example to us in the harlot rehab and I mention that because we dealt very Detail with her life last week and what her actions of faith showed us in chapter 2 it's amazing again for me to realize the faith that God had Exampled for us in the life of even a heathen woman One woman that was not a Jew necessarily not standing under the promise of God but yet willing to identify with the people of God and willing to put herself in that place by faith and Hebrews chapter 11 tells us how very clearly Rahab exercised that faith last week. And I was very interested to see that Rahab, even not having the promises of God, yet willing to identify with the plan of God in order to be saved, that shows great faith. And she indeed represented that. She believed that God could do again the things that she had heard that He had done previous. I remember her testimony back in chapter 2 there. Hey, we've heard what your God did on the other side of the Jordan to the kings, Sihon and Og and all those kings and how they fell before you. And even before that, when you came across the Red Sea, we heard about what your God did. Separated the Red Sea. I mean, and you walked through on dry ground and brought you out of Egypt. Oh man, these things have come before you and we know. And you know what? Somebody may be able to say, well, that's just folklore. That's just some sort of story that's being made up. But Rahab in her heart believed, didn't she? And that's where we find that God was pleased with Rahab because of her faith. And I tell you, she was a good example to us of that. But notice if you would here, in Joshua chapter 3, we find faith being exercised by God's people now. It's not so amazing because they have the promises of God. But it's a wonderful thing to see their faith being exercised. Okay, we know God can do this, we know what God said, now let's move forward. As we left off, if you remember, they had come up from the south, and I didn't bring my graphic this morning to show you the map, but as they came up the south on the east side of the Dead Sea, and coming up along the Jordan River there, they encamped at a place called Shittim. Now that was a special place, maybe it was known for the beautiful wood that was there, the acacia trees and other things, and they came up and camped there for a certain time. Now the time came in chapter 3 where they needed to move closer to the Jordan River. And notice in verse number 1, the Bible says Joshua rose early in the morning and they removed from Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And so they moved closer to this Jordan River, representing again this idea of faith. Okay, we're moving closer to where God wants us. We're moving by obedience. Up until this time, they had no promise of what God was going to do with the Jordan River. God had not promised yet that He was going to divide the Jordan River, and they were going to walk over. He hadn't promised to them that they would have safety, and that none would be lost, and that they wouldn't have to cross this river and drown. They didn't know any of that. All they did was move by faith, knowing that God was drawing them and leading them. Now, I think that's a very insignificant part of verse number one, but a very important spiritual application that we need to learn as well. Sometimes, when we're drawing near to this land that God's called us to, and let me review for a minute. Remember, the promised land, the land of Canaan, was that land by which God had promised His people, and they were to go and possess it. That was the place of rest. It was the place of victory for His people. And so they needed to go, and they needed to possess it. And so, by faith, they did it. But, as we, in our Christian life, take that step of faith to possess the land, so to speak, spiritually, that God has called us to, the place of victory, the place of rest for us as Christians, sometimes we'll need to move ahead by faith. We won't have the promise of God that He's going to divide the Jordan River. We won't have the promise of God that he's going to protect us as we cross over. All we have is the command and the knowledge that God wants us to go over there. Now, I think for me, as a human being, it's nice for me to know, well, you know what, I'm in this situation and God could just send fire from down from heaven and take care of it, right? Or, you know, he could just back up his big old semi-load of cash there and dump it on me. Wouldn't that be a blessing, huh? But you know, sometimes we don't have the promise of God that He's going to do that. Sometimes we don't have the promise of God how He is going to accomplish His will in our lives. All we know is that He said, do it. And we find the faith of the Israelites given here as they come up and move toward this place, this land, without really knowing how they're going to cross the river. But they were willing to do that. And they lodged there before they passed over. Notice, if you would, a couple things here, if we're going to pass this way. The Bible says in our theme this morning, we have not passed this way before. Some of you may resonate with that. I've been in situations this year that I've never experienced before. Let me give you a couple of illustrations. My oldest son turned 13 this year. Never