Title:
Prepared to Behold Christ
Text:
Joshua 3: 1-6
Date:
September 15, 2018
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Justification
is what God does for his people by the work of Christ Jesus fulfilling the law
for those given him of God the Father. Sanctification
is what God does in his people when Christ Jesus is formed in the new heart and
of God, Christ is made unto us All—Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and
Redemption. By a work of grace in the heart God puts true, godly fear within
his child so that we believe on Christ and follow him in humble faith.
Before
we can move forward in anyway with God, we must be sanctified by having Christ
Jesus to be magnified in our hearts so that we fear him enough to follow him in
faith. It is impossible for a sinner to be used of God for God’s holy work,
until we first be sanctified, to truly reverence and believe our great God and
Savior Christ Jesus.
Proposition: Yet, before we can behold Christ we have to be prepared
to behold him. We have to be born of the
Holy Spirit of God, removed from one place to another place and taught some
things before we can behold Christ.
Titled:
Prepared to Behold Christ
I. GOD BEGINS THIS WORK WITHIN US BY
SEPARATING HIS CHILD FROM OUR FALSE WAY—Joshua 3: 1: And 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.
Where
they removed from and where they came to is very significant as we will see in
a moment.
Background
First,
let’s get some background. Joshua is a type of Christ. Moses has died. He represented the law. Moses could not take God’s people into Cannan
because the law cannot take God’s elect into God’s presence. Joshua must deliver them because only Christ
can deliver his people into God’s presence.
Joshua knew
the LORD was about to doing something marvelous. He had told Israel this:
Joshua 1: 11 Pass
through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for
within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land,
which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
So
Joshua arose early and ordered the people to remove from Shittim, like Christ
our Head does. Joshua is moving everything about in the camp of Israel,
preparing them to behold God’s way of salvation. Christ moves everything about in this earth
and prepares his people to behold Christ God’s Way of salvation.
From Our False Way
This reminds
us of what God causes his child to REPENT FROM when God sanctifies us from our
former way. Shittim is where the people fell into the snare set by Balaam’s
wicked counsel.
Numbers 25: 1: And Israel abode in Shittim, and the
people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
Moab
was the son of Lot’s incestuous relationship with his daughter. False religion—Baal worshippers—used Moab’s
attractive daughters to seduce the sons of Israel to commit whoredoms. Then they easily got the sons of Israel to bow
down and join themselves to their idol gods.
False
religion is described in the scriptures as a harlot. The harlot of vain religion
uses worldly allurements to attract men and women to visit them. Then it is easier
for false, freewill, works religion to get sinners to make a decision for their
idol god, and to bow down and worship their vain gods.
Numbers 25: 2: And they called the people unto the
sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
3: And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was
kindled against Israel.
I wish
folks could see that there is no difference in false religion in our day than
what was going on right there in Shittim.
Numbers 25: 4: And the LORD said UNTO MOSES, Take all the
heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the
fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
God
commanded Moses to slay all the elders in Israel—those that refused to believe
God—who God said he would not allow entrance into the promise land. Moses represents
the law. Here is the truth we can see from that: in the day God begins the work
of sanctifying his child, the Spirit of God applies the law, making the commandment
come and our sin revives and slays our old man of sin. So God makes us to arise
and remove from our Shittim—the place of our former falsehood and curse.
Brought Down
When
God does this, God brings his child down—Joshua
3: 1: And 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.
The
word “Jordan” means: “descent, to come down, subdued, prostrate.” In the process of turning us from our former
sin and death, God brings his child down and makes us to lodge there, before we
go any further. The next verse says they lodged there three days. Do you know
what they were looking at for those three days?
They sat there looking at the Jordan River overflowing and flooding way
beyond its banks. The River Jordan represents sin and death.
We are
proud, hard-hearted, arrogant sinners by nature. So before God makes us to
behold what he has done for us in Christ, God brings us down off our high horse
to see our overflowing sin and death. Remember what happened to the apostle
Paul? Christ appeared to proud Saul of Tarsus and knocked him down in the dust.
Acts 26:14: And when we were all fallen to the earth, I
heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks…Acts 9:
6: And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
Believer,
God still does this to us, if we need it, doesn’t he? If you and I begin to think
too highly of ourselves, we are found stiffening our neck at what we know to be
true then God removes us from the false ways and brings us down. He humbles us
before him.
II. GOD USES HIS MINISTERS WITH THE GOSPEL—Joshua
3: 2: And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the
host;
Three Days
Throughout
scripture God repeatedly manifests his glory on the third day, because it was
the third day when Christ, the express image of his glory, arose from the dead.
We are waiting three days for Christ to return.
He shall return on the third day.
