I was flying through

Texas, had a connection in Texas, and my first flight was delayed,

and so I landed in Texas very late, with just a few minutes before

my connecting flight took off, and so I was running through the airport trying

to find the gate for my next flight. And I was running down the

terminal, I saw the gate for my flight, and I watched them close

the doors to the gate, and I watched my plane go down the runway

and take off without me on the plane. I was not in control.

I was unprepared for this. And then the gate agent was super calm,

super relaxed, and said, don't worry. We'll put you on the next

flight, which leaves in eight hours. Eight hours. I had an eight

hour layover in Texas, and I can be impatient. I didn't want to

stick around that airport, so I left the airport. I've got eight hours,

that's like a whole afternoon. So I left the airport. I went

to the mall. I went and watched him saw a movie. I went

out to dinner, and then I made it back to the airport with plenty

of time for my connecting flight. I share that because today we're gonna be

looking at a story in the Bible about a layover, about a spiritual delay.

We're gonna be looking today in the Book of Joshua, and we're gonna

be looking at a story of the people of Israel who are waiting to enter

the Promised Land. Let me frame some context. God has led his people

to Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and he led them through the Red

Sea. And God had prepared a brand new home for his people, the

Promised Land. It was a fertile land. It was a place for new

beginnings and a fresh start, where they could raise their families in peace.

But because the their disobedience and because of their lack of faith, Israelites were

delayed from entering the Promised Land. God kept them in a layover situation.

Can you imagine how long this layover lasted. It wasn't eight hours, it

wasn't just a couple of days. Forty years The people were waiting to enter

the Promised Land. Forty years of wandering in the wilderness, wandering in the

desert, waiting for God to let them into their future. I wonder if

you have been waiting for something for a long time. I wonder if you've

been hoping and waiting for a miracle, for a breakthrough. I wonder if

someone here has been praying for a loved one who has lost that they would

come to faith in Jesus. Or you might be someone who's been waiting that

God would bring that right spouse into your life. Or maybe you're in a

job situation or in a career situation that's just grinding you down and you need

to change, or I know there might be somebody who you feel like you're

drowning in debt and you need a financial break through. You've been waiting.

Whatever your situation is, I know that God sees your situation. God knows

your situation, and God is not slow. He does not delay, and

God does not rush to satisfy our impatience. He knows what he's doing.

And so the Israelites have been waiting for forty years to enter into the land

that God had for them, and finally God decided it's time, and God

appointed Joshua to lead the people of Israel. And here's what our text says

in Joshua, Chapter one, verse ten says, So Joshua ordered the officers

of the people go through the camp and tell the people get your provisions ready.

Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River to go in and

take possession of the land the Lord, our God is giving you for your

own. The layover is over. It's time to move. After forty years,

it's time to step into the promised land. And there's just one thing

in front of them just a teeny tiny river that they have to cross,

No big deal, But don't underestimate how difficult crossing the Jordan River was gonna

be. See, Joshua is leading a whole nation of people, a few

million people, men, women, children, the elderly, and all of

their animals, all their livestock, all of their pets, all their possessions.

So this crossing isn't as simple as just walking over a bridge or just

going for a swim. And secondly, this river is a vast river.

The Jordan River stretches more than two hundred miles long, and some scholars and

historians say that where the people crossed was a part of the river that was

nearly two miles wide and more than one hundred and twenty feet deep. So

this is a huge obstacle facing Joshua and the people. Let's keep reading in

Joshua chapter three, verse two. After three days, the officers went throughout

the camp giving order to the people. When you see the ark of the

Covenant of the Lord, your God, and the levitical priests carrying it,

you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Now, the

ark of the Covenant was a sacred box that traveled with Israel, and it

held the Ten Commandments and many other things. And the Ark of the Covenant

represented God's presence with his people. Wherever the Ark went, God was with

his people. He was leading his people. Verse four. Then you will

know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.

But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark.

Do not go near it. And then look at verse five. Here Joshua

told the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow. The Lord will do amazing things

among you. I believe that the Lord wants to do amazing things in this

new year. I believe that God wants to do amazing things in your life

and in my life. I believe that there are amazing things for your family,

amazing things for your marriage this year. What amazing things are you hopeful

that the Lord might do in your life? Do you want to see God

transform a negative situation? Do you want your relationship with God to go to

a new level. Do you want your faith to grow? Are you expected

of God to do amazing things in your life? I want to draw your

attention to verse five. Joshua says, God's gonna do amazing things among you.