had that before. Never had a 13-year-old son. Help! Somebody show me what to do, right? I've never passed this way before. We've come through some circumstances in our life that we've never done before. We've never had those things in our life before. And you may be resonating with that a little bit in your life. You may be saying, Pastor, we're going through in this conquest of Canaan in this Christian life, we're going through things that I've never gone through before. I've never passed this way heretofore. I think that probably represents a lot of our life because, you know, even if we've done this before, and we've been here before, we have no idea what tomorrow brings, do we? And it may be that tomorrow is going to represent something that we have absolutely no idea. Do you remember that the vast majority of the Israelites, up to this point in chapter 3, have never seen the Promised Land? As a matter of fact, out of the 12 spies that went before, there were only two that were living that saw it. And then Joshua, as one of those two spies, now the leader, sent two more spies in. So really, there's only four people that have seen the Promised Land according to what God wants. Now, people can look across, but they don't really know what's out there. They don't really know what the walls look like. They don't really know what those people look like. All they've heard is that the Jordan River is a big river and it overflows its banks a lot, but they don't really know what it's like. So here they come by faith saying, hmm, all right, this is really all new to us. We don't know what to do here. You know, it's like a calf looking at a new gate. You're just kind of not real sure yet what to do. You can either go or run. All right. You got one of two choices. And so what God knew from his experience with people, by the way, God's very experienced with people. He knows that we're dust. He remembers our frame. And so here's what God says. I'm going to give you something, and I'm going to help you, because I know that you haven't passed this way before. You see, up until this time, what have they been doing the last 40 years? Wandering in the wilderness, weren't they? I can imagine. I don't know. I don't know their exact route. I know there's some people that kind of, you know, the Bible takes us through certain places, and if you can locate those places, you kind of get an idea for the route that was taken. But I can imagine, you know, it was like the old cliche, you know, haven't we seen this before? Haven't we been by here already? Don't we already know about this?" And all they did was just simply follow that pillar of cloud or pillar of fire. When it moved, they moved. And all they saw around them was wilderness and desolation and barrenness. Day after day, that's all they saw. And now they're coming up to a new place. Oh, we've never seen this before. We've never seen green grass like we see. We've never seen the tall mountains or the high walls. We've never seen these things before. God knew all that. God has a plan. You know, He has a plan for us this morning as well in our lives. We've not been this way before. None of us have taken a step into the future and know what's coming. But God says, I have principles that will help you through this. And I think we can glean from here three thoughts this morning. Number one, we haven't passed this way before, so that requires the presence of the Lord. The presence of the Lord. You say, Pastor, what does that mean for me? Well, look at the verses, if you would. Before we get into that, let me just take particular notice of verse one. And I don't think that it's accidental. Again, God doesn't put anything in the Bible by accident. So would you permit me to divert from the message just a moment and declare this little thought to you that I think God would have for us to see in chapter three and verse one. Joshua rose early in the morning. Let's say that together, shall we? Joshua rose early in the morning. I'm not one to dictate anybody's schedule, but here's what I want to present to you this morning. God may know the fact that Joshua got up early. Now, this hurts me as much as it hurts anybody else, because I have a flesh just like everybody else does. But I want you to see this isn't just accidental with Joshua. This isn't something he just did today because, man, this is exciting. They're getting ready to go over Jordan. I want you to turn with me if you will. Don't turn. Just listen. Joshua 6 and verse 12. And Joshua rose early in the morning. And the priest took the ark of the Lord. Joshua 7, verse 16. Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priest took up the ark of the Lord. Joshua 8, verse 10. Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people. He went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. I think we're starting to see a pattern here, don't we? You know, I think this represents a couple things about our man Joshua that we're looking at here today. Number one, I think it shows how little Joshua loved his ease. Here was a man now who was in control. He was in, not control necessarily, but in leadership position. He didn't appreciate or didn't value the ease that he could have taken. Instead, he was at the forefront and offering that leadership. And I praise the Lord for that example in Joshua. But I think also it shows how much he loved his business. He was in the business of serving the Lord. He was in the business of leading God's people. And he was in the business of putting himself where he needed to be. And God helped him in this. And the Bible says Joshua rose up early in the morning. And I notice then, because he lived his ease very little and how much he loved his business that God had given to him, that we see very clearly what care and what pains he took and was willing to take in these matters that God gave to him. And I'm thankful for the testimony of Joshua. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20, verse 13, Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty. Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread. And so the fact is that Joshua, God pointed out that Joshua rose up early in the morning. I think there's something to that. And I'm not going to preach this morning on it, other than to say that God may notice that Joshua rose up early in the morning. If God had to keep track of what time we woke up every morning, and what we did, I wonder what our biography would look like. A little bit intimidating, isn't it? You know, God knows, doesn't He? And God understands and keeps track. If you'll notice, though, also, the particular notice was given to that fact, but notice that also we mention, back to our message now, Joshua needed something besides his own strength to get him through. God knew that, and we mentioned first of all that God gave him the presence of the Lord, and that presence was in the form of the Ark of the Covenant. Now, I've got to explain a little bit for those of you that may not be as familiar with the Ark of the Covenant. This was a symbol that God had declared to Moses to build so that the people would know that God was with them. It was a symbol of God's presence. Whenever God would meet with them, the Ark of the Covenant would be placed in the Holy of Holies. That is, behind that massive veil in the tabernacle as they wandered around. And that Holy of Holies was only to be entered in once a year on the Day of Atonement. And the priest would kill the sacrifice and take the blood of that sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and he would take the hyssop branch and he would he would sprinkle that blood on the altar there, which was this mercy seat on the top of that Ark of the Covenant, and representing the fact that God was pleased, or the blood was covered in a symbolic fashion of the children of Israel. And it was a constant reminder of God's presence. As a matter of fact, when God came and dwelt, they called that the dwelling place of God, the mercy seat, and the smoke would fill the tabernacle and so forth. But the point remains that when that Ark of the Covenant was there, they knew God's presence was with them. Almost to a superstitious way, but God wanted them to have something they could see. Now inside that ark, first of all, the ark was made of very beautiful wood, and it was overlaid with gold, and on top of that were cherubims that were carved onto that seat, the mercy seat, and inside there were three items that we know for sure, and that was the bowl of manna that was given so that they might be able to remember God's provision, Aaron's rod that budded. It was the symbolic of the fact that God ordains his authority. And also the Ten Commandments representing God's word for the people there. Those were all contained in the Ark of the Covenant. And as they went, the priests were not allowed to touch it. They had to run the poles through of a certain length and then lift it and carry it between these four men. And it was very important that they carried it in that way. We learned that there was a man, that did not carry it the right way. David, when he placed it on that cart with those oxen, remember, and the oxen stumbled and it began to fall. And I think it was Uriah, if I'm not mistaken. Uzzah, is that what you said? For some reason I had a mental block. He put forth his hand, didn't he? And God smote him dead because he touched that ark. Now, the point remains that I'm saying today that this was a sacred symbol. God ordained a symbol for them to remember God's presence with them. And notice if you would again in verse number two, it came to pass three days that the officers went through the host, they commanded the people saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the priests, the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place and go after it. And so we find a very important process that was going to take place. You're going to see, hey, you're going to peek your head out the window one day and you're going to say, that ark of the covenant that used to be in the middle of our camp, and was always right there in the middle where everybody could see it, is now moving to the front and moving its way out. We got to follow behind it. And on that day, when you see them that are going forward, you better fall in behind there because that's God's leading and God's taking you through. Now, up until this point, they still have no promise of how they're going to cross the river. But notice, if you would, in verse number four, the instructions that are given there, yet there shall