Joshua 4:1-3
KJV And it
came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that
the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, (2) Take
you twelve
men out of the
people, out of every tribe a man, (3) And command
ye them,
saying, Take
you hence
out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet
stood firm, twelve stones,
and ye shall carry them over with
you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this
night.
Joshua 4:9 KJV And Joshua
set up
twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of
the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood:
and they
are there unto this day.
Joshua
4:17-24 KJV
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of
Jordan. (18) And it came to pass, when the priests
that
bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst
of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the
dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and
flowed over all his banks, as they did before. (19)
And the
people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and
encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. (20) And
those
twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in
Gilgal.
(21) And he spake unto the children of
Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to
come, saying, What mean these stones? (22) Then ye
shall
let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry
land. (23)
For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you,
until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea,
which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
(24) That all the people of the earth might know the hand of
the
LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
Entering Canaan is entering Kingdom living.
- This morning
we
spoke about traditions that God saw in Ananias, Peter, Saul and
Cornelius that had to be dealt with to save Saul and Cornelius.
- We really
enter
KINGDOM realms when we get rid of traditions, for they are OUR ways and
not God's ways.
- Kingdom means
JESUS
is on the throne, not us.
- HIS WAYS go,
not
ours.
The directions Joshua gave from God were important.
- God spoke to
Joshua
about the stones.
A
memorial – look at
terms God used.
Joshua 4:7
KJV Then ye
shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off BEFORE THE
ARK of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters
of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto
the children of Israel for ever.
And when we read of the reaction of the news of this, notice what the
kings heard.
Joshua 5:1
KJV And it
came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the
side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which
were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan
from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that
their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because
of the children of Israel.
God phrased it as the waters drying up before the ark (Josh 4:7).
- But the enemy
heard
it dried up before Israel!
- The church
people
come to a place where the enemy becomes afraid of them.
- Something
happens in
our lives.
Kingdom entrance occurs when the devil knows us and is afraid of us.
- The seven sons
of
Sceva in Acts 19 were nothing to the devil who asked them who they were.
- But the enemy
heard
about and knew the people of Israel under Joshua.
“Joshua” is the Hebrew form of
“JESUS”.
- We can see a
spiritual message about Jesus in this story.
- Joshua
told
Israel to remove 12 stones.
- From the place
where
the feet of the priests stood firm.
- This speaks of
the
things our lives were BASED UPON.
- And they are
things
that MUST BE REMOVED.
- They PROVE
Jordan
was miraculously breached.
We
know that anyone saved
from the world, represented by saved out of Egypt, has Jesus as their
foundation.
- But
there are
other lesser foundational elements we may have brought into our
salvation from the world.
- The
Lord
wants to deal with these.
When OUR BASES
and the FOUNDATIONS of OUR WAYS
are removed, they
become known as a MEMORIAL that WE HAVE COME SOMEWHERE IN GOD.
- They mark a
position
of PROGRESS in the spiritual realm for us.
- When God can
take
OUR FOUNDATIONS away that WE like to stand upon, and can successfully
replace them WITH HIS FOUNDATIONS, even people see how OUR WAYS have
changed and they mark that.
- The devil
marks it,
too.
- And it is a
memorial
for all to see what God did.
After they removed stones, Joshua replaced stones in the Riverbed.
- The people
removed
stones, but Joshua replaced stones.
- ONLY AFTER WE
REMOVE
SOME THINGS FROM OUR LIVES, CAN JESUS REPLACE THEM WITH GOOD THINGS.
- Jesus WAITS
FOR US.
- We need to do
this
ourselves because we must be willing, otherwise God making us do things
we do not want to do will not do any of us any good.
Joshua represents JESUS.
- When we allow
JESUS
to replace what we STAND UPON with what HE WANTS US TO STAND UPON, it
PROVES we came into the “Land” and the KINGDOM.
The enemy THEN also becomes afraid of US.
The things we so enjoy by way of our traditions and peculiarities are
things the devil knows are not God;'s ways.
- But when the
devil
sees us let them go and willing remove them at the command of the Lord,
and then Sees Jesus replace them with what HE WANTS us to stand upon,
the enemy knows the things Jesus wants us to stand upon will make us
powerful enemies against this devil.
- The devil is
afraid
of that.
IT WAS AT THAT TIME, JOSHUA CIRCUMCISED THE MALES BORN IN THE
WILDERNESS.