Notice what he says in verse five, he says, consecrate yourselves.

Now, consecrate maybe an uncommon word in our modern time. This word in

the Hebrew language is a word that means to set apart or to dedicate.

That's what it means to consecrate. Consecrate means to prepare, or it means

to dedicate. And I want to give an example of what this can look

like to dedicate, to consecrate something. So growing up, my family had

dedicated dishes like plates and bowls and cups, and we had these dedicated dishes

that were in the consecrated china cabinet, and they were only used for special

occasions, for family holidays only when we had you know, guests, And

so around those holidays, we'd bring out the consecrated special dishes and we'd have

ten, twelve, fourteen place settings for all the family. And these things

were so sacred and dedicated that they could not be put in the dishwasher.

We had to hand wash everything. And I was visiting my mom recently and

I took a picture of the silverware cabinet for the real silver silverware in the

cabinet, So every dish had to be hand washed, every bowl and glass

had to be hand dried, and the silverware needed to be polished before returning

to the felt lined arc of the Covenant, I mean the silverware drawer.

These were dedicated things. Consecrated means to dedicate something. It can also mean

to prepare, just like for several months now, Lauren and I have been

preparing for the arrival of our baby. Did you know babies come with a

lot of stuff, A lot of stuff. I've got so many deliveries and

packages. The cardboard boxes, even flattened, would stack up taller than me,

just so much stuff. A crib, a stroller, a changing table,

a car seat. I've had my car seat installed for weeks now.

In anticipation, We've packed both of the diaper bags. That's right, we

have two diaper bags, one for me, one for her. Can you

guess which one is mine? We're preparing. Consecrate means to prepare, It

means to dedicate, And so Joshua told the people, consecrate yourselves for God's

gonna do amazing things. God's gonna do amazing things in your life. God's

gonna do amazing things for you and in you, maybe even some unexpected things.

So let me share the big idea of this message, the main point,

the one thing I want us to remember today as we go into a

new year. Dedicate your new year to the Lord. Dedicate your new year

to the Lord. Will you intentionally give this new year to the Lord.

You cannot predict, you cannot control, but you can prepare, you can

dedicate, you can consecrate yourself in this new year. Will you be intentional

to prepare your heart, to prepare your mind for the Lord. I want

to continue reading this story in verse fourteen of our text. So when the

people broke camps across the Jordan, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant

went ahead of them. 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, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It

piled up at a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in

the vicinity of Zarithon, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the

Araba with that is the Dead Sea, was completely cut off. So the

people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the Covenant

of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground.

Will All Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on

dry ground. The Lord did a miracle. The Lord did an amazing thing.

He separated the waters and provided dry ground for the entire nation to cross

over. More than three million people. They crossed over on dry ground.

Nothing stopped them, and after a forty year layover, they have now entered

the promised land. They have now stepped into their future. Today we are

on the threshold of a new year, new possibilities and new beginnings. And

I want to ask you a question today. Whether you're a man or whether

you're a woman, whether you're young or old, I want to ask you

one question. Do you want to end for this new year wandering like the

Israelites wandered in the desert. Do you want to go through this new year

wandering without purpose, without direction? Or do you want to dedicate this new

year to the Lord? Do you want to prepare for amazing things? Do

you want to be expectant of what God may do? This year. I

believe that most of us want more of God in twenty four That's why we're

here in this worship service on New Year's Eve. You want more of God,

you want more of his favor, more of his grace. And I

believe that if we take a close look at this story, at this text,

there are a few things we can learn about how we can dedicate this

year to the Lord. Let's take a look at verse three. Joshua said,

when you see the ark of the Covenant of the Lords, you'r a

god and the levitical priests carrying it. You are to move out from your

positions. You are to move out. Some of us need to move on

from last year. If you're gonna dedicate your new year to the Lord,

some of us need to move on. We need to move on. It's

time to leave the past behind you. It's time to say goodbye to what's

in the past and dedicate the new year to the Lord. In verse three,

Joshua says, move out, move out from your positions. In Hebrew,

this phrase move out is often used in the New Testament to describe removing

tent pegs like a tent would have rope attached to a peg in the ground,

and that tent peg would keep the tent tied down. Some of us

are tied down to some things that we need to move on from. It's

time to move on from that toxic, abusive relationship. If you've been fighting

an unhealthy pattern, or a hidden sin, or an addiction issue, it's

time to move on. There are some things that may have you tied down.

