Faith that Crosses the Jordan (Josh. 3:14-17)
Wednesday Message – May 3, 2023
Title:
Scripture: Joshua 3:14-17
We will share the grace of God’s Word today with the middle section of Joshua 3. The content of the book of Joshua was when they were about to go in and conquer the land of Canaan. We are far beyond that time schedule. The time of Joshua was before Jesus Christ came to earth. For us, Jesus Christ has already come to earth and we are living in the time after that, and so, as God guides along the saved individuals, we must know God’s time schedule.
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and that is also called, “salvation.” God is guiding these people to Canaan. The thing you and I must note from this is that the saved people of God are within God’s plan. If I quickly let go of my own plan and hold onto God’s plan instead, then I can receive answers. Because my plan is what I was holding onto in Egypt, before I was a person of God and before I was saved, it was of no value. However, God’s plan is fulfilled by God. So, if you hold onto God’s plan regarding why you’re living in America now, then you will receive answers.
Then, what plans do you think the Israelites lived with in Egypt? They lived with a plan that did not have God. The entire Bible tells us they’re living centered on their physical bodies and for their own benefit and success, but that led them into slavery. They were living in suffering, then God saved them by His grace. Then it’s important for you to discover, “As I’m living in America, am I living a life of slavery, or am I living within God’s plan?”
If you’re living as a slave, it means you’re living for the visible things because we need the visible things, and because we concentrate on those things, we become enslaved by them. We need to live in order to exalt our own name and to become successful, and that’s why we become slaves. That’s why it’s important for you to discover whether you’re living in America as a slave or within God’s plan.
As you’re listening to God’s Word, if you realize you’re living for your Gen. 3, 6, and 11, centered on yourself and physical things of success, then you’re living a life of slavery. That is the way Satan enslaves the people in America. But these individuals live without realizing they are slaves. Sometimes they’re even happy when they accomplish their goal, and sometimes, they even think to themselves that today was okay if they had some benefit, but the issue is, they don’t realize they’re being enslaved.
Most of the Israelites lived like that. God gives us His Word so that you and I don’t have to live like that because suffering follows slavery. In other words, if you love and think that your plan is more precious than God’s plan, then you will be enslaved in suffering. If we follow the goals that are taught to us in schools and America ever since we’re young, then we will be a slave.
I went far away to enroll my daughter in high school, and Marilyn Monroe went there in 10th grade, and on the walls were written the ten goals of that school. Yes, those goals are necessary, but if you make that into your goal, then it’ll be slavery. Marilyn Monroe ended up committing suicide. There was a picture of all the students in 1942. There may be some people who are still living now, but most of them have passed away. You and I will also pass away soon. There’s an elder who went to a funeral last Wednesday, and you and I will also be gone in about 10 years. But will we live as slaves or will we fulfill God’s plan? Don’t you think that’s the most important? I’m not saying most of you will pass away in 10 years; I’m saying that’s the shortest time, but life is just like that.
But it’s important, what kind of life am I living? If you go within God’s plan, then you live a life of conquering. “Conquering” means you conquer the authority of this world. In other words, you’re conquering over Satan, the devil. If you conquer over the one who has authority over the world, then you have won everything. Then, the physical things and success will naturally follow. However, if you accomplish success but you are not able to conquer the authority of the world, then you’re enslaved. This is the outline of the entire Bible.
In the midst of that, Joshua is taking the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan. In the land of Canaan, there are already so many different nations and peoples who are serving demons and idols. Back in these times, God’s plan was for the Christians to conquer that land. What about us? We are not about to conquer the land of Canaan. Jesus Christ was already born in the land of Canaan, He died and resurrected, and now we are living in the end times after Him. And now, the plan God has given to us is to make disciples of all nations, to go and heal all peoples, and to raise them up as the summit so that they can go and conquer.
