BEHOLDING YOUR FLESH, OR CHRIST'S DOMINION?

June 26, 2011
MF Blume

Joshua 3:7-16 KJV And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. (8) And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. (9) And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. (10) And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. (11) **BEHOLD** (SEE WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DESCRIBE), the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. (12) Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. (13) And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. (14) And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; (15) And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) (16) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

Joshua 4:11-14 KJV And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. (12) And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: (13) About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. (14) On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

Note that God said He would magnify Joshua in the eyes of Israel the day the Ark would open up the Jordan River into the Promised land.

And here is why that would happen.
Joshua told the people that God would let them know that He was surely with them and that He would WITHOUT FAIL drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan from before them.
Israel was so susceptible to discouragements and fainting.
Something would have to get hold of their hearts and remove all doubt and fear from them.
God would provide something to them that they would receive such confidence from, that they would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that GOD WAS WITH THEM.
Notice how Joshua referred to God.

3:10 Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites,

They were coming against idolaters who worshiped dead gods of wood and stone.

But their GOD WAS THE LIVING GOD.
This was a God WHO DID THINGS so clearly supernatural that His followers would be so abundantly confident that they could easily overcome followers of dead gods of wood and stone.

Contrast this with what happened 40 years earlier.

Numbers 13:27-28 KJV And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. (28) Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.

Numbers 13:30-31 KJV And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. (31) But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

The difference was in LOOKING TO THEIR OWN FLESH in contrast to the enemies,

Whereas 40 years later they would LOOK AT THE ARK’S RENDING OF THE SWELLING JORDAN, showing GOD WAS WITH THEM.

Joshua knew it all along.

Numbers 14:6-9 KJV And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: (7) And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. (8) If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. (9) Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

It is a matter of what we LOOK TO.

The New Testament strongly emphasizes what we look to in hopes of progressing for God, using the terms WALKING AFTER THE FLESH, and WALKING AFTER THE SPIRIT.

God wants us to know that we will abandon the fears we have over our enemies in life that we get due to following after our flesh for progress when we BEHOLD whatever it is that the Ark before Israel represents to us as Christians today.

Last week we spoke of the Truth we must UPHOLD in order to enter Kingdom living.

We noted that the mercyseat on the Ark stood for the throne of God, or KINGDOM TRUTH concerning Christ’s seating on the right hand throne.

Let’s take it further today.

Like Israel, so many believers are full of weakening discouragement and fainting and giving up due to all the failures they’ve experienced in the past.

Something has to get hold of their hearts to convince them and assure them that God is with them.
Joshua’s story, like everything else in the Old Testament, somehow points to the great truths of Jesus and the cross.
Keep in mind that BEHOLDING, or SEEING, in the New Testament represents UNDERSTANDING.

Ephesians 1:18 KJV The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Beholding the Ark opening Jordan, therefore, will have something to do with UNDERSTANDING.

And this act of UNDERSTANDING is going to involve comprehending a TRUTH.
If seeing this Ark open up Jordan in order to blow away all doubts stands for understanding, then there is a truth that if we can simply follow it and comprehend it, we will gain a confidence and surety that will blow away all fears of our enemies.
WE WILL KNOW and be convinced, because of that AWARENESS, that GOD WILL WITHOUT FAIL DRIVE OUR ENEMIES OUT FROM BEFORE US.

How would you like to face situations in life knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that God will without fail drive out your enemies before you?

The key is to just BEHOLD.

While the people looked to their weak fleshly abilities 40 years earlier, this generation LOOKED AND SAW THE ARK OPEN THE JORDAN.

Remember what the ark looked like in order to get the message.

Exodus 25:10 KJV And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

Exodus 25:17-20 KJV And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. (18) And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. (19) And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. (20) And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

And this ark had BLOOD OF ATONEMENT sprinkled on it in Leviticus 16.

Blood sprinkled on the mercyseat.
TO ATONE for Israel’s sins.
IOW, remove the separating wall that their sins created between them and God.
Getting GOD on their side again.

And the high priest would approach the ark after having slain the sacrifice, bringing its blood into the holiest to sprinkle it on the ark.

And notice how the Ark resembled the THRONE OF GOD.

Keep in mind the ark with cherubims above it whose wings covered the mercyseat.

Isaiah 6:1-2 KJV In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (2) Above it (as on the Ark) stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

So the ark stands for the throne of God.

When we read of the LORD on the throne in Isaiah 6, John happens to inform us that Isaiah was seeing JESUS CHRIST.