You may be tied down in depression, tied down in grief, confidence,

you've lost your hope because there's something that happened to you. There's something

in the past that's had you tied down. And today is the day that

we move on. We look forward to what God wants to do, and

we move on from the past. Lauren and I have been working together here

at Church of the Crossing for more than four years now. Before being employed

here, Lauren and I had not worked at the same organization. We hadn't

been co workers before. So these last four years have been something different for

us, and there's a lot of blessings of being coworkers. We get to

collaborate together, we get to work on initiatives together. There was even a

period of time that our offices were next door to each other, and sometimes

we get to carpool together. But there are also some challenges to working together

and being married together and being co workers. For example, when we get

home and we have dinner together, what do we talk about work? And

that's not bad except when work is all we talk about all the time.

And so Lord and I have tried this practice of moving on. We've tried

to practice where if one of us comes home from a stressful day or a

hard day, or we need to talk about something or vent about something,

we will set a timer, like maybe on our phone, five minutes or

ten minutes, and we just talk. And then when that timer goes off,

it's time to move on. It's time to let it rest, let

it be, and move on. You can dedicate your new year to the

Lord by moving on from something in the past, moving on from something that's

keeping you tied down, it's holding you back from God's best one Peter four

to three says, for you have spent enough time in the past doing what

pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lust, drunken this orgies,

carousing, and detestable idolatry. It's time to move on from the past,

leave sin behind and return to the Lord. Leave what's in the past past,

move on from disappointment, move on from that failure that's back there.

You are not bound to the past. Your future is in Christ. Whatever

has kept you tied down, whatever has kept you held back, today we

declare that to be broken off in the name of Jesus. Today, in

the name of Jesus, we break off a spirit of shame. We break

off a spirit of failure. We break off a spirit of regret and a

spirit of fear. In the name of Jesus. Your past is covered in

the grace and the blood of Jesus, so you can move forward. It's

a new year, It's a new beginning. Dedicate your new year to the

Lord. Let's continue looking at our text. In verse fifteen says, now

the Jordan is at floodstage all during the harvest. Yet as soon as the

priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge,

the water from upstream stopped flowing. Notice in this text, when did

the river change? When did the river stop flowing? It says as soon

as their feet touched the water's edge, as soon as the priest stepped into

the water, God did an amazing thing. They took a step of faith.

They took a risky step, confidently trusting that when they stepped into the

water that God would do an amazing thing. If you're going to dedicate your

new year to the Lord, some of us need to take a step forward

this year. It's time to step into obedience, step into something that might

require a lot of faith. If you're like me and you like to be

prepared, and you like to plan, I gotta tell you. God doesn't

always show us step two. He may only show you step one. But

take that step forward. He may be prompting you to take a step of

obedience, step that is a little bit risky. In verse nine, Joshua

said to the Israelites, come here and listen to the words of the lords

your God. This is how you will know. Oh, the living God

is among you. I gotta tell you, if you step forward this year,

if you take a step of obedience, you are following a living God.

Your God is not dead, Your God is not far away. Your

God is powerful, Your God is exalted. Your God is alive. Because

when Jesus died on the cross. He took on death, he took on

sin and evil. When he breathed his last, his enemies and the devil

thought that they had won. They thought that death had won. They thought

that evil had won. But three days later that stone that was in front

of the tomb was rolled away, and Jesus came out victorious. Because he

is the living God. And so when you take a step forward in faith

to obey him to follow him, you're following a God who's gonna lead you

where he's already been. He's going ahead of you, and he's going to

provide more confidence, more hope, more trust, so that you can overcome

and face whatever is in front of you this new year, when Israel crossed

the Jordan and stepped into the Promised Land, their challenges were just beginning.

Because in the Promised Land, where many many enemies ready to attack the Israelites.

Joshua continues on in verse ten, the Living God is among you,

and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, hit

Bites, Perizites, Gergoshites, Amorites, and Jebusites. These are the enemies.

See the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will

go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now, you may not have enemies

called Canaanite or Hibites. But your enemies may be a sin issue. Your

enemy might be an addiction issue. Your enemy might be a hot temper.