Joshua 5:2 KJV At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make
thee
sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second
time.
Two things occurred a second time.
- Dividing of
waters
and circumcision.
- The waters
were
first divided at the Red Sea and then again at Jordan.
- Circumcision
was
said to occur a second time, and this time circumcision was
rolling away the reproach of EGYPT.
Joshua 5:8-9 KJV And it came to pass, when they had done
circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the
camp, till they were whole. (9) And the LORD said
unto
Joshua, This
day have I
rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.
Wherefore the
name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
Gilgal means
ROLLING ROLLING.
- It was named after the
circumcision or rolling away of flesh.
- The double note of ROLLING
ROLLING speaks of two circumcisions.
- Reproach of Egypt speaks of
the carnality and mess we took from
the world with us into the church.
- It is all our carnality and
bad works of the flesh.
- For many generations, many
believers were never made to be
concerned over their fleshliness and carnality and hot tempers, etc..
- These things must go if we
want to enter KINGDOM LIVING.
The same day they crossed Jordan was the day they took a lamb 40 years
ago.
Joshua 4:19
KJV And the
people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and
encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
Exodus
12:3 KJV
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day
of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to
the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
And they sacrificed the lamb on the fourteenth day.
Exodus 12:6
KJV And ye
shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening.
Joshua
5:10 KJV And
the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the
fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
It is like THEY BECAME PASSOVERS finally, themselves.
- Jesus died and
at
first in our salvation we only understand that.
- But as time
goes by
we come to another level altogether where we are going to enter KINGDOM
LIVING.
- And this
ENTRANCE
sees us BECOME PASSOVERS OURSELVES.
We truly live as crucified with Jesus.
- When we have
all OUR
ways and foundations and manners, we technically died with Christ and
are positionally crucified.
- But our
behaviour
may not be the best behaviour, although we are saved.
- KINGDOM LIVING
takes
us from Christians whose behaviour may not be all that great, although
we're still saved, to being Christians who really learn we died with
Jesus, and LIVE LIKE HIM.
A man had to be circumcised to eat Passover.
- That is the
reason
they were circumcised on the tenth day.
- The same day
they
first TOOK A LAMB in Egypt is the day the males were circumcised in
crossing into Canaan.
Exodus 12:48
KJV And when
a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the
LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and
keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no
uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
They crossed Jordan…
- Took and
replaced 12
Stones from the river….
- Circumcised
the
males born in the wilderness…
…THE SAME DAY THEY TOOK A LAMB 40 YEARS BEFORE FOR PASSOVER.
Something must happen before we really receive Passover.
- Before a
memorial is
set up in the LAND.
- We are saved
and
thank God for it, but we have to come to maturity and a place of power
with God where the enemy is afraid of us.
- We go beyond
just
coming to church and actually LIVING a life of power and faith.
- Jordan must
divide.
- Things we
stood upon
must be replaced.
- We do one
thing THEN
Jesus does another – together.
We took the lamb at our salvation for forgiveness and new birth.
- But we must
later
claim the Lamb the same way for a deeper purpose.
- TAKE THINGS
OUT OF
OUR LIVES and LET JESUS PUT OTHERS IN.
- JORDAN means
DESCENDER.
- YOU HUMBLE
(descend)
YOURSELF…
- JESUS EXALTS
(ascend) YOU.
Your ways are replaced, as you HUMBLE yourself.
Before They Crossed Jordan:
Deuteronomy
12:8-9 KJV Ye
shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man
whatsoever is right in his own eyes. (9) For ye are
not as
yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God
giveth you.
You can be saved from sin and be a Christian… (cross Red
Sea).
- But still do
what is
right in your own eyes.
- You can still
be too
proud, self-focused.
- DESCEND (Cross
Jordan - Jordan literally means DESCENDER) and HUMBLE YOURSELF, and
take out the things in your heart that are wrong.
- So Jesus can
put in
LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING…. Fruit of the Spirit!
- Circumcised
from sin
at Red Sea…
- Circumcised
from
faults in our HEARTS at JORDAN – second circumcision.
- The memorial
would
send a message to all who saw it.
Joshua 4:7
KJV Then ye
shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the
ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters
of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto
the children of Israel for ever.
Similarly, when lifestyle foundations (stones our feet stand
upon) that are carnal and wrong are removed, there is
something
that will tell everyone we are God's children: