Crossing the Jordan — Joshua 3

Good morning and welcome to Vizion Church. Why don’t you hop out your neighbor and tell
him neighbor, you’re looking good today. High Five, your neighbor. Tell neighbor, you’re looking
good. And if your neighbor ignored you, take it from me, you’re looking good today. Best looking
church in Charlotte, North Carolina. My name is Tyson Coughlin and I’m the pastor of Vizion Church.
I want to say welcome. We’re honored that you’re here today. Also, let’s make some noise for
everybody watching on the livestream right now. Let’s make some noise for everybody watching via
YouTube and Facebook, welcome. And even we got a bunch of people in Overflow today. Let’s make
some noise for everybody in Overflow today. Ray, thank you for being with us and worshipping. If
you have your Bible, go ahead and turn with me to Joshua 3, beginning in verse one. We’re going to
go ahead and jump right in Joshua 3, beginning in verse one.

Today’s sermon is called “Crossing the Jordan”. Early the next morning, Joshua and all the
Israelites left the Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before
crossing. Three days later, the Israelite officers went through the camp, giving these instructions to the
people. When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God,
move out from your position and follow them. Since you have never travelled this way before, they
will guide you. Stay about a mile and a half behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and
the ark. Make sure that you don’t come any closer. Verse five, then Joshua told the people, purify
yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you. In the morning, Joshua said to
the priests: “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” So they started out
and went ahead of the people. And the Lord told Joshua today, “I will begin to make you a great leader
in the eyes of all Israel and they will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this
command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant. When you reach the banks of the Jordan
River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.”

Skip down with me to verse 14. So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan. And the
priests who are carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season and
the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who are carrying the Ark
touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance
away at a town called Adam which is near Zarathon, and the water below that point flowed down onto
the Red Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
Meanwhile, the priests who are carrying the Ark of the Lord’s covenant stood on dry ground in the
middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. And they waited there until the whole nation had
crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Can we give God praise for this word? That is an amazing, amazing
text!
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 Let’s pray. Father, we thank You for Your Holy Word. Today we do not approach it lightly or
nonchalantly. Lord, we approach it acutely aware that it has the power to change our life. I pray that
you’d be strong in my weakness. Pray that I’d be hidden behind the message of the gospel. I asked you
today to make your word come alive in Revelation, truth and power, that it would touch and shape
every person who hears your text today. It’s in Jesus mighty name, we pray. And everybody say Amen.

I want to give you a little bit of a recap of that story. It’s really powerful, very remarkable, the
Crossing of the Jordan. First of all, the Israelites had been delivered from 400 years of harsh slavery
and oppression in Egypt. And God rose up a deliverer named Moses who led them through the Red
Sea onto the peninsula of Sinai, where they wandered around aimlessly for 40 years until an entire
generation died off.

Once Moses died, there was a new leader that emerged and his name was Joshua, and he was
called to continue to carry the people into the Promised Land. So finally, at the end of the 40 years’
march in the wilderness, they come along the shores of the Jordan River, and they camped there for
three days and for three nights. As the people are so close to the Promised Land, it’s tangible, it’s
palatable, they can see it right across the river, but there stands a river called Jordan at flood level that
is standing in the way of everything God promised to them, and their a ancestors Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.

You have to understand that this generation of people has waited their entire life for this
moment. They have dreamed of what this land will be. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. They
have anticipated it for all of their life. And now as they are encamped on the edge of it, it is at flood
level. The river is raging faster and deeper than it ever has. And then the Lord says, “I’m gonna send
the Ark of the Covenant and my priests. And as their feet hit the water, I’m gonna hold back the flood
of the Jordan all the way back to a town called Adam. And my people are going to cross through on
dry ground, not muddy ground, on dry ground through the Jordan River to inherit and possess the
Promised Land that was promised to their ancestors.” This is an amazing text!

