Past, Present and Promise

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.  2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;  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. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.  5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. Joshua 3:1-5

 

Get ready to enter into the destiny God has ordained for your life. We find Joshua, God's set man leading the children of Israel into their promise land.  Moses, Joshua's predecessor and mentor

led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.  The crossing of the Red Sea symbolizes an outward deliverance from others but crossing the Jordan symbolizes an inward deliverance from ourselves.     

 

We have all experienced the good, the bad and the ugly along the way. Our PAST gives us the realization that God has been gracious toward us while our PRESENT allows us to join in the celebration that God is good and His PROMISE motivates us toward preparation for entry into our destiny. The reality is God has been preparing you since your birth. Are you ready to enter in? If so, allow me to share a few nuggets of truth from the opening text.

 

1.  Leader that Leads (v.1) - you need a God ordained leader in your life. A person who rises early in the morning to seek the heart of the Father and is able to teach, train and trust others. Their interest is in advancing the kingdom by leading God's children into their destiny. These leaders will know how to camp before they cross to consider the will of the Father. 

 

2.  Pursue the Presence (vs.2-4) - you must learn how "to go after it" while respecting it.  You cannot allow anything and anyone to separate you from the presence of God.  At the same time you cannot become so familiar with the presence that you loose respect and reverence.  It's the presence that will lead you to and through places you have never been before. 

 

3.  Learn how to rule well (v.5) - In order for the Lord to do wonders in your life, you must learn how to conquer those things that have conquered you. It will take submitting to the word and Spirit of God to develop the fruit of temperance (self control) within your life. Sanctification is not an option.     

 

As you take heed to these truth's, you will experience a turn around and entry into His promises for your life.   

  

Love, Peace and Blessing,

Pastor Eric