be a space between you and it. About 2,000 cubits by measure. Come not near unto it. Oh, we know all of the history, we know the stories from the Bible, how that no one was able to touch it or come near unto it. And indeed, God has purpose for this. Number one, the presence of God is a sacred thing. No one was allowed to enter into the presence of God into that arc of the covenant, except for the high priest once a year. And oh, don't touch it. That's a sacred thing. God valued that very much. In order to maintain that respect and holiness to the Lord, they were not allowed to come near unto it. Oh, can you imagine the awe that it would inspire? Children, that's the Ark of the Covenant. Don't go up to it. Don't touch it. Why, Mom and Dad? Well, God told us that we are never allowed to touch that. Why? Because that's a symbol of God's presence in our life. And God is holy, and He is just, and we can't come near unto Him. That's something only the high priest can do. Wow! Can you imagine the little kids as they're looking at that bright gold walking past? And those priests that are dressed to the hilt, carrying that thing so stately and amazing, watching that go past. And oh, the awe-inspiring sight that that would conjure up. And we find then that as the children of Israel saw that ark of the covenant taking the lead, now they would fall in and they would begin to follow it. It was just a piece of furniture that represented God's presence, but something that was very sacred. Up until now, as I mentioned, the ark had been in the midst of the camp, but now it was going to be out front. And God had promised and said to them, listen, keep your distance. And I believe, number one, it showed God's holiness. But number two, God had a different purpose as well for keeping their distance. And that was so that they could see where it was going. you see there was a lot of people involved right now in the land of uh... well in the children of israel going to the land of canaan and i mean there was a there there might have been a million there might have been two billion people we don't really know for sure but not for that quantity of people to be able to see where the ark was going it had to be way out front And I think that probably 2,000 cubits is something like a thousand yards if you were to do the math and maybe rounding it up or down or whatever, but you'd get out there about a thousand yards. That's a long way. And I think a lot of people could see where that arc was going because it was so far out in front. And notice that's what God said in verse number four. Come not near unto thee that ye may know the way by which ye must go. And so God was giving them the promise in verse number four of his presence and his direction. And notice if you would there, that now they could depend upon the ark to guide them. That ye may know the way, God said. You can depend on this. That ark is now going to represent my presence and my direction. Up until now it had been a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud. Everybody could see that, but now it was the ark of God. I don't know all of God's purposes in that other than to realize their eyes need to be on that ark. And notice the name of it, if you would. In verse number three, I think the Bible gives it to us. The Bible says, when you shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There's a lot to be said in that little title right there. An ark was a container, we know that. of the covenant, that is the promise, the peace that they made between them and God, this was a symbol of that. And then the fact that it was the Lord, that means He was sovereign in their lives and that He had control over everything. And then it says, the Lord your God, that is the one who had their best interest in mind, that one who was completely in control of everything. Oh man, I tell you, that ark represented a lot for them. Let me stop and say, if I can this morning, All right, here we are in 21st century America. We're not sitting over there in Canaan land with an ark leading us. We don't see a box that's telling the way to go. But let me say something this morning that as real as that box was to them, and as understood as they were that that was the presence of God for their direction, so God desires you and I to know His direction in our lives in every area in His presence. He is with us. That is, we have a covenant, and that is the salvation covenant. We have the covenant that God would be our Father, and we would be His children. And that now we would not have to come to the priest once a year and offer that sacrifice, but now we can come boldly into that throne of grace, that private place, that holy of holies, that only the priest could go. Now we can go in there, and we can come boldly whenever we need to. That's the presence of God that we enjoy this morning. And if we are going to know God's direction because we haven't passed this way before, listen, then we need to recognize that God is with us and He welcomes that. And that He wants us to be in fellowship. Now, I don't have to come before a priest, but I can come before God Almighty and say, right now, I need your help, Lord. Right now, I acknowledge your presence, God. That's the kind of relationship that we need to have. Why? We haven't