And over the next few minutes, we’re just gonna go right down and extract lessons right out of
the text. I don’t believe in preaching cute fancy sermons. I think we just need to take the text and let it
do the speaking. Can I get a witness? Y’all didn’t come here today to hear my opinion. You came to
hear the Word of the living God.

The first thing I want to draw your attention to is that God allows us to get up close and personal
with our trouble. No Amen’s on that? That’s all right. I don’t know if you notice this, but when we
read this text, a lot of times we imagine that the Israelites just came right out of the wilderness, right
up to the Jordan, and then God made a way and they crossed over on dry ground. But no! Read the
Bible again. It says that for three days and for three nights, the Israelites camped right along the banks

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of the overflowing Jordan, which means every day, for three days, they were so close to the promise
yet they were so far away. They could see it, but they could not reach it. For three days, they became
very familiar with the problem and the obstacle that separated them from everything God promised to
them. God allowed them to get real familiar with their problem and their weaknesses.

And the reality is that many of you, today, are standing like the Israelites on the horizon, on
the threshold of things God’s promised you, but there’s a river in the way. I want to speak to every one
of you today. I don’t care if you are an unbeliever or you’ve been a believer for 10 minutes or 10 years,
God is trying to move you from where you are into a greater promise that He has for your life. The
Christian faith is not a static-neutral-faith where we just maintain and hold on. No, God is moving you
from glory to glory. He’s moving you from where you are, to where He’s called you to be. But for all
of us, like the Israelites, there is an obstacle in the path, in the way. Maybe it’s a habit. Maybe it’s a
strange relationship. Maybe it’s a financial problem that’s standing in between you and everything
God has promised you. God wants you to get real familiar with your trouble, not because he’s cruel or
unusually punishing you, but because he wants you to be acutely aware of your weakness and your
utter dependence upon him.

The reason God allowed the Israelites to camp there for three days and for three nights is
because he had to bring them to the end of themselves, and they had to come to the place to realize the
only way I’m gonna lay hold it everything God has promised me is to rely fully and completely upon
him. I can’t do this on my own. I can’t make it across the Jordan on my own. I need you Jesus. And
that’s the reason that the Lord allows you to get real familiar with your problems and frustrations of
life. Because He wants you to come to the end of yourself and say, “Lord, if I’m ever going to do it, I
need you. If I’m ever going to be the husband, you’ve called me to be I need you. If I’m ever going to
be the father, the Christian, the minister, the teacher, if I’m ever going to be all that I’ve been called
to, I need you to do it.” You see that today? It’s not to discourage you, but it’s to bring you to the end
of yourself and full reliance upon Him.

Proverbs 3:5 says it this way. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Trust in the Lord.
You see, the reality is God wants to bring you into the promise, but you can’t do it on your own. You
need him. You need him.

I’m gonna preach to you just for a minute. Because for some of you that Jordan River is a habit.
You’re a Christian. You’ve been born again. You’ve repented of your sin. You believe in Jesus Christ.
But an old habit, an old lifestyle has crept back into your life. And now it’s gripping you. And now
you’re in bondage to an old way of living, an old way of thinking. I want you to understand that you
cannot overcome it on your own. You need to rely on Him. But He is able to deliver, He is able to set

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free, and He who the Lord sets free is free, indeed. He gives you the power. He changes your appetite,
He changes your desire. That’s the power of the Gospel and being born again is that he changes you
and gives you the ability to walk in freedom. And by the way, the greater the obstacle, the greater the
glory.

You know, when it’s time to share their testimony, everybody wants to play it down. Like,
“Well, I’ve always been perfect.” No, you haven’t! Not always. No, you haven’t. Let me ask you a
question. What gives God greater glory? If the Israelites would have jumped over a little stream or if
they crossed through a river at flood stage? The greater the obstacle, the greater the glory God receives.
You say, “Well, I know God’s calling me to more, I know that he’s calling me to obedience, but this
obstacle is so great in my way.” Well, greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. And
there is the obstacles that overwhelm you are nothing compared to your God. They’re nothing!

