River Out of Adam

River Out of Adam

Joshua 3:3 to 4:17

Nothing in the word is written down by accident. Every word has a purpose.

Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

New testament is in the old testament concealed, and the old testament is in the new testament revealed. (Example Lamb of the old testament type of Christ.)

Joshua 3:3- 5, and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Joshua 3:11-17, Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”

So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

I. Let Nothing Stand in the Way

• Something blocked the way of Israel. They cannot cross over to the promised land.

A.The old man stands in the way of spiritual maturity

• The river flowed from Adam – a picture of the old man.
• The river flowed into the Dead Sea – there is no life there in the dead sea. Dead works flow out of Adam, the old man.
• Our best works just leads to death without Christ.

II. But I am saved!

• Nation of Israel was already saved. (Passover)
• Baptized into Moses (1Cor10:2)
• Yet something that flowed out of Adam restricted and kept them out of the promised land.

A.What keep us out of a life of victory and maturity?

• Unbelief – Old generation that did not believe had to die out. Unbelief in the work of Christ disqualifies you .
• Fear – enemy instilled fear in them. Fear paralyzes you.

B.The old way of the law does not work

• Someone new had to come after Moses to take the nation into the promised land = Joshua
• The law and keeping the law cannot break the cycle of our old nature. (Our own willpower and trying to do it ourselves.)
• Joshua is a type of Jesus Christ.
• The presence of God stopped carried by the Levites stopped the flow of the river at Adam.
• The presence of Jesus in us stops the flow of our old nature when we take a step of faith and move with Him into the river.

C.What part do we play in overcoming?

• Having faith in the finished work of Christ. Heb. 12:2
• His perfect love drives away all fear. 1 Joh 4:18 Knowing that God knows us intimately with all our faults, and still loves us deeply gives us security and banishes fear.

D.Your story becomes your testimony, but does not define who you are now

Joshua 4: 1, Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’ ” So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

• Stones from the river – Sign of our old nature. It is a monument of our past.
• River closed behind them. They could not go back again.
• We need to press forward – Phil 3:14

What is there in your life that you are struggling with?

• Sin?
• Addiction?
• Past Failures?
• Bad habits?
• Insecurity?
• Condemnation?