passed this way before. I don't know what's coming. I don't know how I'm going to get across that river. I don't know how I'm going to conquer that city that's on the other side of Jordan. I don't know how I'm going to overcome those giants that are in the land over there. I don't know. All I know is God said He was going to be with me. You know, if we can walk in that understanding, that we can have the patience and we can have the fortitude and the confidence to go forward like these children of Israel did. Not cocky. We know what we're doing. No. I bet there was a lot of real humble walking. Here we go. All right, you told us to follow that. Told us to follow that arc up there. We're following. Lord, you're getting kind of close to the river there. What are we going to do, God? The point is they understood that that represented God's presence and we need to live in that fact. Listen, our life is not our own. Our direction is not our own. Our strategies are not our own. Our careers are not our own. They are God's and we must recognize his presence in our lives. If they decided, oh, that arc's going over there, but that's a wide part of the river. What are they doing there? No, come on, guys, let's go over this side. Let's go find our own way. Let's go over and cross the river here. Look at this raft I built. Oh, man, I bet this will get us across, no problem. Listen, God had His plan, and His plan was for them to follow His presence and His direction. How well are we doing at that today? You haven't passed this way before. You have no idea what's coming. I don't have any idea what's coming. How dare we suppose that we can lay out our own plan, our own path, that we have our own strategies for how this must work. I talked to an expert and he told me what to do. Oh really? Why don't we follow the presence of God and find out what He wants for us to do and let's follow Him, even though we may not understand, but by faith, understanding, He knows and He has created for us the presence that will lead us. The ark represented that presence. And the Israelites understood that. How well do we understand God's presence today in our lives and how he wants to use us? Now they could depend upon this ark to guide them. And notice the fact that people had to follow it. The Bible says, when you see it, you shall remove from your place. Verse number three. And then in following it, that they had to keep their distance, come not near unto it. And I mentioned that we don't hide anymore from that symbol. We're not held back from the symbol of that ark of God's presence. We are welcomed into God's presence. Isn't that an amazing thing? It just overwhelms me. And that needs to be our attitude as we follow Christ and follow God. But notice also, not only was there the presence of the Lord that we find in Joshua chapter 3, but there was a preparation. We haven't passed this way before, so we need to prepare a little bit. You know, God wasn't ready to move his people until they prepared themselves to move and to go. God has a place for us to go. He has a land for us to conquer. We haven't passed this way before, so we need God's presence, but we also need God's preparation in our lives. Let's look at verse number five and notice what the preparation was. Notice the Bible says, Joshua said unto the people, sanctify yourselves. I believe that's a wonderful first step in this matter, sanctifying ourselves. Can I just tell you what that means in a very practical way? Sanctifying means, all right, whereas before I was walking this way and I had these goals and dreams and aspirations and I had this kind of strategy laid out for my life. But now I'm picking myself out of that and I'm putting myself over here unto the Lord. Lord, I'm yours. Whatever you want, Lord. Day by day, moment by moment, Lord, I am yours. You know what that is? Sanctification is really, it is an ongoing process, but I think it's a one, once at a time decision. In other words, right now, I'm sanctifying myself to the Lord, and He is mine, I am His, completely. That was the purpose today. Listen, they had their ideas, they had their strategies, they had their thoughts about what should be done. Sanctify yourselves to the Lord. If we're going to prepare ourselves for passing in a way that we have never gone before, we've got to prepare ourselves by sanctifying ourselves to the Lord. Let's just lay aside our thoughts. Listen, I've got my strategies about how to raise my kids and how to have a relationship with my wife and how to be a good Christian and how to be successful in what I do. I've got all those thoughts. But you know, when my success comes, setting those things aside and saying, Lord, how did those things line up with your word? sanctifying myself, sanctifying yourself unto the Lord. Lord, I'm yours. And that was what Joshua's desire was for his people. Listen, God is going to do great things. And if you are in tune with that, if you are ready for that, you could be a part of it. Notice what he says in verse five. Sanctify yourselves. For tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you. Isn't that amazing? Man, alright, get ready, get yourself on God's side, make sure you're in line with His plan because God's going to do great things tomorrow. Oh, what a blessing that was, I'm