Am I within that plan of God? If you are not within that plan, then ultimately you will be a slave, a slave to depression, you’ll be dragged around by money, you’ll have to be worried about what others think, you’ll have to waver back and forth based on your environment, imagine how stressful that is. But the thing God had originally placed inside of us was to freely rule over and subdue over the earth, but if I’m constantly trapped, imagine how frustrating and suffering that would be. But there are many Christians like that because they don’t know God’s plan. If you know God’s plan, then God fulfills it. What’s easier than that? It’s easier if God fulfills our life, because God is fulfilling it with His power that is with us. He is with us with all authority in heaven and on earth. That is a much easier life, then everything follows you, including success and money.
What happens if you live in the opposite way? You’ll be beaten half to death. Ironically enough, most of the Israelites were living the opposite life. It’s not that they didn’t go to church, they did, but they were not going inside of God’s plan; they were living, holding onto their own plan, so not only were they slaves, but their future generations would continue to be slaves.
In the midst of that, they need to conquer the land of Canaan and settle there. There are already other nations settling there, so they need to fight and chase the people out. Why would God be like that? To kick people out of a land through war? But that’s actually God’s land, and if that’s what the Owner says, then we do it. This land is settled by people who do not know GOd, and God is saying that He will change that, then even if you don’t like that, you have to hold onto that plan and go forward to receive answers.
Then in order for them to go into the land of Canaan, they must first cross the Jordan River. Not only that, but it was a time when the Jordan River was overflowing, so it was about 1 km across. In other times of the year, when the River was not flooding, it was only a few meters wide, however, the water from upstream, the ice from the mountain above was melting, so the river was over-flooding, and that’s when God told them to cross.
If you just study the Bible, then you can know in your brain to cross the river, but you need to actually cross that in real life. So there’s a very big difference between someone who just studies the Bible and someone who actually receives answers. You must actually receive answers in your life. In the midst of problems and circumstances, you must receive the answers that God is alive, why? Because God is alive, and if it is true that I’m child of God, then He is with me and is bound to work. But for somebody who only knows God with his brain, they are far from that reality. Then, when they’re actually facing a situation like this, it requires faith.
When we face a problem like the Jordan River before us, we don’t need some kind of technique, we don’t need a lot of knowledge about the Bible; we need faith in God’s answers. You can only have victory if you receive answers. It doesn’t matter even if you memorize all the way from Genesis to Revelation before the Jordan River. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve memorized last week’s Word. Only the one who crosses the river in faith will have victory, so faith you live with your brain will not work.
When God says He will conquer the land of Canaan, it means He will be with you and cross the Jordan River there. Only when your faith is active in this will you be able to set your foot in the River. In front of the Red Sea, they did not have to put their foot in the water; they just had to wait for God to work, but in front of the Jordan River, they did not have to sit still and wait. Now, because God has given them the Word to conquer, they must hold onto their faith and set foot.
In the New Testament, Hebrews says the Red Sea represents baptism, people who have salvation received baptism by water. At that point, you don’t need strength, you don’t need anything of your own; God does it. But in the Jordan River, it is the people who are living who need to actually have faith. At that point, if you just stay still, then God will just stay still as well. If you keep waiting to see what God will do, then God will keep waiting as well. God tells us to step forward in faith.
Temple Construction doesn’t take place just by standing still and waiting. Do you have faith about this? If you have faith, then step forward. That’s what this means. That is the difference between someone who receives answers and someone who doesn’t. You need to actually step forward into the 70 regions and 70 disciples. It’s not about just standing still because God is with you and is actually working.
However, when they set foot in, the priests who held onto the Ark of the Covenant had to step in first. That means, you need to step forward, holding onto the word, the covenant, in faith. That is when the water will part. There were about 2 million Israelites, and until they each crossed the river, the priests had to stand and wait in the river.
Last week it said in Joshua 3:4 to keep a distance of about 2000 cubits between them and the Ark. That’s about 900 meters, “Do not be close to it, do not go near it, since you have never been this way before.” Because then, you will know what you will do. Keep a distance between you and the Ark, and watch it. Just concentrate on that and watch it. If you’re too close to it, you might not see it. Stand far back, then as you keep looking at that covenant, you will know what you must do.