The next thing I want to show you from this text is, adversity is better in God’s hands. Look at
your neighbor, help me preach and say, “It’s better in his hands.” It’s better in his hands! You see,
Joshua, when he came to the edge of the Jordan River, he had a decision to make. He could try to come
up with his own way to get 1.2 million people across or he could rely on God Almighty. And if I’m
gonna be honest with you, I’m just gonna be totally vulnerable with you right now. If I’m being honest,
the type of leader I am, when I see a problem, I’m like, “We got this. We got this. The Jordan may be
at flood level, but we’re gonna build a bridge.” If I were Joshua, I’d be calling up the Israeli Army
Corps of Engineers, and I’d be like, “Hey, guys, come on out here. We’re gonna build a floating bridge.
And we’re gonna send the women and the children across first, and then the men and the heavy stuff
next.” If I’m just being honest, when I’ve come up against obstacles and problems in my life, I want
to engineer my own way across. But thank God, Joshua didn’t try to build a bridge where God intended
to perform a miracle. See, in some of you are getting in the way of God’s miraculous hand in your life,
because you’re trying to construct a way where God intends to perform a miracle. See, if Joshua would
have tried to build that bridge, number one, it would have taken twice as long and then twice as hard.
And definitely some people would have drowned. How many of you know, okay? But when he trusts
in the Lord, the Lord makes a way where there seem to be no way.

I wonder, have you been trying to build bridges in places where God wanted to perform a
miracle? Have you been trying to solve your own problems — do it your own way? Because I want to
warn you. You can get in the way of a miracle. I’m gonna give you a couple examples. So the reality
is that you truly can get in the way of a miracle. You can get in the way of God’s moving in your life.
I mentioned it a moment ago. You see a habit and addiction that’s crept back into your life. And instead
of bringing it to God and relying on His strength, you tried to go through 12 steps: “I’m gonna do this
myself and I don’t need the Lord and I’m gonna come up. I’m gonna quit cold turkey. I’m gonna do

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it.” Well, you’re trying to build a bridge where God wants to work a miracle. And you’re gonna get in
the way of what God’s trying to do. Because see, you can’t deliver you. Just like you can’t save you,
you can’t deliver you. The same power that saves you is the same power that sanctifies you. The same
power that washes your sin away, it’s the same power that gives you a new appetite, a new desire and
a new way of living. We depend on Him for it all. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is
the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. It’s all Him. Don’t try to build bridges where
God intends to do a miracle.

Now I’m gonna bring it home to you on another way. Some of us, we know that God has called
us to minister, to teach, to lead, to connect groups, to minister and pour out into other people’s lives.
But I want to caution you because you can do ministry relying on your own gift and your own talents,
rather than relying on a word from the Most High God. I’m gonna be honest with you. Some preachers
— and I’ve even fallen into this myself before — it’s easy sometimes to just come up here and preach,
because that’s your gift. But it’s a little bit harder to just sit and wait and rely on Him for a word for
the people that’s in season, that’s right now. I want to challenge you, don’t just operate in ministry
using your own gift, your own experience, your own knowledge. No, rely on Him, trust in him. Don’t
build a bridge in the path of a miracle. Let the Lord speak through you. Let him do it.

Now, some of you, you try to witness and share your faith. And many of us, we try to argue
people into the kingdom, trying to win the argument. We try to persuade them with this eloquent speech
about why they should come to Christ. I’m gonna tell you something. No one is won to the kingdom
by an argument. And no one is won by your eloquence. That’s man’s attempt to try to cross the chasm.
You got to rely on the Holy Spirit. He will speak through you. He will give you the words in season
for that person that is in need. And He’s the one that draws them to repentance. Don’t rely on yourself.
Stop building bridges where God wants to work a miracle. Adversity is better in His hands! Can I get
a witness of somebody who believes what I’m saying today? Adversity is always better!