sure to hear. And so sanctification was a big part of preparation for the children of Israel. And it's a very important part in our lives as well as we prepare to go in a way that we've never gone before. I've never gone this way, I've never passed this way before. Sanctify yourself. Move yourself over into God's place. In other words, be under His control. Be under His jurisdiction. Let's follow His leading and guiding, not our own thoughts. Sanctify yourself. But let's go to number 7 and 8, if you would. Notice there, not only was there a sanctification, but there's also a setting up here. God had to set up His man. And notice what He said in verse number 7 and 8. The Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, So I will be with thee. Oh, I tell you, that's a blessing to know. God was about ready to set up Joshua in a way that people would look to him as they look to Moses. Now, I don't think we can fully understand how people looked at Moses, but let me just give you a little bit of an idea here. One commentator mentions this, and I take his quote because I think it sums it up very nicely. God magnified Joshua because he would have the people magnify him. Many times, leaders are highly honored and esteemed as public blessings, and the more we see of God with them, the more we should honor them. By the dividing of the Red Sea, Israel was convinced that God was with Moses in bringing them out of Egypt. Therefore, they said, they were to be baptized unto Moses in the sea, 1 Corinthians 10, verse 2. And upon that occasion, they believed him, Exodus 14, 31 teaches. And now, by dividing of Jordan, They shall be convinced that God is in like manner with Joshua in bringing them into Canaan. God had magnified Joshua before on several occasions, but now he began to magnify him as the successor of Moses in the government. What I'm saying today is that God magnified Joshua in a way that he magnified Moses, not to bring attention to him, but so that people would know, this is my man. This is who we need to follow. I'm thankful today that God puts within our lives, not just abstract ideas that we need to follow, but many times he gives us very visible human examples that we can follow. I've said it before. I'm thankful for that today. I'm thankful for God's men. I'm thankful for God's examples that he puts within our lives. And listen, there was a setting up for this people. If they were going to be prepared to go, they needed to know for sure that Joshua was their man. If they had any question at all, that maybe this was Moses' man that was set up. Or maybe this was just something that was, he was popular and people liked him. No, this was God's man and he was going to do God's job. God needed to exalt him in order for him to have that sort of leadership. And so God set him up in a way, preparing the way for them to follow. And I'm thankful today that in the same way, it's kind of ironic, somebody has noticed this. You know, Joshua was magnified there on the banks of the Jordan River, wasn't he? On the east side of Jordan. And, boy, the waters, we're going to find out in just a minute, the waters separated, and the people knew then that Joshua was the man of God. You know, there was somebody else that was magnified on the banks of the Jordan River one day, and that was our Lord Jesus. Even the one that Joshua, I believe, is the picture of. for us in the Old Testament. And the Lord Jesus, one day, would be walking down to the bank of the Jordan River, and John the Baptist would be in there, and he would say, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And then Jesus would be baptized, and as he came up out of the water, the Lord Jesus, God himself, would come in the form of a dove, and the voice would come forth, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. What more confirmation do we need than that the Lord Jesus was a Son of God and therefore our Savior? I praise the Lord today that God magnified Joshua in the sight of the people on the banks of the Jordan River as a symbol, I believe, of the fact that He was going to magnify His own Son, Jesus Christ, that day on the banks of the Jordan River. And praise the Lord for the preparation that the Lord Jesus made for you and I that we might know salvation. And amen this morning for His working. And so we have not passed this way before, but God has promised his presence to the children of Israel in the form of the ark of the covenant that was to be honored and respected and revered, but followed. God has promised to us the presence of God. We have not passed this way before, but his presence is with us. He will guide us. He will direct our steps. Will you follow him? Not only is there a presence of the Lord, but He also promised the preparation and God's work is being done in our hearts. Are you letting that happen? Are you preparing for the Lord? We're about ready to start our season of getting ready for our hearts for our revival services coming up in September and our friend day coming up. Listen, are you preparing your heart today? There's a preparation that must take place in order for there to be victory. We haven't passed this way before. I don't know what God's going to do, but let me say something this morning. If you prepare your hearts and if God prepares your