Title The future is mine
Contents
※ Main text: Joshua 3:14-17, 4:1-10
First, we must be sanctified.
The blessing God has promised in Joshua 3:5 says that we must sanctify ourselves. When Jacob left his hometown and headed for Haran, God blessed him in a place called Luz. After 20 years, when I returned, I stayed in Shechem for a while. But there Dinah was raped by Shechem, the son of the sons of Hamor. Then Shechem asked Jacob to marry him. So Simeon and Judah, among the sons of Jacob, outwardly talked about marriage, saying that we cannot marry uncircumcised descendants. So the Hamorites were circumcised, and when they were unable to move, the sons of Jacob annihilated the Hamorites. Upon hearing this, several tribes united to try to kill Jacob's sons. So Jacob prayed to God. Then God heard Jacob's prayer and said, "Go up to Bethel." So, in Genesis 35, before Jacob gathers all his descendants and goes up to Bethel, he commands us to put away all foreign gods from among us, purify ourselves, and put on new clothes. Only those who are sanctified can meet God and receive the promised future.
Therefore, we too must be sanctified before the word of God.
Second, you must be committed.
Joshua selects 12 priests from each tribe and orders them to bring the ark into the Jordan River. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, Moses struck the Red Sea with his staff from the ground. And after the sea parted, the Israelites went into the Red Sea. But this case is different. If you go into the river first, the Jordan River becomes dry land. The first thing to do is to make a commitment. First of all, if you leave your relatives' father's house, you will be blessed. The promised blessing of the future is to dedicate first. Then it teaches that the promised blessings of the future will be mine.
Also, in the old days, the Red Sea parted instantly when the river was struck with a staff. But the Jordan River was different. The Jordan River does not split right now, but the Jordan River will part in the next 10 hours. It is said that the waters will dry up when the water stops in the town of Adam in the region of Sardan up there. And the priests carried the ark and stood in the midst of it until the Israelites had crossed the river. Our devotion should not end once today, but should continue until the day of the Lord's coming.
Faith is commitment. There is a future for those who are dedicated. Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you first dedicate yourself to possessing the future God has promised.
Third, we must remember grace and give thanks.
After the Israelites have crossed the Jordan River, Joshua calls the priests of the 12 tribes back and tells them to bring the stones from the Jordan River where the priests stand. And he tells them to build stones in the promised land, where they first stayed. And Joshua said, in the future, when our descendants ask what this stone means, it is said that this stone was built to remember and commemorate God's blocking the Jordan River and allowing our ancestors to cross over.
The night before his crucifixion, when Jesus broke the bread, he said, 'This is my body for you,' and while giving him wine, he said, 'This is your blood, which I shed for you.' He told me to commemorate me with 'and cup'. It is to remember and commemorate the grace received from God. Here we can know the will of God. It is saying that the promised future blessings will be given to those who remember and commemorate God's grace.
God's blessed future is for those who are sanctified, dedicated, and celebrate and give thanks for the grace they received. Therefore, I hope that all of us will have a blessed future by remembering and keeping these words.
2006-11-02 09:46:12