His glory shall be revealed. So
we are to wait by faith until that third day. Joshua had told them they were
going across the Jordan in three days but he did not tell them how. If faith is strengthened it must be
exercised. God forces his child to walk
by faith. Abraham had to wait three days.
While he waited, all along he planned to offer up his only son Isaac simply
because God said do it and because he believed God was able to raise him from
the dead. That’s walking by faith. We
must walk by faith.
Preachers and Preaching
So after
three days then came these messengers through the host with a message. These
were not preachers but they set a good example for us of how God does use his
preachers.—Joshua 3: 3: And they
commanded the people, saying, When ye 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.
When You See Christ
This
was their message, “When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God.” Through
the gospel, God gives spiritual sight to those who were once blind in sin to
see Christ. Christ is typified in the ark.
The ark
is called the “Ark of the covenant of the LORD your God” because “all the
promises of God in (Christ) are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of
God.” (2 Cor 1: 20)
Inside
the ark was the manna. Christ is the Manna from heaven. “And Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he
that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (Jn 6: 35)
Inside
the ark was the law. Christ is the fulfillment of the law. He is the believer’s
righteousness, our obedience to the law—when Christ is formed within us we become
sanctified and believing Christ, he becomes to us the end of the Law for
righteousness. (Rom 10: 4)
Inside
the ark was Aarons rod that budded—Christ is that Rod—Regeneration, Life, Fruit,
living children of God are produced by Christ the Rod of God.
Over
the ark was the mercy seat—Christ is our mercy seat—the Propitiation for God’s
people—“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 Jn 4: 10)
So the
message is, “When you see Christ….” And they said, when you see “the priests
the Levites bearing it.” Christ makes his ministers (and all his people)
priests unto God. His preachers simply hold up Christ like we will see these
priests held up the ark. Believers learn the Way looking to Christ the Way set
forth in the gospel. When God sanctifies the word of his preacher into your
heart, you are hearing the words, not of a man, but of God.
Repent and Believe
These
officers, picturing Christ’s preachers, told them that when they saw the ark “then
ye shall remove from YOUR place, and go after IT.” Sinner, when you see Christ with the eye of
faith, do not tarry. Remove—repent from YOUR PLACE. Your place is the place of self-righteousness
and sin and death. Repent from your
place.
And follow
Christ in faith. Believe on Christ. Follow Christ in obedience: in believer’s
baptism, in joining his people in his church. “Why tarriest thou, arise be
baptized.” was the command to Paul. (Acts 22: 16) Also, brethren, in our trials,
when you see Christ, remove from your place—of self-wisdom, self-importance—and
follow Christ.
Important Instruction
Next, God
gives very important instruction—Joshua
3: 4: Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits
by measure: [about half a mile] come
not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not
passed this way heretofore.
The
only way believers know the way is by following Christ the Way, keeping our eye
of faith on Christ. So they were commanded to keep a distance and not get too
close to the priests bearing the ark for then they would lose sight of
Christ. With such a multitude of
people—literally they had to stay back in order for all to see the ark lifted
up.
Spiritually,
there is an important lesson here. Under the new covenant, believers can draw
near to Christ by his blood. But we must never take our blessings for granted. We
must not become familiar with Christ in such a way that we regard him in a
flippant, careless way. The same is true of his ministers. We cannot get too
familiar with Christ’s preachers else we will cease remembering that it is God
speaking to me when the gospel is preached.
Remember
when Christ came into his own country?
The reason they couldn’t hear what he taught was because they were too close
to him, too familiar with him. They considered themselves wiser than Christ and
so they were offended at his word. If that can happen with Christ it can
certainly happen with Christ’s ministers. He said,
Matthew 13: 57: A prophet is not without honour, save in
his own country, and in his own house. 58: And he did not many mighty works
there because of their unbelief.
Everything
God is doing in our text and the next chapter is a picture of God magnifying
Christ in the hearts of his people so that we reverence Christ with a good kind
of fear, a reverential fear. So they tell
them not to draw near in such a way so as to lose sight of the ark which they
are to be looking upon. We must not lose
sight of Christ.
Walking By Faith
Here is
why we need to keep a reverential eye upon Christ, “For ye have not passed this
way heretofore.” I do not care how long
you and I have been in the faith—or how much wisdom one might think he has—this
is true of the oldest to the youngest in the faith—“ye have not passed this way
heretofore.” Christ constantly leads us
in a path we have never travelled so that we have to walk by faith, not by
sight.
They
were crossing a flooding river! Do you
think they obeyed? Yes! So will we when God brings us into the
swelling of the Jordan. (Jer 12: 5) God
makes it so everything a believer does is beyond our ability, else we would walk
by fleshly strength and sight rather than by faith.