heart and you let him do that, God will do wondrous things when he desires to do it. That's what verse number five tells us. Is your heart prepared today? Or are you simply saying, I'm good the way I am, Pastor? Let God sanctify you. Let God set up people in your life that will be a good example and the authority that you need. And let God do his work that you might be prepared for that wondrous works that he's going to do. But let me give you then lastly, if I can, the performance. We talked about the presence of the Lord, the preparation for the way. But let me give you the performance of this promise that God gave. And this is really the fun part of the story. We've learned the doctrine. Let's look at the fun part now. Look at verse 14. And it came to pass when the people moved from their tents. Now, up until that time, they had been preparing. Joshua was giving them instruction and giving them the promise of God. This is what God's going to do. And this is the program. This is the ideas that God wants to use tomorrow as he's going to do it. The Ark of the Covenant is going to go first and rest in the waters of the Jordan River. And they'll be cut off from that which is above and that which is below and they're going to stand in a heap and that's going to be an amazing thing. But look at verse 14. 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 Lord. And as they bear the ark, I'm sorry, they that bear the ark were come unto Jordan and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water. Give us a little caveat here, a parenthetical expression. The Jordan River at this time was overflowing its banks. It had often done that, and it was well known for that, but at this time it was swollen. I mean, it was flooded. So they didn't come up to the shore, necessarily, or the bank of the river. They were way back off because, I mean, this water had been spread all over the place. It had gone over the banks. And so the Bible says that the feet of the priest touched the brim of the river, and just as they weren't able to touch it, notice what happens in verse number 15 there, for the Jordan overflowed all his banks and all the time of harvest, that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is besides 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. So what we see is this. Now this is an amazing thing. And physically, I want to just describe this if I can. Rivers flow. We know that, right? The Red Sea was different. It was a stagnant, or you know, in a sense, it wasn't a flowing body of water. And so when the Bible says they had a path through the sea, they stood up on a heap on both sides. They had walls on both sides. And they walked through on dry ground. What an amazing thing that would have been. But this was going to be different. Altogether different. Oh, now I know there's some people saying, right about this time we know that there was an earthquake way up north in that Jordan River Valley, and there were some rocks that came down and plugged up that Jordan River and made it so that no water could flow down all the way down to where the Jews were. Now, I don't know, but all I'm saying is God did this. And notice what the Bible says. The water that was flowing down, obviously water keeps flowing. So God stood it up on a heap, and as it's flowing down, I can imagine these heaps just growing and growing and growing. Can you imagine that? You look down the river, and there's a heap of water that's growing. And as you look down this way, obviously the water, there's nothing left to feed it, and so eventually it just trickles out and drains out, but it just becomes dry as the water goes down. And that dry land just continues to spread all the way down a very great distance, the Bible says. Can you imagine that spectacle that day? Standing there in the breaks of the river and watching these priests as they take their first step into the river, and that water just comes back up into a big pile. You say, Pastor, you're telling me a fairy tale. No, I'm telling you the Word of God this morning. And that water as it continues down, obviously nothing to replenish, it just fades out and turns to dry ground. And as they're standing there, the children of Israel watch, and those men, the priests come forth, and they stand right in the middle of that. Now, just a minute. Put yourself in that priest's position for a minute. Would you do that? Here they are, and they're tasked with carrying this very sacred box. They can't sit it down. They can't touch it. They've got to carry it. They're carrying it across the river. The river goes up in a heap, and you've got to stand there and look at that big heap the whole time. And I'm telling you what, I think that showed a dedication of those priests to follow the Lord and their trust in the Lord Jesus. And who better to example that than God's men, the priests? Oh, man, I can imagine. Their hearts were pounding as they were listening to that water build up and build up, and the heap is growing. And here there's millions of people that got across on dry ground. They might be in their hearts saying, hurry up! Come on! Pick up that kid and carry him across, you know. But can you imagine the testimony of God to God from His people as they walked over the Jordan River and they all watched that