Your enemy might be a family challenge, grief. You may encounter spiritual enemies

in this new year. This new year may bring disappointment, It may bring

setbacks. But I promise you that the Living God, your God, the

one who rose from the dead, is going before you. He's going ahead

of you, so that sin cannot defeat you. Fear will not overcome you.

Disappointment, criticism will not be the end of your story. Your God

goes ahead of you, just like he did for Joshua and the people.

Some of us need to take a step forward. At the beginning of each

new year, I dedicate some intentional time to ask the Lord if he has

a word for me that new year, or maybe a theme or a scripture

for me to meditate and reflect on in the new year. And at the

beginning of twenty twenty three, I sense that the Lord put on my heart

the word trust. That trust would be the theme for twenty twenty three,

and my did he teach me more about trust this last year? See at

that time, at the beginning of twenty three, there were some things that

I was anxious about, a lot of things I was worried about. Some

of it was affecting some of my health, my sleep. There were even

things that I was frustrated about because I couldn't control them, or I'd be

disappointed because of expectations I had that were unrealistic. And what I realized is

all of those things that were unpleasant came down to the root of not trusting

the Lord completely. In my how he has shown me to trust him.

And now today I'm considering what might be the word or the theme that He

has for me in twenty four. What step might God be inviting you to

take in this new year? What step forward is he inviting you into.

Is it a new spiritual practice? Is it reading the Bible more intentionally and

letting it get into your heart and into your soul? Is it a daily

time of prayer? Someone here might be prompted to begin this new year with

fasting. Fast is when we go without a certain food for a certain amount

of time to receive more from the Lord. Maybe a day, or maybe

a week, or maybe just a meal. It's all about removing something temporarily

so we can receive more of God. I promise you fasting accelerates your faith.

Or maybe God is inviting you to take a step financially. Maybe he's

inviting you that this is the year that you're gonna step into tithing. Now,

let's just be honest. Money is sensitive, isn't it. Money is

person It's touchy. I can't think of a quicker way in my life that

I've learned to trust God and fast track my faith than my trusting Him with

my finances. And I wonder if there is someone listening. God's inviting you

to take a spiritual next step, and that includes baptism, being baptized.

I think it's interesting that the Israelites cross through the Joy waters. They crossed

through the river to get to the other side. When they were in the

wilderness, they were wandering, they were without purpose, they were without direction,

they were waiting. But when they crossed through the waters, they became

their future. They fulfilled their destiny and stepped in to the new beginning.

Similarly, baptism is a transformative moment when you go through the water. It

signifies that the old you, the sinful you, the lost you, is

gone. It died with Jesus, and when you come out of the water,

the new you is alive. A new beginning has come. And I'm

excited because there's a baptism opportunity here at Church of the Crossing coming up in

a few weeks. If that's something you're interested in or God's prompting you,

you can learn more about that on the website. But take a step forward,

step into God's future. After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, God

wanted to make sure that his people never forgot the miracle that he did at

the water. God wanted them to remember how he had provided for them.

Let me draw your attention to Joshua. Chapter four. In verse twenty we

read Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the

Jordan. He said to the Israelites in the future, when your descendants ask

their parents, what do these stones mean? Tell them, Israel cross the

Jordan on dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before

you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan.

What he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before

us until we had crossed over. He did this. He did this so

that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord

is powerful, and so that you might always fear the Lord, your God.

God did not want his people to forget his faithfulness, and so Joshua

set up twelve stones. He set up a marker to remind the people.

For generals, God is faithful. If you dedicate your New year to the

Lord, I want to remind you to look back on what God has done,

look back on his faithfulness, look back on how He's provided, look

back on how he has walked with you, how he has sustained you.

Look back on his favor in your life. Make a marker of what God's

done for you in the past. Mark his goodness. We've got a lot

to celebrate from twenty three. Church at the Crossing has a lot of things

that we've seen God do, and I don't want us to forget these.