What is
Christ about to do this afternoon? I do
not know. So it is best we walk by faith
with our eye on Christ. What is Christ about to do tonight? I do not know. So
it is best we follow with our eye of faith on Christ. No matter where we are in this walk of faith
we are in unfamiliar territory—“ye
have not passed this way heretofore.” So every eye must be on Christ the Way. We
quietly walk by faith trusting Christ.
Lamentations 3:26: It is good that a man
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Preparing our Hearts
Furthermore,
believers must prepare our hearts in order to behold the wonders of our LORD
among us—Joshua 3: 5: And Joshua said
unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders
among you.
Notice,
as the officers spoke, Joshua gave this command to the people. Joshua means
Jesus, Savior. Remember, Joshua is a
type of Christ our Sanctifier. As Christ’s minister preaches, Christ suddenly
speaks into the heart of his child. Christ removes us from our false way, Christ
brings us down in humility not to trust our fleshly reason and strength and Christ,
having sanctified us—having set us apart himself—then commands his child to sanctify
ourselves. But until the Spirit of
Christ has sanctified us, we only hear a man speak and we will react like our
unregenerate children often react at our command. Yet, when Christ speaks
effectually then we will render obeisance and obey his voice.
Sanctifying Ourselves
Joshua
commanded, “Sanctify yourselves.” It means:
make clean, consecrate yourselves, prepare yourselves, purify yourselves from
all worldly cares. God will not share
our attention with the world. He will
not have us with half a mind to trust him and the other half to put our hand to
the work. God must have our full
confidence and our full focus.
James 4: 8: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
He told
them to do so a whole day before. That day they were to separate themselves
from every thought, person, thing and action that would keep them from beholding
what the LORD would do among them the next morning. This is what scripture
means when it says “he is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek him.” (Heb
11: 6) Christ commanded them do so a day in advance.
For us
this includes simple things such as getting a good night’s rest the night
before, preparing ourselves through prayer, being ready to arise early in the
morning, getting here early so we are prepared behold the wonders of the LORD
among you. It applies to our whole life.
Hebrews
12: 1:…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2: Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
A Word to the Preacher
Next, we
have a word to the preacher. Christ
through the Holy Spirit is instructing each person involved, how to follow
Christ—Joshua 3: 6: And Joshua spake
unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before
the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the
people.
Joshua
gave this command to the priests. These
priests are good pictures of Christ’s preachers, also. It is Christ who gives
his preachers their orders, just as he does his people. His preachers are to take up Christ
themselves. We are to believe on Christ ourselves. Look to Christ ourselves. Feed
upon Christ ourselves. And we are to pass over before the people.
Before
the people, we are to hold up Christ by preaching Christ and him crucified. We preach
Christ is God in human flesh. Christ is
the first elect in whom God elected all that shall be saved. God the Son came down and took flesh and the
GodMan put an end to sins for his people.
He accomplished the work. Now, Christ is risen and reigning with all
power in heaven and earth, filling all in all to send forth his gospel, to regenerate
his his lost dead and helpless child, and to give us repentance and faith, preparing
us to behold Christ. Christ is working in each of his people in his church right
now, just like we see Joshua working in the midst of the children of Israel. Christ
gets all the glory. “He shall not fail till he hath set judgment in the earth.”
(Is 42: 4)
III. THE PURPOSE FOR
WHICH GOD IS WORKING ALL THINGS IS TO MAGNIFY CHRIST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS
PEOPLE—Joshua 3: 7: And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to
magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with
Moses, so I will be with thee.
God is working all things in our text—and all things
around us today—to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ our Joshua—our Savior in the
hearts of his people.
Moses Pictures Law
Moses could not take them into the promised land because
Moses is a type of the law. No sinner shall enter God’s presence by the law.
Romans 3: 19: Now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20: Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by
the law is the knowledge of sin.
Joshua Pictures Christ
Only Christ could take them into the land of Canaan. In the next message, “Sanctified for a Holy
Use”, we will behold Christ as we see how God brought them across the Jordan
River.
May the LORD be pleased to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ
this day in your sight, that you might know, that
“God was in Christ reconciling the world of his elect
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto
us the word of reconciliation.” (1 Cor 5: 19)
So God’s preachers say to you:
·
Remove
from the cursed, falsehood of Shittim.
·
Come
down to Jordan to behold your sin and death.
·
Today,
lay aside everything that would hinder you and be ready to behold the LORD do
wonders among you.
·
When
you see Christ repent from your way go after him in faith.
·
Do
so with reverence—quietly waiting on the Lord and following him.
·
God
saves through Christ alone, “that you might know the hand of the LORD, that it
is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.” (Jos 4: 24)
This is the beginning of true separation from this world
and true delight in Christ. Now may God sanctify his word to our hearts!
Amen!