Go and Stand in the Jordan Joshua 3:1-6, NIV Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 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. 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. I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Go and Stand in the Jordan,” based on Joshua 3:1-6. Please repeat after me, “Go and Stand in the Jordan. Go and Stand in the Jordan.” Unexpected things happen in the course of our lives. Sometimes we are perplexed and disappointed because of obstacles. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years. Thanks to God’s grace, they came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and reached the entrance of Canaan after 40 years of a long journey in the desert. Joshua succeeded Moses, leading the Israelites to conquer Canaan. However, the Jordan River was in front of them. The Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. It looked impossible for them to cross the Jordan River. The river was about 3-4 meters deep and about 30 meters wide. It was blocking their way to Canaan. It must have been deeply distressing to them. They had to cross the river to enter into Canaan, but there seemed no way to do that. They could not build ships for they did not have enough material or time to build ships. They must have been very disappointed. Our lives are similar to this situation. We meet obstacles like the Jordan River in times of crisis in our lives. Suppose one of our family members goes to a doctor and finds out that he or she has a serious disease. All the family members are likely to despair. Suppose you are laid off during this economic crisis. You become unemployed. Suppose you have serious problems in your business, and it is on the verge of bankruptcy. Such problems can take place without warning. Just like the Jordan River was an obstacle to the Israelites before their entrance into Canaan, unexpected obstacles can appear in the course of our lives, reducing us to hopelessness. They had to cross the river, but they did not know how. God had to help them cross the river. Likewise, unless God helps us, we cannot overcome the obstacles of hopelessness in our lives. We need God’s miracles. 1. Jars that are ready (Jos 3:1-5). First, in order to experience the miracles of God, we need to become jars that are ready. We need to be completely and thoroughly prepared. The miracles of God do not happen automatically. We must hold on to the Word of God and try our very best to make our dreams come true. Then God will perform miracles for those who are ready. To prepare us before God, more than anything else, we need faith early in the morning. Joshua 3:1 says, “Early in the morning Joshua set out.” Morning is the first hour that opens a day. I pray that you will kneel down in prayer before God early in the morning, at the first hour of each day, asking for His help. Joshua awakened early in the morning. On the day of Jericho’s fall, he also got up early in the morning and encouraged the priests. Joshua 6:12 says, “Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.” We know that human history has been led by those who are “early morning” people. Most of the great characters in the Bible are “early morning” people. Abraham woke up and left home at daybreak to offer Isaac. Genesis 22:3 says, “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.” The Red Sea was divided at daybreak, too. Exodus 14:21 says, “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided.” Jacob set out for his uncle’s house in Haran and lay down to sleep at Bethel. He met the Lord there and built an altar early the next morning. Genesis 28:18 says, “Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.” Most important, Jesus, the Son of God, woke up very early in the morning and started His day with prayer. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Hallelujah! Jesus started early morning prayer. One of the beautiful traditions of the Korean church is early morning prayer. Since the Great Revival at Pyongyang in 1907, the Korean Church has awakened in the early morning. We turn on the lights in the churches around 4:00 AM and make the church bells chime. Since more than 50,000 churches throughout Korea awaken early in the morning, we can overcome all difficulty, even in times of crises by God’s grace, dwelling in His blessing. A seminary graduate pioneered a church. Since he was not an early riser, it was very difficult for him to wake up early in the morning and lead the early morning prayer meeting every day. One morning as he was coming to church for the early morning prayer meeting he complained, “Who started early morning prayer?” According to the Scripture, however, it was the Lord Jesus who started it. Hallelujah! I urge you to awaken early in the morning. To awaken early in the morning means “to overcome the power of darkness and to open a day of hope.” God will listen to our prayers early in the morning and answer them. Psalm 46:5 says, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” God will help us at the break of day! Let us all be spiritual beings and awaken early in the morning, listen to the Word of the Lord, and obey Him. Moreover, we need to wait for God’s timing in all matters. Joshua 3:1-2 says, “Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp.” The Israelites had spent 40 years in the desert. They had just arrived at the entrance to Canaan, the land of their dreams. They had to wait there three more days. Some of them must have been impatient, wanting to cross the river by swimming, since they had longed for that land for such a long time. However, they had to wait for three more days. People of faith must have patience in waiting for God’s timing. We often ruin things due to our impatience. I pray that you will not go ahead of God before hearing His voice or before looking at His signs. Even though the Israelites had waited for 40 years, God wanted them to wait for three more days. The Scripture tells us to wait patiently before God for His timing. Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” The Scripture tells us to wait for God’s timing without complaining. What should we do while waiting? We must consecrate ourselves. Joshua 3:5 says, “Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.’ ” Consecration means “holiness.” To be holy means “to be separated from the world.” This means to come closer to the Lord. Holiness means to become like the Lord, practicing His will. The Scripture tells us to consecrate ourselves. It emphasizes that we must become holy. We must remember that we are responsible for our holiness; no one else is responsible for our holiness. We must break ourselves before the Lord with humility. We must put our sinful nature under the cross. We need to consecrate ourselves in order to live a life of victory, blessing, and miracles. We need to be made holy. We need to become like our Lord. Then God will pour His grace upon us. God will perform miracles for us when we march forward with faith, are filled with the Holy Spirit, hold on to the Word of God, and trust in the power of the blood of Jesus. James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Purify your hearts! A missionary was on a missionary journey. He saw an eagle circling around in the sky. He saw something strange about its movements, though. He looked carefully. The eagle kept on circling around, but suddenly it fell headlong to the ground. He ran to the place where the eagle had fallen and saw a dead weasel clinging to the chest of the dead eagle. The eagle had found its prey, snatched the weasel, and had flown high up in the sky. At that same moment, the weasel had bit the chest of its predator. It would not let go but kept on biting the eagle’s chest. Even though the eagle had circled around, the weasel would not let go, and had bit off its chest. Both the eagle and the weasel died. Why should the children of God fail to fly into the sky like an eagle, falling back to the ground? Why should we fall miserably, unable to run confidently toward the blessing of the Lord that God has prepared for us? That is because we cannot shake off the weasel that bites our hearts. I urge you to shake off the weasel of hopelessness, pain, and hurts. I urge you to shake off the hurts from the past, sinful habits, and all negative thoughts. Many people cannot fly but fall to the ground because they cannot resolve their problem like the weasel and are obsessed by their hurts, negative thoughts, and sinful habits. We are spiritual eagles. I pray that you will shake off all such things and shoot up to the sky, so that you can experience the precious work of the Lord. Let us shake off the scars of failure and hurts from the past. Let us shake off all worry, anxiety, and concern. Let us march forward with faith, and become ready and prepared before the Lord. 2. Obedience to the Word of God (Jos 3:7-9). Second, after being prepared and ready, we need to be fully obedient to the Word of the Lord. Joshua 3:7-9 says, “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. 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.’ ” Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” God gives us His Word first. When we obey Him, God will perform His miracles. God spoke to the Israelites and commanded the priests to carry the ark of the covenant and move out. Joshua 3:3 says, “…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.” Verse 6 says, “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.” God commanded the priests to take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people. The tabernacle was the center for the Israelites during their stay in the desert for 40 years. The tabernacle was divided into two parts: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The ark of the covenant was placed in the Most Holy Place, containing the stone tablets of the covenant, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the jar of manna. The ark of the covenant symbolizes the dwelling of God. Therefore, the ark of the covenant is the portent of Jesus Christ, God himself. God blessed the Israelites when they marched in the desert following the ark. God fed them with manna and quail. He drove out snakes and scorpions from the road in the desert while they were marching after the ark of the covenant. He also led their way with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night. As long as we follow the ark of the covenant, our lives are securely protected. God will keep us as the apple of His eye and make our path as a highway in Zion. Our God never sleeps or slumbers. He always takes care of His precious children. The key to crossing the Jordan River is to fully obey the Word of God. No matter what kind of problem that we may face, like the Jordan River, as long as we trust in the Word of the Lord and march forward, the Jordan River will be divided, and miracles will happen in our lives. God will bless us. We must fully obey the Word. Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Meditate on the Word, and trust in it every day. God will open doors for us when we follow the Word. When we accept the message during the worship service saying, “Amen,” the Jordan River in our hearts will be divided. God will fill us with His grace and blessings. The Word is Christ himself. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We need to meet the Lord Jesus through the Word and should be guided by the Word. When we find Jesus, we have found the way, because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. A missionary followed a native into the jungle. There seemed to be no trail at all. However, the native was easily going through the forest making this turn and that turn. The missionary said, “Hello. Do you know how to get around? Which is the way?” Then the man replied, “I am the way.” Since he knew the area better than anyone else, he was leading the missionary on the route through the forest, which he knew very well. It is the same with Jesus. When we are wandering around in the middle of our problems like a thick jungle, the Lord will be our way, helping us go through the jungle and bringing us great victory as His gift. The Lord is the way and the life when we wander around without knowing which way to turn. John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ” Let us never try to go ahead of our Lord or His Word. When we trust in Him and follow the Lord Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life, God will bless us with His enormous grace and miracles. 3. Faith with deeds (Jos 3:6). Third, we need faith with deeds. God works with our faith accompanied by deeds. Without faith with deeds, we cannot expect the miracles of God to happen in our lives. Joshua 3:6 says, “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.” Joshua 3:8 says, “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.’ ” Joshua 3:13 says, “And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD?the Lord of all the earth?set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” These Scripture verses explain how the Jordan River was divided. What we have to notice here is the difference. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, it was after Moses had parted the sea by stretching out his hand. Forty years later, however, God commanded the Israelites to walk into the river before it was divided. God asks for more mature faith. God wants us to have faith in something invisible, even more so than in something visible. The Jordan River was not divided yet. Nonetheless, the priests were told to walk into the water first and the rest were to follow them into the water. The priests obeyed and walked into the water, carrying the ark of the covenant. Then the waters were completely cut off and piled up in a heap a great distance away, about 24 kilometers. As soon as the priests’ feet touched the water’s edge, the miracle took place. Their absolute faith and obedience brought forth the miracles. Joshua 3:15-17 says, “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 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 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 passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.” We need to have strong faith and do the work of the Lord by faith as His faithful servants. Romans 1:17 says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ ” True faith is the faith of obedience, and it should be accompanied by deeds of faith. James 2:17 says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” I pray that you will experience the miracle of God through your faith with deeds. Anna Roberson was a hired hand on a farm. She met a faithful young man, and they got married. Later, they owned a own farm and spent most of their lives farming. They had ten children. Her husband’s name was Tom Moses. While living on the farm, Anna embroidered and knitted pictures in yarn during her spare time. When she was in her seventies, she gave up embroidery because of arthritis, since embroidery required delicate movements of her muscles. She had never learned how to paint, but she wanted to learn. Although her arthritis seemed to be an obstacle like the Jordan River, she began to paint pictures with her new dreams and faith. Anna Roberson Moses started painting at the age of 78 and exhibited her paintings at age 79. Louis Keldore, an art collector in New York, happened to pass by her town and was very impressed by her paintings. Her paintings were mostly rural scenes of farmers at their tasks, children riding on sleighs, Thanksgiving gatherings, and countryside scenes. Louis Keldore took her paintings to New York and exhibited them there. Anna became a famous painter in no time. She was known as Grandma Moses, a famous painter all over the USA. What is surprising is that she produced more than 1500 paintings from age 78 until she died at age 101. She painted an average of 73 paintings per year in spite of her age. She demonstrated a beautiful example of challenging adversity with faith. When we march forward with faith?even during trouble and adversity? miracles will take place. We should never give up. The Lord tells us to walk into the water by faith, although the river is rolling before us. He tells us to cross the river by faith. The Israelites crossed the Red Sea after it was divided. However, the Jordan River was divided after they went into the river by faith. Do you have a river rolling before your eyes? The Lord says, “Walk into the water by faith. Go by faith.” When we walk into the river by faith, we will see the miracles of God. Jesus said to Martha, who was crying over the death of her brother Lazarus, “Take away the stone.” John 11:40 says, “Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ ” He told Martha to take away the stone. When they took away the stone, Lazarus came back to life and walked out from the tomb. When we trust and obey the Word, even in times of despair, and in the midst of problems and pain, miracles will take place. Never give up! Never say, “I cannot do this.” People say so many negative things these days. They say, “The economy is failing. There are many problems.” However, Christians must turn it into an opportunity to achieve more growth and receive more of God’s blessings and grace. I want to conclude today’s sermon by telling you a story about Dr. Seung-Bok Lee. Seung-Bok Lee had immigrated to the USA at age 8 in 1973. As a high school senior, he had earned a spot on the Korean men’s gymnastics team for the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988, as one of the nation’s most promising young gymnasts. His dream was to win a gold medal. While Lee was practicing, he flew into a somersaulting dismount he’d executed hundreds of times before, but he missed and landed on his chin. By hyperextending his neck, Lee had damaged his seventh vertebra, shutting down all four of his limbs and turning himself into a quadriplegic He was paralyzed from the waist down. His dream to be a gymnast was completely shattered. He was hopeless. The Jordan River of paralysis was rolling before him. Nevertheless, Seung-Bok never gave up. He incubated another dream. He wanted to be a medical doctor to give hope to the hopeless like himself. The Lord was with him. He went to New York University and graduated from Columbia University. He went on to Dartmouth Medical School and finished his internship at Harvard University. Seung-Bok Lee is now working as a medical doctor at Johns Hopkins University. He is a doctor in a wheelchair. The Jordan River of paralysis is not an impossible Jordan River to him anymore. When he walked into it, the river was cut off. He is being used by God as a physician?instead of a gymnast?treating and helping the hopeless. When he goes to people who are paralyzed from an accident, comforting and encouraging them, they gain great hope and courage. There is no hopelessness in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we march forward with faith, the Jordan River will be divided. Let us have great dreams and faith. Let us consecrate ourselves and hold on to the Word of promise. Then the Jordan River will be divided. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, help us to consecrate ourselves to You, to hold on to Your Word, and to march forward with faith, no matter what kind of Jordan River is before us. Help us to witness Your miracles as You cut off the waters of the Jordan River. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.