“Since you have never been this way before,” for people who live their lives only with the experiences they’ve had, they can never receive guidance because God told us to go a way we have never gone before, but my job is the same and my studies are the same, but it’s different. It might be the same people and the same work you’re doing as before, but for the people who are within God’s plan, every day will be new. It’s true because God is guiding us.
Even if you’re running the same business, it’s different. When you’re your own master, you live a repetitive life and it gets boring, but if God becomes your Master, every day becomes different and you receive answers every day. That is the life of the Kingdom of God.
In Joshua 3:13, “As soon as the priests who carried the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth,”when explaining God, they explain Him as the LORD of all the earth. If the LORD is telling us to go into Canaan, we just go, and if the LORD tells the idol-worshiping people living there to leave, then they must leave. Who is the LORD of the land of America? It is God, then of course, the children of God must live, following the plan of God. God has prepared our lives so that we may be able to change the people who are serving the world and Satan into serving God.
In Joshua 3:14, “So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.” What does this mean? There are three things inside the Ark of the Covenant. There’s the Ten Commandments, the Word of God; there’s the budded staff of Aaron where, from a dead stick came new life, you can say that is God’s power; there is also a jar of manna from the sky. These are the three things inside the Ark of the Covenant. In other words, “Place the covenant in front of you and follow it.”
Do not place your thoughts or actions in the forefront, but the life following the Ark of the Covenant of God is important. The “Tent” here is talking about our house. Every day, when we leave our house into the world, we must follow after God’s Word, that covenant is the Word that God has promised to us. That means the Word must go ahead and we must follow after. But if that doesn’t take place and our thoughts take the forefront and the Word of God is behind, then we become slaves. In everything, we place the Word of the covenant ahead of us and we follow that.
On Sundays, the Word of God’s promised covenant must be upon me, that is victory in worship, why? Because the Holy Spirit inside of me will give the the word of the Truth of God. then the people who are not able to do that have failed in Sunday worship. Even at the very least, there are not many people who remember the title of the Sunday message. I can pretty much tell that most people don’t even know the title of the Sunday message, then what’s going to happen? Imagine how difficult of a week they will live. That’s how much the Word of God is lacking for them. You can just hold onto God’s Word, but we keep losing hold of God’s word and keep trying to do something, then you just suffer. Your body will suffer, your heart will suffer, and what happens if that repeats? Then your body and heart are always tired. That’s not the life God gives us. It is a life where God gives us His Word and then fulfills that Word. We are following after God’s Word of the covenant. We are not only just following that, but you need to carefully think about this in your everyday life, because if you don’t think about it deeply, then you will follow your thoughts.
“I wonder why God gave me this Word about the fruits of imprint, root, and nature. Oh, now I realize that my life will have no fruit if it is not imprint, root, and have the nature in God’s word, but if I am imprint, root, and nature’d in God’s Word, then the fruits of God will naturally take place,” that is the Word of promise God has given to me. That promise that has finished all problems on the cross. Your problems have been finished, but you keep doubting this, and that is why problems are a problem to you. Then you become like a seed on the path or rocky field, so that is why there is no fruit in your life.
However, if this Word falls directly into my heart, then my problems are finished. After your problems are finished, you will face more problems. You have to understand what these words mean to understand the gospel, but if you don’t understand what these words mean, it means you haven’t quite understood the gospel. That person is still interpreting everything physically so those words themselves are confusing. “All the fundamental problems have been finished on the cross and now the lord is no longer myself; it is the Lord.
In the past, I used to face problems, but now, they are no longer problems and they just look like problems. The reason why I say it just looks like a problem is because it is not a problem. If I’m really the master of my life, then it is a problem; if I’m the master of my own life, it is a problem. If God is the Master of my life, then something that seems like a problem may approach me, but God will guide me forward with His plan. That is how the Lord has finished the problems of your past, present, and future. That must come firmly into the field of my heart.