And thank God, Joshua didn’t try to take matters into his own hands. Instead, Joshua sent the
priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant out ahead of the people into the Jordan River. Why did Joshua
do this? Because he recognized this was not a spiritual problem. He recognized this is not a physical
problem. This is a spiritual problem that he was facing.

And see, some of you need to understand that the crisis, the tension, the trouble that you’re
facing in your life, although it looks physical and ordinary, it’s really a spiritual struggle. You got to
rely on the presence of the Lord to go before you to make a wave where there seems to be no way.

I’m gonna help you real quick. You know what spiritual warfare looks like? Physical problems.
This was a river at flood stage, but it was a spiritual stronghold opposing the moving of Gods people.

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 See, we think spiritual warfare is like a bad dream at night, waking up, but no, no! Spiritual
struggles look like natural ones. What does the word say? We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. Stop relying on your gift, your
experience, your knowledge to navigate this life. Let prayer in intercession, let the presence of the
Lord go before you, let worship go before you enter, and rely on Him to make away where there seems
to be no way.

Next reality is, the God who brought you to it is the one who will bring you through it. Look
at your neighbor and say, “He’ll bring me through it.” Here’s the reality. When we face trouble in our
life, we often pray: “God, I want you to deliver me from my trouble. God, I want you to deliver me
from this situation I’m in. Get me around the Jordan River.” We’re praying God delivered me from it.
But more often than not God chooses to deliver you through it. There’s a big difference between being
delivered from something and being delivered through something. And this is the God that doesn’t just
lift you, pluck you up out of all the trouble. He’s the God who makes a way for you through it. Yes,
He delivers you, just not the way you expect Him to. He’s the God who wants to deliver you through
it. He is the Lord that goes before you and makes away where there seemed to be no way.

Hey, I want to make a real quick side note while we’re here. Did you notice in the text that it
said for the people to keep their distance from the Lord? It kept saying, you can only come within a
half mile of the Ark, don’t come any closer. Did you read it? It was all over Joshua 3. I read it to you.
So yes, you read it.

It’s important that you understand this. The Old Testament was marked by distance. From the
garden, through Malikai, the people were kept distant from God. Distant from His presence. In the
outer court, you can only come so close. But in the New Testament because of the cross in the price
Jesus paid, The New Testament is marked by nearness. He says, draw near to me, all you who are
weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me just as you are. The New Testament is
marked by nearness. And the Old Testament is marked by distance. It’s all because of the blood of
Jesus Christ. He has made a way for us to come into the presence of the Most High God. Anybody
thankful for that? It’s amazing. Truly it is!

But the God who brought you to it is the God who will bring you through it. Isaiah 43:2, when
you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
That’s an amazing messianic text, the saying that the Lord will deliver you through the obstacles.

Listen, I know, when you get a bad report from the doctor, you want the Lord to just deliver
you from it. I know when you get a bad strain on your relationship, you just want the Lord to lift you
from it. I know that all these times in our life, when we come up against adversity, we want to come

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from it. But the Lord wants to bring you through it. That’s how He chooses to deliver over and over
again.

Another thing I want to show you is, and I’ve said this like 15 times over the last six months
here, but I’m gonna say it again and again and again. And about the time I’m tired of saying something
is about the time y’all are starting to really own it. “Obedience triggers the miraculous.” I don’t know
how many times I’ve got to say that, but it’s like in every message I preached to you. I say it over and
over again. “Obedience triggers the miraculous.”

What did God tell Joshua? Send the priests into the water. Now notice, this is very different
from the miracle God performed at the Red Sea. At the Red Sea, when they were facing the Red Sea
and Pharaoh’s army behind them, God told Moses, raise up your staff and I will make a way for you
while they were still safely on the shore. But this time, this miracle is different. God said, I want you
this time to step into the water and stand there until I hold back the waters. If the priests would have
stayed on the shore, the water would have never stopped raging and never stopped flowing. It was their
obedience that God used to trigger the miraculous. It’s important that we understand that we cannot
just sit back and wait for everything to be perfect and in line in order for us to step out and obey God.
Because if you’re waiting for everything to be perfect, before you obey God and trust Him at His word,
you will be waiting for the rest of your life. There comes a moment — as believers — where we have
to look at the Jordan at flood level and say, “God, I don’t see a way across, but I’m going to trust you
anyway. I’m going to step in the water anyway. Because I’m trusting that You are faithful to Your
word. And as I step out, in obey, You will provide.”