I don't want us to leave these in the past. We need to mark

what God's done just in the last twelve months. And I'm going to share

a few of the highlights. These are just a few of them. There's

many others, but these are just a few that we're celebrating. In twenty

twenty three, we saw more than two hundred and thirty kids come to Vacation

Bible School. That's two hundred and thirty hearts hearing about Jesus. Last year,

thirty one people attended Next Step Growing in their faith, getting connected here

to the True Church. Last year we saw twenty four baptisms, twenty four

souls saved by Jesus. Last year, we helped support training one hundred pastors

in Bangladesh. That's one hundred ministers around the world. Sharing the gospel through

our neighborhood market, more than seven hundred neighbors were able to shop sustainably.

This year, sixty new middle school and high school students attended our youth events

who heard the gospel. Eight new small groups were started this year, that's

new Disciples of Jesus. Over sixty people served on mission trips in the US

and internationally, and in twenty three, Iglesia el Camino launched a new Spanish

speaking ministry of Church at the Crossing. These are just a few of the

things can we give God praise for what he's done? Can we mark his

faithfulness? And friends, I believe the best is yet to come. If

God has done all this in twenty twenty three, what might he do in

twenty four? What has he done in your life? Where he's marked himself

faithful? Look back? Make a marker of how he's provided, how he's

healed, how he's forgiven you, how he's shown you more of his grace.

Mark how he gave you wisdom over a decision. Mark how he gave

you peace that was unexplainable. What has he done in twenty three that's leading

you into the new year market Today, we're gonna make a marker together.

In a few moments, we're gonna together mark this new year and dedicate ourselves

to the Lord. Because markers remind us of God's love. And I brought

something to show you something that's very special to me. It's this stone.

Just like Joshua made a marker of stones, I have this stone that I

keep in my home office as a marker, and it says, lead me

to the Rock. Because last year I spent a day of solitude with the

Lord, a day of prayer and seeking him, and I went to a

state park near here and just spent time in nature with the Father and God.

And I spoke about many things about my future, about my family,

about education, ministry, all sorts of things. And I found while I

was out there at this state park this beautiful rock outcropping and at the top

of a hill. It's a beautiful view and was kind of covered over by

a rock cave kind of thing. And I took this stone from there as

a marker of my time spent with the Lord, because more than anything else

that the Lord and I discussed, the Father showed me more of his kindness

and more of his grace. That day he drew my attention to Psalm sixty

one, which says, hear my cry, Oh God, listen to my

prayer. From the ends of the earth. I call to you. I

call as my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher

than I for you have been my refuge, a strong tower. And that

day, as I was sitting on this rock outcropping, the Lord reminded me

of his faithfulness. He reminded me of his love. He reminded me that

he is my refuge, that he is my strength, that he is immovable.

He is my rock. And so that day I brought this home just

as a marker, as a reminder that God is with me. When I'm

discouraged, I look to the Rock when I am disappointed, when I'm upset,

I look to the Rock when I feel like my back is against the

wall, when I feel overwhelmed, I look to the Rock because the Lord

is higher than me. He is the Rock who is greater than me.

Because he is my foundation and he is my refuge. Give him praise if

you've experienced his goodness, if you have held onto the Rock, give him

praise. And so today we're gonna make a marker together. Today we're gonna

dedicate ourselves to the Lord. The big idea was dedicate your new year to

the Lord, and so we're going to do that. I want to share

with you a prayer that we're going to read together in a few moments.

This prayer was written by John Wesley in the eighteenth century. It's called the

Wesleyan Covenant prayer, and it's been used by Christians for hundreds of years to

dedicate and reaffirm our commitment to the Lord. And there's no more fitting opportunity

to dedicate ourselves than at the beginning of a new year. So let me

read these words. They're on the screen, and I'm going to read them,

and then I'm gonna invite you to pray them with me. This prayer

says, I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what

you will rank me with, whom you will put me to doing. Put

me to suffering. Let me be employed by you, or laid aside for

you, exalted for you, or brought low for you. Let me be

full, let me be empty, Let me have all things, let me

have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, a glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit. You are mine and I'm yours. So be it. And

the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen. Whether you need to move on from something, or you need

to step forward, or you need to mark something, this is an opportunity

for us to dedicate our new year to the Lord. Would you stand with

me? And I want to invite you as we look at this prayer on

the screens, We're going to read these words out loud together as a way

to dedicate our lives in this new year to the Lord. Pray this with

me. I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to

what you will rank, me with whom you will put me to doing.

Put me to suffering. Let me be employed by you, or laid aside

for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you. Let me

be full, let me be empty, Let me have all things, let

me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and

disposal. And now, O, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it