Then now, God’s mission becomes my only mission and reason for life. The kingdom of God is established in me, and now my life is meant to establish God’s kingdom. God’s Kingdom means changing Satan’s Kingdom into God’s Kingdom. Now, the Word of God’s mission is to change the people of the world who are slaves and centered on themselves and the physical things, into the people of God. Now, God will fulfill that through only the Holy Spirit, that’s why we pray. If your prayers do not take place like this, then your prayers will be just like religion. It will be a prayer to solve your problems, it’s going to be a prayer to give you physical things. That’s a prayer just like any other religion. That person is a slave. That’s not our prayer. The problem is already finished; why would you pray for the problem to already be finished when God is already taking care of it?
Pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon you in power. May the power of the Holy Spirit work upon my thoughts, emotions, and heart. No reason for me to ask for this or that, but replace yourself with God. There’s no reason for you to try to be nice; you just change your thoughts into God’s thoughts. It’s not enough to just live a nice life. There are a lot of nice people in mental hospitals, and that’s because, when the devil gives them a thought, the nice people will just follow that, and that’s why when you go to a mental hospital, most people are nice. If somebody is very bad tempered, then even if Satan gives them a thought, they try not to receive it. Not a lot of people have mental illnesses like that. So, living a nice life is not the standard; the true standard is living your life filled with the things and the Word of God.
How do I pray? Whenever I meet with a new believer or with the young adults, I teach them how to pray. We don’t need to pray, “Give me this,” or, “Give me that,” and the reason why is because there’s something else to do. I’m saying, you don’t need to pray for that because there’s something else we actually should pray for. If the Lord is the Lord within me, then we need to pray for the Lord to fill my thoughts, my heart, and my emotions. Whether you are studying or working, that must take place first. So first, the Kingdom of God must be established in me. Then, the physical things will follow according to God’s plan; all these things will be given to you as well.
But when you look at somebody’s prayer topics and you can tell if they’re still in religion. I was meeting with a pastor for a meal on Monday and I told them about my church. That pastor said, “Oh, pastor you must have prayed so much,” and I said, “You must still be in religion. It’s not that I prayed a lot, but it’s that I was praying for God’s plan, and within God’s plan and time schedule, God has just made this happen.” Even though this person had received an incredible amount of training, they are still religious.
Then does that mean I didn’t pray very much? Of course I prayed a lot, but it’s not that God is working because I prayed a lot. God gave me His covenant so I’m praying, hold to the covenant, and God is simply giving me His answers, according to His time schedule. I told this pastor, “Don’t start a church yet.” Even if I didn’t tell that pastor that, he wouldn’t be able to, so I told him to keep waiting, because if he’s not able to pray, then he’s going to pray to have church revival, imagine how exhausted he’ll get?
God gives you a mission, and you relay that mission to the members of the church. Then those members of the church will follow that mission as well, that is the church. Not anybody can come; only those who are aligned with this mission from God, that’s why every church is different. Because yes, God has the same goal, but the way He carries out all the different missions is different. Just like in America, as America is moving, there are many different people. Same thing with the church. Then, the message of that mission will be relayed, then the people who receive grace from that message will be the one to fulfill that mission. God will fulfill that through your business and through your studies. So, it’s not because I prayed a lot, but God is simply fulfilling this according to God’s plan and time schedule.
If you want to run a business, you must have a mission from God, and for young adults, when you go into a job, you must go in with God’s mission. If you don’t have God’s mission, it means you’re just going there to make money, then whose work is that for? You’re sacrificing the skills you’ve learned for the owner of your company, and you’re receiving money. So, if you do that your entire life, then ultimately you’re just working to make money, working for people, and then you die. There’s never a moment you worked for God. That’s how your life will become.
For us, yes, we work and yes we make money, but we are doing the work of the Lord. If you do the work of the lord, then it will help the owner of the company as well. If I do the work of the Lord in America, then it will be a help to America as well. Joseph was doing the work of the Lord as a slave, and it helped Potiphar’s household. That is what we must do in life. God is with us and God is doing His Work through us. But if that doesn’t take place, then that is truly slavery. To make money for people? Then, what are you going to do with that money? You just eat, wear clothes, and sleep, and when you die, none of that remains. That’s a slave. But you place so much meaning into this, you smile and you cry? That is the life of a slave.