big heap there? How is that happening, mom and dad? God's doing that. God's letting us through. God's prepared a way. He knew we needed to get across. And this is the way that he prepared. Isn't that amazing? And look at Joshua. He's the man of God that's leading us across this river. I can guarantee you that day there was not one doubter. Not one doubter. That whole of Israel believed that day, on that moment, that Joshua was the man of God because they saw what God did through Joshua. That's that's an amazing thing. But listen, how many things do we see God doing today? We recognize this is God's doing It may not be as spectacular as the Jordan River standing up in a heap But I want to tell you something this morning that God Promises that he's going to do wondrous things and there are miracles that are happening all the time And God promises that He's going to do something if we're prepared. The hearts of the Israelites were prepared. The river was flooded, and even so more to magnify the power of God. Oh, it would have been something if it was just in its normal course, and God stood those waters up on a heap. But no, God waited until it was flooded, just so they would be sure that it was God that had done it. What an amazing thing that God did that day. The river was flooded, the priest stepped in first, and the water stood up on a heap. But notice, if you wouldn't, verse 16 there, the people passed over right against Jericho. Now, again, I don't think that's just to put us in geographical mindset. I wonder where they passed over. Oh, the Bible says right against Jericho. No, I think there was a little more symbolism here. Because you know what God's saying here? All right, people, you're going to cross over Jordan, but you're not going to cross over Jordan with the element of surprise and come in and attack Jordan where they don't know. You're going to come over Jordan in full sight of that city, Jericho. In other words, those people over there are going to look out with their binoculars on top of the wall and they're going to say, Gertrude, you're not going to believe this. Rahab, come look at this! You can imagine Rahab getting up on her wall, can't you? And looking out over the plains and seeing this heap of water up there. I knew it! I was right! God's going to do it again! Woohoo! And you can imagine her joy, and all the rest of the city is going, what are we going to do? Why? Remember Rahab had joined the right side, didn't she? I'm sure maybe she glanced down at her window just to make sure her red cord was still out there. Because she knew they were coming. What I'm saying this morning, the difference is, which side are you on? Rahab was excited. The rest of the people were in despair. They didn't know what was going to happen. They heard all of the legends and all of the things. Now they saw it right before their very eyes. And here comes God's people marching right across. Right up against Jericho, the Bible says. Can you imagine that spectacle? God has a plan. By faith, if we follow that plan, He will do wondrous things in our life. You haven't passed this way before. We haven't been through the day tomorrow yet. God has. His presence is with you. Is your heart prepared? Then we'll see the blessings of those promises that are fulfilled. The performance of those promises. Listen, I know today you may be struggling with something physically or something in your marriage or something financially with your job or some other person. I don't know what your situations are in total, but I'm telling you this, that if we follow God's plan that He has set up, He will do wondrous things in our presence. I know it. What I'm saying this morning is that God's called us to possess this land. He's equipped us to do it. Let's follow Him by faith. God wants us to have rest, Joshua chapter 1 and 2. God wants us to have victory. He wants us to have boldness and courage. But that's not found within ourselves, that's found in our reliance upon Him. And His presence is our hope today. We haven't passed this way heretofore. But we can charge ahead with boldness and courage, like God said to Joshua, only be thou very courageous and strong. Why, Josh? How can you say that? How can God do that? I haven't passed this way before, but I know God is with us. What a blessing it is to know God wants to do these things in our life. I encourage you in that way. The success is not knowing what the future brings. You know, we have whole areas of science that are committed to forecasting the future. They're called actuaries, right? And these actuaries spend all kinds of time creating algorithms and scientific equations trying to figure out when you're going to die and when your house is going to catch on fire and when you're going to get in an accident and what's going to happen. And they try to predict the future. But let me say something. Success is not in all of those things. It's not knowing the future. Success is resting in the presence of God right now. He already has been there. He knows. He has a plan. He knows the way across. He knows where we're supposed to cross Jordan. He knows how we're going to do it. Let's follow him and let's seek his presence. Shall we? Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you today for this very simple but very