John quotes verse 10 of the same chapter and says this:

John 12:41 KJV These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

Isaiah wrote verse 10 when he saw JESUS IN HIS GLORY ON THE THRONE of Isaiah 6!

Now, how did Jesus get to that throne?

Peter preached about words David wrote in Psalm 16.

Acts 2:27-33 KJV Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (28) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

Then Peter explains what David was saying:

(29) Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. (30) Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (31) He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (32) This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (33) Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Jesus went to the throne after He resurrected and was raised from the dead.

He made atonement

Romans 5:11 KJV And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Let’s go back to the passage that says our understanding is like EYES.

Getting a spirit of wisdom and revelation is having the eyes of your understanding opened.
You UNDERSTAND.

Ephesians 1:16-23 MSG I couldn't stop thanking God for you--every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. (17) But I do more than thank. I ask--ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory--to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, (18) your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, (19) oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him--endless energy, boundless strength! (20) All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, (21) in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. (22) He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. (23) The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Understand that BOUNDLESS STRENGTH comes to you because CHRIST IS ON THE THRONE.

We read a heavy description of Christ’s power in verses 21-23 because he is giving us confidence in just how much power is towards us according to the power over all these things that is held by Christ on this throne.
Think of all that he has power over in order to understand what kind of power is AT YOUR DISPOSAL.

Paul prayed we get a REVELATION—a SIGHTING of this – A BEHOLDING.

When our eyes of understanding are opened up to this, and it hits and impacts us, WE WILL HAVE THE SURETY THAT GOD WILL WITHOUT FAIL DRIVE OUT OR ENEMIES.

But the thing that is MOST TALKED ABOUT using this sort of concept of Christ’s dominion being our key to victory and power is VICTORY OVER ENEMIES IN OUR OWN FLESH.

Paul said that Christ was raised from the dead and gained dominion and victory SO THAT WE MIGHT NOT LET SIN RULE OVER US.

Romans 6:5-11 KJV For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8) Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Some talk about prospering financially, or healings and miracles, or any topic of the bible – but PAUL spent three entire chapters in Romans and chapters in 1 Cor and Galatians focusing on victory over sin in your own life.

God puts HIGH REGARD upon how victorious we are OVER OUR OWN LIVES.

As Israel looked to the flesh and fainted because of the giants, then Joshua told them to see the Ark open Jordan to give them overwhelming confidence GOD WAS WITH THEM TO FIGHT THEIR BATTLES,

We are told to understand Christ’s seating on the throne that the Ark represents in order to KNOW NOT LET SIN HAVE DOMINION OVER US.

Romans 6:14 KJV For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

We’re under divine empowerment.

We’re under a throne where Christ sits and extravagantly bestows us with power from a position over all the universe.

In Ephesians 1 When Paul said Christ is over the church which is the fullness of him that filleth all in all, he was saying amongst all the dominion under Christ, in the centre of it all He rules THE CHURCH!

You are more important to him than controlling the stars within the galaxies and ensuring the galaxies are stabilized in the universe!

Romans 8:10-17 KJV And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (17) And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Paul said the body is dead because of sin.

We have a useless dead and problematic body that houses sin.
But that is alright, because we have God’s Spirit AND THAT IS LIFE because it causes us to LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY!
It will quicken that mortal body so we do not have to live after the flesh and become servants to lusts.
We’ll surely die if we look to the flesh and then look at our enemies.
BUT WE WILL MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY- WORKS OF THE FLESH – THROUGH THE SPIRIT.

Israel would do some fighting, BUT GOD said HE WILL DRIVE THE ENEMY FROM BEFORE THEM.

And did you notice what verse 17 said?

WE ARE HEIRS because we are sons of God.
And Sons of God are supposed to walk after the Spirit instead of the flesh.

What bad traits of your lives do you consider hangups that you’ll never overcome?

What weaknesses do you have – character flaws, that you virtually gave up in ever trying to defeat?
Stress? Worry? Anger? Lust? Lying? Easily offended?
You gave up because you looked to the flesh.
Change your focus.
Look at God.
Walk after the Spirit instead.

Galatians 5:16 KJV This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Romans 8:13 KJV For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Walking after the Spirit, By the Spirit, through the Spirit, and Minding the things of the Spirit all mean… COMPREHENDING the implications of Christ on the throne granting you extravagant POWER, instead of how weak your humanity is.

Proverbs 16:32 KJV He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.