4/28/2018. Rainbow Forest 2018 Theme Displaying God s Goodness

Transcription

1 Rainbow Forest 2018 Theme Displaying God s Goodness 1

2 Romans 12:1-2 & 21 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 2

3 Faith Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Father, life is so often complex and confusing. I thank you for your promises that provide hope and clarity in the midst of life s complexity. Today, I pray that the Rainbow Forest members and guests that are here, would place their trust in you, surrendering every aspect of their lives to you, believing that you love them. Empower them to fight the urge to trust in their own understanding more that they rely on you and your guidance. Cause them to look to you in all their ways, acknowledging their need for, dependence on, and hope in you. Help them to acknowledge all of your provisions as they see you make their paths straight. Give them eyes to see the wonders you perform as they surrender and yield to your purposes. You are their God! Help them treasure you today with every breath, and cause them to call others to treasure you with all of their hearts as well. For your glory and their good, in Jesus name, Amen! 3

4 Rainbow Forest Mission Statement Connecting the Disconnected to Christ, Community and the Call Our Purpose To glorify God in everything we say and do Connecting Through the Word Facing the First Major Obstacle to Victory Joshua 3 4

5 Psalm 114:1-8 1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? 6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water. 5

6 Joshua 3: Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before. 5 Then Joshua said to the people, Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua said to the priests, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 The LORD said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 6

7 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan. 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 And Joshua said, Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap. 14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 7

8 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. Isaiah 43:1-3 1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 8

9 In Joshua 1, Joshua is commissioned to lead Israel across the Jordan and conquer the Promise Land. Joshua 2, Joshua sends the spies and we meet Rahab the Harlot or prostitute. You will never live a victorious Christian life without first being saved God s way by faith!!!!!! Let s look at Chapter 3 Vs. 1 Joshua rose early in the morning. Four times this is mentioned: 3:1, 6:12; 7:16; 8:10 The importance of rising early to meet with God before we meet with people and the challenges of the day! Lesson 1: We must have self-discipline to get up and take time to fellowship with the Lord. 9

10 Vs. 1 They came to the banks of the Jordan River. Directly across from Jericho less than 5 miles away. As a crow flies, Jericho is only about 28 miles to the center of the city of Amman Jordan. Vs. 2 They camped for three days at this location. They did not immediately cross. For three days the people had to look at the Jordan River in flood stage. With the fortified city of Jericho just across the way. Three days to think about what they were facing. No ferry. No bridge No way! An impossible situation! 10

11 An impossible situation! What have you been looking at? How long have you been looking at it. You ve come to the end of your resources! Lesson 2: Man s Extremity is only God s Opportunity! The meaning of crossing the Jordan in reference to the Christian life. The Jordan as a type shows that the promised land could not be entered without crossing the Jordan: Jordan means death. Dan means judge The judgment of death Deuteronomy 11:31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, 11

12 Deuteronomy 12:10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, Deuteronomy 27:2 So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime The means of entering the Promised Land was by crossing the Jordan. Just as the Israelites couldn t leave Egypt, except by passing through the Red Sea, Scripture does not provide a way to enter the Promised Land apart from crossing the Jordan. And what is true in the type, must also be true in the antitype. The Christian cannot enter the Victorious Christian Life without crossing the Jordan in its true, correct typical meaning. 12

13 First-mention of the Jordan Genesis 13:10, 11 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other It represented the separation between the fleshly and the spiritual. Lot chose the carnal, the sensual and the way of the flesh side. Abraham, chose the spiritual! The crossing of the Red Sea in the Exodus. The Red Sea points to the substitutionary death and the positional identification of the believer in Christ s death and resurrection. The wilderness is the revelation of the need for the Jordan, the experiential identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. Newness of life is always received in resurrection, which is typified by the Israelites rising from the Red Sea. 13

14 But there is a sense in which Israel, even when they were out of Egypt, were not out. They constantly longed to go back to Egypt; Egypt was in their hearts. Not until they passed through the Jordan, were they really out of Egypt. The Jordan typifies the cross that dealt with the Israelites in an inward way. The Red Sea represented what God did for the Israelites, while the Jordan was a type of a work consummated in them. When a Christian comes to knowledge of the Word of the Kingdom in Romans 6-8 and starts to apply this knowledge, he in fact has crossed the Jordan. This means death to self! This type of Christian has decided to lose his soul in order to save it, which means nothing less than the decision to apply the cross in a subjective way. 14

15 How Did the Crossing of the Jordan Take Place? Vs. 4 for you have not passed this way before. Meaning: you have not traveled in this manner before In wilderness the Ark of the Covenant was in the Tabernacle the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day lead the people of Israel. The Kohathites of the Levitical tribe carried the Ark. But now the priest were to carry the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant or Testimony had the 10 Commandments in it. The Mercy Seat on top of it. This is all a beautiful picture of God s Holy Law and requirements for His people. The people of Israel made a covenant with God to keep them but kept breaking them. The Mercy Seat where the blood of a substitutionary sacrifice was sprinkled was a reminder of God s love and grace and mercy despite our sin! 15

16 All this fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He Is the High Priest. He Alone has kept the Law of God perfectly fulfilling every dot and tittle. And He Himself became the perfect sacrifice to shed His blood to atone and cover our sins. So, the priest carried the ark far enough ahead.. almost one half mile, for everyone to see!!!!!! Before they could cross, they were commanded to Consecrate yourselves Before we can begin to enter the victorious Christian life. We must come to the place where we present our lives as Living Sacrifices Romans 12:1-2 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 16

17 Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Vs. 8 at the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still. There is a time to stand still, be quiet and listen! Vs. 9 Come here and listen to the Words of the LORD your God Interesting you will know the Living God is among you First He will without fail, drive out the pagans of the land 17

18 Vs. 11 Behold the Ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Jesus passed over before us into the Jordan He was baptized at the Jordan River to begin His ministry. Jesus identified with us sinners.. because He would, three years later take our sins upon Himself and died in our place for our sins. The Obedience of the priest with the Ark of the Covenant! They stepped into the swollen flooded waters and immediately the waters went back up the river all the way to Adam. Vs. 16 All the sins of all mankind back to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Jesus rolled them all away!!!!! The Obedience of Jesus!!!!! The Entrance into the Victorious Christian Life is a Step of Obedience!!!!!! 18

19 Our Faith, Our Focus is in the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. In Jesus Christ!!!! The Priest stood in the middle of the flooded river with the waters back up into a heap getting higher all the time. Imagine their faith and trust in the Word of God!!!!! The Whole nation crossed over on dry ground!!!!!! Our Jesus is the Way, The Truth and The Life!!!!! Today, will you Consecrate yourself? Today, will you be obedient? What will be your first step of obedience? That step will begin the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit of God in your life and you can begin to live out a Romans 8 experience.. 19

20 Romans 8: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 20