I’m gonna tell you a little story, not until 8:30. Time and time again here at this church, we
have stepped into the Jordan River when we did not see a way. We were a mobile church, pipe and
drape setting up, tearing down. And I remember when we had one service, and it started growing, and
we were like, “Okay, we got to start a second service.” But that means we need twice as many
volunteers. We need twice as many nursery volunteers. How we gotta do it? And everybody’s like,
“Oh, we don’t have enough. We better stay on the bank.” And I’m like, “Nope! We’re jumping in.
We’re gonna step in the water and God is gonna provide. We may not have everything we need, but
we know that if we step out, God’s gonna provide.” And then we step to two services, and guess what
happened, The Lord provided. He was faithful. And now we’re doing three. And who knows what else
is next! But we as a church are gonna keep stepping and obeying him even before everything is perfect.

I’m gonna bring it home to you. Some of you men, you’ve been dating her for a while. And
you know, she’s a Christian, she loves the Lord. There’s fruit in her life. And you know, she’s the one
for you. But she’s just not stepping in the water. You’re like, “Lord, give me another sign. Lord, I need

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to know that I know.” Would you quit just deliberating and make a decision and step into the water
and God is going to provide for you every step of the way.

Some of you, you know God has a purpose for your life. You know He’s gifted you. You know
He’s anointed you. You know there’s a purpose for your life. But you’re like, “Well, I don’t know the
Bible well enough. I sinned a year ago pretty bad and everybody’s gonna know it. So I can’t step in. I
gotta let time lapse.” If you’re sitting there waiting for everything to be perfect before you obey God,
you’re gonna stay on the banks of the Jordan for the rest of your life. It is your obedience that triggers
the miraculous. And it’s time that you get off of the bank and step into the water. And scripture says,
when the soles of their feet hit the water, God held it back and they crossed over on dry ground.

God is looking for somebody who’s available and somebody who’s willing. You think God is
looking for perfection. No, God is looking for somebody who will say, “Here am I Lord, save me.”
You’d like “Well, I’m too bad of a sinner.” Well, then you’ll fit in great company with the rest of the
characters in the Bible. Because Moses was a murderer. David was an adulterer. Paul was a murderer
and blasphemer. Peter denied Jesus. I could go on and on and on. Every person God used mightily was
flawed, but they didn’t let their flaws keep them on the bank. They stepped into the water and God
moved mightily in their life. I just wonder what would happen if you would obey God and take a step
of obedience, I promise you, God will meet you right in that place. He will provide for you.

The next thing I want to show you is, God brings us through the river. Because He wants us to
get something out of it. I’m trying to preach to you, but you’re not letting on right now. Listen, I told
you already, God doesn’t want to just deliver you from it. He wants to deliver you through it. It’s not
because God is cruel and wants you to like suffer and splash around. No, no, God has something for
you in the middle of that adversity that you’re gonna need in your Promised Land. There’s something
at the bottom of the Jordan that you’re gonna need if you’re going to possess the promise.

If you actually keep reading from Chapter 3 to Chapter 4, here’s what you’ll find. While the
priests were stopped in the middle of the dry riverbed in the Jordan, the water was held back. The Lord
told Joshua, I want you to send 12 men back into the river. And I want them to haul out large stones,
get them out of the riverbed, and bring them up to the side of the promise and build for me a monument
there, so that every generation as they pass by, and they ask: What is this pile of stones? What is it
altar?” They will forever be reminded that this was the place where the Lord made a way where there
seemed to be no way. But there was something, there was a lesson, there was something in that river
that they needed if they were going to occupy the promise. Why does God deliver us through things?
Because He wants to build strength, character, resilience, great faith and wisdom in your life that can’t
come to you any other way, but through it. Those stones represent blessings in the middle of the
obstacle. God wants to sharpen us. And He has something for you in the middle of that obstacle, in the

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middle of that storm. He’s got something there for you. That’s going to give him glory on the other
side. Anybody believe what I’m saying today? Character, wisdom, great faith, all of those things,
endurance, it’s formed in the fire. It’s formed in the river. It’s formed through adversity.