It is the work of God, the work to save people. That is the eternal work. Yes, you use your skills momentarily to make money, but all of those things should naturally follow. I went to Korea and someone said, “You’d make a great pastor. All your friends are retired but you’re not even retired; you’re still making money, aren’t you?” I said, “It’s not about retirement; don’t you eat and have to live? What I’m saying is, I’m not working to make a living, but as I’m doing the work of God, the living naturally follows. We cannot live without eating, but I’m not doing this to make a living.”
Then he said, “Oh yes, you are really a pastor,” and that’s the first thing he heard. We all make money, we all eat food; I’m not saying that’s bad, but are you doing it for that, or are you doing the work of the Lord? Do the work of the Lord. then the things you eat will follow. That’s what I mean. If you and I understand this today, then you will know what you must focus on, then God will do this. Making money is just a bonus that follows, that’s the life we have been given. If you don’t know this, then you have a heavy burden. But if you know this, Jesus Christ says His yoke is easy and his burden is light. It’s following God’s plan, and God is fulfilling it with God’s power, so it is easy and light
Prayer
Through today’s Word, I believe we must let go of our goals and plans and burdens and go into God’s plan, goal, and power. May you enjoy this blessing. Let us pray holding onto the word we have received. If there are any of you who don’t know how to pray, then the Word God has given to you today is His promise, so pray for that promise to be fulfilled in your life, and if you have no idea, then you can just ask God, “i have no idea, so just show me.” If you don’t even know that, then you can just pray, “God, fulfill the Word the pastor gave exactly in my life.”
Second prayer topic, now it is no longer a prayer for myself, but a prayer for others. But there are some people who don’t pray for others, it’s because they don’t know. When I pray for somebody else, God is actually working on me, because I’m praying for somebody else, and He knows there’s not enough time, so He works upon me as well.
Let us pray for Yakima, Seattle. Yakima is in Washington and God is fulfilling the multiethnic ministry there, and let us also pray for Sedona and Arizona because God is fulfilling His Word there as well. In May 19-20, there is the spirituality camp. And I decided today, I will go there a day in advance and go back the day it starts. I’m going there early to meet Moses in prison, and also his mother and the pastor and wife there who are doing ministry. Let us pray together.
Our third prayer topic will be in the third week of June, we usually go into the Navajo mission camp there, but this year, many churches will gather in a conference where they give the Word, and we will go join there. If anyone wants to join, let me know. I heard that a roundtrip ticket to Phoenix is only $150. If we take a train it takes about $150, and there’s no need for us to take a train. If we take a plane, there’s a shuttle bus, so I think that’s an option.
I wonder, maybe this year’s Navajo missions camp is one that spreads because they never used to have this conference in June, but it happened all of a sudden, so that’s something done by God. Our nature is so fearsome, when I first heard that, my first reaction was, “We’re not going this year,” but as I prayed, God gave me another thought. It’s true, we must not live according to our thoughts and nature; if you pray, God gives you thoughts. “This is God’s time schedule to spread this movement,” I hope you will pray for this. If you pray, you will receive answers quickly. Navajo Missions Camp.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Karen camp, I’d like to go but we don’t know how it is going to play out, and I’d like to go to Yakima as well. There’s also a pastor with me who was commissioned out to Peru. He’s going to stay there for a year and set up his base in Ecuador. Because he cannot do this alone, we will do this ministry with him. I’ll continue to give you prayer topics for that, and let’s pray for the Kingdom of God to be established in the dozen countries in South America. Senior Deaconess Song went to middle school and high school there; the wife studied Spanish and translates for headquarters. Their ministry is not loud or boastful, it is quiet so I am letting them be still. If we blabber a lot, others will attach themselves on, so know this is happening and pray for South America.
Especially this year, pray for El Salvador. I am planning on taking the disciple from El Salvador to World MIssions Convention next year. When I was foruming about the works in South America, there was another missionary who called me, “We want to give missions offering to South America,” but I said, we’re not giving money there. Let us pray for South America, Ecuador, Peru, and El Salvador.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the heads of the people of God, the remnants, and the multiethnic people who desire to hold onto the absolute covenant of God which is world evangelization to receive answers in the church and in the field, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.