Making a Monument Out of Your Miracle!, Pt. 1

Joshua 3:7-17 (NASB) says, “7Now the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. 8“You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11“Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12“Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13“It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”
14So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, 15and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), 16the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17And 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 crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

Joshua 4:1-7 (NASB) says, “1Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
 
Joshua was getting ready to lead the children of Israel across dry ground and into the promised land, but before that ever happened, a series of events transpired that were used as a setup for this moment. The Bible teaches that one of the greatest world leaders in human history arose to leader the children of Israel out of Egypt, and his name was Moses. The enemy tried to kill him before he was ever two years old, but he failed because while he was born of the people of Israel, he was raised in the house of Pharaoh. He was raised in a cultic, polytheistic society, but God had tremendous plans for Him. He went from a basket case to murdering an Egyptian in defense of a Hebrew man, to shepherding the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. He did not possess many gifts or abilities, and he was a stammering-tongued man. However, God used him because he had a heart that beat after him. He possessed all of the qualities necessary to make a great leader. He had great patience, a zeal for God’s glory, a determination to never quit, and a love for the people he was leading. He came before Pharaoh with signs, wonders, and miracles following him and confirming his message to “Let God’s people go.” When he finally did after the plague of the death of the firstborn of Egypt, the children of Israel followed Moses and were left out of Egyptian bondage. After Pharaoh realized what he did, he sent his armies after Israel. Behind them was Egypt, and before them was a Red Sea. And Moses said unto the people, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13-14). As Moses stretched the rod of miracles, the Red Sea parted, and the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. When the armies of Pharaoh entered that very same Sea, the blocks of ice melted and the water came crashing down, taking out that entire army that followed them. In other words, what stood is a hindrance in front of them would eventually crash upon their enemies, that what the enemy meant for evil God would turn it around and make it good. What was meant as a stumbling block God would turn it into a stepping stone! Never be discouraged because of the opposition that you face because it is all a set up for a greater demonstration of the movement and power of the Holy Spirit!
The Christian’s Red Sea experience is when they turn to their lives over to Jesus Christ and receive salvation through believing in and confessing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is this moment that transforms you into a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You step into a new world that frees you from the bondage of Egypt. God wants to set you free from you past sins, addictions, and bondages, but you have to be willing to leave it and let go of it. Some of you are trying to come out of it, but you will not let your mind escape it. You need to listen to the messages of ministers, men and women of God who are declaring that there is freedom in Jesus and then make the choice to believe and walk in that freedom. Too many are confessing and believing, but then they go right back to Egypt. It should not be this way! Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Once God has delivered you, you must refuse to be entangled again with that yoke of bondage. That is what God longs to accomplish in your life, but you have to be ready to move and follow Him. You have to reach the place where you follow Him and you are prepared to walk in your Red Sea experience. It is the place where your past is behind you and your Red Sea that is limiting you is in front of you, but the very thing that is in front of you is about to take care of everything that is behind you. You should never worry or be afraid of what is surrounding you because when God is on your side, He will make a way where there seems now way. It was on this day when Moses and the Israelites would never see their enemies again! It is more than escaping bondage, but it is defeating it in such a way that you annihilate it, refusing to ever look upon it again! If you will stand still and let God’s salvation work on your behalf, He will defeat your past for you. Do not let your past determine your future. What God has forgiven you, forget about it. Refuse to allow condemnation and guilt to hold your future and promises captive. Forgive yourself and allow the salvation of God to change you and make you new!
Many in this room today have had the Red Sea experience and have entered the wilderness, but they are still stuck in the wilderness. You have not yet underwent the Jordan River experience, and it is not God’s fault, but it is your fault due to a negative and faithless mindset. A spirit of negativity has overwhelmed you in such a way that you are convinced that life was more fun and sweet back in Egypt! You were in bondage, but your bondage fed you. I would rather break away from bondage and let the God of heaven feed me! The children of Israel constantly murmured and complained, which caused them to be wondering around the same mountain for 40 years. A whole generation had to be wiped out, insomuch that Joshua and Caleb were the only left, because they constantly murmured and complained against God and the leadership whom He put over them. *The children of Israel had a Red Sea experience to simply be stuck in the wilderness because of a bad attitude that demonstrated faithlessness through continual murmuring and complaining. Don’t be a generation of “church goers” who have to die out so that a younger generation is not bound by tradition but are actually a people who worship God, seek His face and are determined to get to their promise! Do not burry unfulfilled potential. Do not make your burial plot in the wilderness. It is time to cross your Jordan to get to your Jericho!
You must refuse to speak against the authority that God has placed over you, but submit to that authority as you are doing it unto the Lord, regardless of whether or not you agree with them because it is to keep a spirit of unity and honor God in all things. A bad attitude will keep you going in circles in the wilderness. Many have been in the same spiritual rut for generations because you have been addicted to religion rather than to Jesus Christ. You always find something to complain about because you are so miserable that you do not see the good in anything when our God is good. When you come out of the wilderness and choose to leave that place, you will find that there is so much to thank God for! He is an awesome Father who knows how to give good gifts to His children. He loves you so much, and His love is what gave you the Red Sea experience. You need to get a fresh revelation of his love so that you are not wiped out in the wilderness, but rather so that you become part of the generation who enters the promised land!
After forty years of going in circles through a spirit of negativity, Moses died, and his position of leadership was now given to Joshua, Moses’s successor and right hand man. He had some mighty big shoes to fill, but he accepted his role because he knew the calling was upon his life from God. Joshua 1:5-9 says, “5There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua was destined for success, not because of his own leadership skills or special talents, but because of the greatness of God at work in his life. As long as he constantly meditated on the Word of God and chose to be strong and of good courage, regardless of the intense struggles that were in front of him, he would be prosperous, successful, and he would gain every inch of territory that his feet tread upon! This was an awesome promise, but he had to make sure that God was the center of his focus instead of the adversity he faced. He chose to not give room to negativity but rather meditate upon the Word of God, which only initiates faith and courage! He knew who God was in his life, which automatically eliminated any chance of fear rising and forming a stronghold. Just as with Joshua, you may face a tough situation, such as a Moses dying in your life, but now is not the time to fold up, quit and have a “Woe is me” attitude. You must take the reins and follow God! You must be the leader who God has called you to be, and that requires not joining the crowd of murmuring, complaining and gossiping. Instead, it requires you being the subject of conversation because you choose to be set apart for His glory! You take the stand against the enemy because you have a true, defining relationship with God through Christ. The Red Sea is when you are running from your enemies hoping that God destroys them for you; the Jordan River is when you are running to invade enemy-held territory. It is time to drive out and pursue the enemies that once held you bound! You overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and instead of an alcohol or drug addiction continuously tempting you and knocking at your door, it is time to win the alcohol and drug addict to Jesus Christ and share with them the delivering power of God’s love and grace in your life. By meditating upon God’s Word and magnifying God and not thinking upon negative words and magnifying your adversary, you too will have great success and take over your Jericho!