The next thing I want to show you is in Joshua 3:3. “Giving these instructions to the people,
when you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out
from your positions and follow them. Since you have never travelled this way before they will guide
you.” The point out of this text is the promise is in a different direction. The promise is in a new
direction. Did you read the text? He told the people when you see the priest carrying the Ark of the
Covenant, you get up and get out and you follow them wherever they go. That means you got to come
out from where you are and you got to change directions.

Now, hear me church, please hear me. You are not going to accidentally end up living and
fulfilling your God given promise and purpose. You’re not going to accidentally, one day, wind up
being the man or the woman that God called you and created you to be. It’s not by chance that you end
up in the promise. And by the way, God has a calling for every single one of you. When he breathed
the breath of life into you before you ever took your first breath, He had a plan and ordained you for a
purpose. You’re not going to accidentally fall into your purpose. It’s going to happen as you change
direction and follow Him. And as you follow Him, as the people follow the Arc, you wind up in your
promise obeying and following Jesus.

I’m trying to talk to you. See, here’s the thing. People think there’s shortcuts to being used by
God, people think there’s shortcuts to fulfilling their purpose, and they say, “Okay, I’m gonna follow
God, I’m gonna follow the word until I disagree with this part, and I’m gonna go over here and do my
own thing.” But here’s the thing, if you don’t follow Him, if you don’t chase Him, there’s no way
you’re going to end up fulfilling your purpose. If you’re over there, the Jordan is over here. The only
way you’re going to occupy it is in obedience to Him. And by the way, the promise is in a new direction
means that you got to repent of your sin and change the course of your life. Cuz the Way of Heaven
and the way of the kingdom is the polar opposite direction of the flow of this world. It is the polar
opposite!

The world says, the way to be successful and great is healthy, wealthy, blessed, make all that
money, drag the Lambo with the spinners and the suicide doors and all that stuff. And Jesus said, the
greatest in the kingdom are servants. In other words, Jesus was saying, “The way up is really down.”
So you can’t keep living in the flow of this world and end up being who God called you to be. You
gotta turn yourself around and follow His presence. He’ll lead you right into His plan. He will do it.

Now, I’m not gonna preach forever, but Joshua 3:7, the Lord told Joshua today, I will begin to
make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and they will know that I am with you, just as

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I was with Moses. Church, this is amazing. The Lord told Joshua today, “I will make you great. Today,
I will make you great.” The problem is, today for too many of us, we’re trying to make our own name
great. We’re trying to pursue greatness our own way. We’re trying to hustle, strive, do our own thing,
and make our own name great. But see if you chase greatness, you likely will never attain it. But if
you will chase Him, He will make you great.

Now see, there’s a big difference between you making you great, and Him making you great.
One is self-promoting. “Well, let me tell you how awesome I am.” No, please don’t. We don’t want to
hear it. That’s disgusting. Self-promotion is like body odors. Bro, you stink. And everybody knows
that, but you. You don’t need to make yourself great. You need to chase Jesus and He will make you
great.

Okay, I’m gonna help you real fast. This is powerful. 1 Samuel 16, do you remember? You
probably don’t, but I’m gonna help you remember. 1 Samuel 16. David, the shepherd is out tending
the sheep while his brothers line up in his house. Because that Samuel, the high priest, is coming to
anoint the next king. You remember that? Samuel comes into the house of Jesse, David’s father, and
he’s looking to anoint the next king. And Jesse, David’s dad, forgot him and overlooked him and left
him outside in the sheep in the wilderness with the sheep. That’s rough, man. That’s rough. But
anyway, listen, all of David’s brothers in front of Samuel, they were vying for position. They were
trying to make their name great. They were standing like on their tippy toes trying to look like a turner.
By the way, if you’re-- Listen, anybody in this church that’s 6’5” or over is a turner. They’re all
brothers and they’re related, okay? It’s funny you notice. They’re studs. I tried to be an honorary
Turner. Anyway.

But listen, David’s brothers were trying to like vie for position. And while that seven brothers
chased greatness, it fled from them. But David, who chased the presence of the Lord, greatness chased
him down. And Samuel said to Jesse, do you not have any other sons? Is this all you got? And Jesse
goes, “Oh yeah, I got one more.” The moral of the story is, seven brothers chase the crown and none
of them got it, but the one who is pursuing the father, he’s the one who was crowned. Greatness will
chase you down when you follow Jesus. You don’t have to make your own name great. He will make
you great. And by the way, the more we chase greatness, the further we get from His presence.

And I’m gonna throw this in here just for free real quick. Your definition of greatness and
God’s definition of greatness are two totally different things. You see, in the world, we’re impressed
by material things, we’re impressed by, we judge ministries by how many people come, how big is the
building, and how nice is the building, and is the preacher making me excited? We judge greatness
that way. But I promise you that does not impress God at all. Because false prophets will have great
things and great crowds. And Gods certainly not impressed with them.

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 See, you and I measure greatness one way, but God measures greatness a totally different way.
God measures greatness based on your faith, your humility, your obedience, your love of Him, and
your love of people. That’s what moves heaven. And by the way, I believe that when we get to heaven,
in the presence of the Father, I believe that the greatest people in heaven will be people that were
utterly unknown on earth.

Now, when we get to heaven, I’d be looking for Billy Graham and Peter, and I’m like, “Look,
Billy Graham, he definitely gonna be up there, for sure.” But my point is, I think there’s gonna be
some janitors who worked in the church who were faithful and serve and used faithfully what God
gave them. And I think the Lord is gonna say, “Great, this is the greatest in the kingdom.” You say,
where do you get that from? The Bible? Jesus said, the greatest in the kingdom are servants. Did he
not say it? So we’re vying for greatness. But instead, we should just be chasing His presence and He
will make us great.

And greatness in the eyes of people is misleading. Don’t spend your days trying to impress
people because they’re not your judge. And in the end, men they celebrate you. But God is the one that
we must be living for, not people. Let’s live to be great in his eyes. Amen! Can you with me on that?

I’m lying in the plane right now. In closing, I deserved at least one Amen. Like, thank you,
Lord, we’re gonna be the Baptist to the steakhouse. Thank you, Jesus. That was funny. And you know,
it was.

If I don’t show you this right here, I’ve done you a great injustice. Joshua 3 is not just about
these life lessons. It’s actually about the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, if you really want to know how
to study and understand the Old Testament, I’m gonna give you one tip. It’s unlocked by Jesus. Look
for the gospel of Jesus Christ in every story, in every character, in every chapter in the Old Testament
from Genesis to Malachi. And then you will see it as it is. The whole Old Testament is really about the
gospel of Jesus Christ saved by grace through faith. It is! In fact Jesus said it himself. He said, all the
Old Testament speaks of me. That’s why the Pharisees wanted to stone him. So here in Joshua 3, I
want to show you a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

First of all, I want you to think back on that river called Jordan. The river of Jordan represents
death. It is the river of death. Because it flows self in into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is dead because
water flows in, but it never flows out. If you want to be a dead Christian, receive God’s word, receive
the ministry, and then never share it with anybody else. Never serve, never give, never pray, hold it all
in, and that’s a sure way to die. All you ever did was inhale, inhale, and you never gave, you never
exhale, you would die. The reason the Dead Sea is that is because it takes but it never gives. The Jordan
River represents death and it’s flowing, overflowing it’s bank surging at flood level. It’s the river of
death. It flows down to the Dead Sea.

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 The Ark of the Covenant that the priests carried into the middle of the river of death is
representing Jesus Christ. The Ark is the Old Testament glimpse of Jesus Christ. And by the way, that
river of death called Jordan, it flows down from a village called Adam. Adam, our original earthly
father from the sin of Adam, a sinful nature and death rain through all of humanity. For God so loved
the world, that Jesus Christ that into the river of death, and he held back the waters, pushing the waters
all the way back to the village called Adam, holding it back and making a dry ground, making way for
you and I who are the Israelites to come through the river of death into possessing our promise through
Him. There’s one way to the promise. There’s one way to heaven. There’s one way to the Father and
it is through Jesus Christ. And on the cross, he took our sin, he held back the river of death to make a
way for us where there was no other way. You can’t get to the promise on your own. You need him.
Do you see the gospel right there in Joshua 3?

I want you to pray with me right now all over this room. If you’re watching online, if you’re in
the Overflow, this is a holy moment. Please, nobody moving around right now let’s lean in right here.
If you don’t know that you’re right with God, today’s the day for you to receive Him by faith, today
is your moment to repent of your sin and to trust in Christ. You can’t just stay on the banks, you got
to come through the river. He’s made away. Now you’ve got to take it. You got to respond to His
grace. He’s made away. Now you got to access it. Pray with me now.

Father, we repent of our sin. We admit and confess that we are sinful, we are full of lust, pride
and greed, and we have failed you many times, we’ve ignored you in our life and we fallen short of the
glory of God. Today, we repent. We ask you for forgiveness. And we receive by faith, the finished work
of Calvary’s cross. Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, took my place in death. He died, and three
days later was raised from death to life. And because he lives, I have the hope of everlasting life,
because my savior has conquered death, hell and the grave. Father, fill me with your Holy Spirit,
change my direction, change my perspective, help me to love what you love, and despise what you
despise, love through me, do your work through me. In Jesus mighty name, I pray. And everybody say
Amen.

In just a moment, I’m gonna give you an opportunity to respond publicly to this gospel
invitation that you have received today. I’m gonna count to three in just a moment. And I’m gonna
give you an opportunity to stand boldly and publicly to your feet in front of everybody in here, not
going to embarrass you or call you out, but with everybody’s eyes open and everybody looking around,
I want you to stand boldly. If you prayed that prayer for the first time or you pray that prayer as a
recommitment of your life to Jesus Christ. This is not a secret faith. It’s not an accessory to your life.
This is all or nothing. And if Jesus Christ is your Lord and your savior, you cannot be ashamed of him.

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And if you’d be ashamed to stand for him right here, I know you won’t stand for him on Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday. It starts right here right now.

And Scripture says, if just one of you would humble yourself and receive Him by faith, the
angels rejoice in heaven over just one of you. If that’s you today, and you pray that prayer for the first
time or a recommitment of your faith, I want you to stand boldly. 1, 2, 3, and I see you, I see you, so
proud of all three of you. Amazing. Keep standing if you would. So I see you up there in the balcony.
I see you. So proud of all of you. Amazing. Amazing. Is there anybody else today? All right, those of
you who have stood today, I want to congratulate you on the best decision you have ever made in your
entire life. Scripture says that if you would confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you and
to wash your sins away. Welcome to the family of our God. We love you. We are proud of you. A
member of our prayer team is going to connect with you and they’re going to give you a decision card.
We’re not going to give your information away. We just want to connect with you because we want to
be a church that walks beside of you. This Christian journey can’t be lived alone. It’s got to be lived
in community and fellowship.

Church, let’s give the Lord praise one more time. He is great. He is mighty. He is faithful. He’s
able to save and He’s made away where there seemed to be no way. We love you. You’re dismissed.
Go in peace. Have a wonderful Sunday. Come back next week and bring a friend with you. We love
you. God is on the move.

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