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PRIORITIZED SANCTIFICATION FOR PERPETUAL WONDERS OF PENETRATION

United In THE WORD: 'STAND STILL & CONSIDER' the WONDERFUL WORKS of GODText: Joshua 3:1-4:24.

Joshua was raised up so that He would penetrate the land of promise that the Almighty God had given to the children of Israel. For that penetration to happen, they had to prioritise the mind of God, the will of God, and the commission of God so that He would work with them. “And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5).

1.     PREPARATION THROUGH SANCTIFICATION FOR A MAGNIFYING MIRACLE

Joshua 3:1-7.

 

“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.” (Joshua 3:1). The children of Israel were to prepare for a miracle that would magnify the Lord before the children of Israel, magnify the minister before the members, and magnify the nation of Israel before the Gentiles by doing what the Lord delights in and desires—sanctification.

 

(i) Early Service Without Waiting in Procrastination Joshua 3:1; Genesis 22:1-3; Psalm 119:60; Galatians 1:15-16. “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.” (Joshua 3:1). If you are going to do something for the Lord, commit yourself to a rewardable service, or go in the path of duty and do what the Lord has asked to be done, you must do it early. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.” (Genesis 22:1-3). Both Joshua and Abraham responded to God’s instruction early because of their faith. It takes faith to sacrifice, to surrender, and to submit yourself and everything you have to God. The people who do not sacrifice essential, important, loved things in their hearts do so because of their unbelief. Unbelief will retreat, delay, and procrastinate hoping that God would change His mind about His demands. If we really have faith in God and depend on Him, that faith makes us turn around, reconcile with God, make restitution, and do whatever God wants us to do. (ii) Extraordinary Sacred Symbol of His Wonder-Working Priesthood Joshua 3:2-4, 6; 1 Samuel 5:1-6; Joshua 3:15-17; 4:17-18. “And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; 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. 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.” (Joshua 3:2-4). As God commanded that there should be a distance between the priests and the children of Israel, we must also create a distance between ministers and the members to avoid familiarity that breeds contempt. The distance may not necessarily be a physical distance, but it could be a spiritual distance, moral distance, distance in intimacy, and distance in familiarity so that there will be respect and honour, and you will be able to see the way they are leading you to follow.

 

(iii) Entire Sanctification Before the Wonder of Penetration Joshua 3:5, 7. There are two parts to sanctification. Human Sanctification: Joshua 3:5; Leviticus 20:7; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Timothy 2:21-22; 1 Peter 1:22; Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 3:3. “And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5). Sanctification is not just for the ministers but for everyone who is saved. There is the human part of sanctification. “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 20:7). “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:21). If you don’t have personal sanctification, you are not fit for the good works God wants you to have. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:” (1 Peter 1:22). The human part of sanctification requires that you purify your soul for you to be made ready, prepared, suitable and fit for the work of the kingdom that the Holy God has ordained. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” (Hebrews 12:14). “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3). The role we play in sanctification is to consecrate ourselves, set ourselves apart, purify ourselves and take away whatever will not make us fit for the work God has called us to do. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1). This is our duty and responsibility in the sanctification that God eventually confirms and affirms in our lives. The human part makes us ready and prepares us to have God’s part in the sanctification. The human part alone is not sufficient; the real experience of sanctification comes when God Himself replaces the stony heart with the heart of flesh. God’s Sanctification: Leviticus 20:8; Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Acts 15:8-9; Hebrews 10:14-17; 13:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24. “And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” (Leviticus 20:8). “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6). After you have sanctified yourself, God then sanctifies you and you experience instantaneous sanctification; you do not grow into sanctification experience. “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:25-26). “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9). For anyone who comes into the church of the living God by the new birth and reconciliation with God through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, God purifies their hearts by faith after their salvation experience. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:14-17). Christ offered Himself for our salvation and sanctification, and it is the sanctification experience that gives us purity of heart and holiness of heart without anything the devil can lay claim to in our lives. At the point of sanctification, God puts His laws and demands on our hearts and writes them in our minds. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (Hebrews 13:12-14). The God-side of sanctification is what only God can do for us after we have done our part of setting ourselves apart, surrendering to God, and submitting to His will. If our goal, desire, and spiritual ambition is to be in heaven and have our habitation in heaven, we need the experience of sanctification and heart holiness that God Himself will perform in us. “Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22-24). If we want God to sanctify us, we must abstain from all appearances of evil, thereby opening the gate for God to do His part. When you sanctify yourself or cleanse yourself from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, you are not yet entirely sanctified; it is when the sanctification of God comes in that you become entirely sanctified. Christ is coming for holy, consecrated, and devoted people who love the Lord with all their mind, soul, and strength, love their neighbours as themselves, and love the believers as He has loved us; this is why we must offer ourselves unto God for Him to sanctify us, spirit, soul, and body. The faithful God who has promised this will do it in Jesus Name.

 

2.     PASSING OVER JORDAN THROUGH THE SUPERNATURAL AND MEMORABLE MANIFESTATION

 

  • The Priest’s Assignment, Obligation and Faithfulness Joshua 3:8-13; 1 Samuel 2:35; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Revelation 17:14. “And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” (Joshua 3:8-13). Pride, boasting, and bragging are cut off from the life of the sanctified because we become holy and humble. We will desire to point people’s attention to God, and we do not want to compete with God because He will not share His glory with any man. God is called ‘the God of all the earth’ because the Old Testament prophets and leaders understood that God is not only for Israel but He started with Israel to make them His witness to the rest of the world; He had all the Gentile nations at heart for them to hear and believe. The priests were faithful in that they listened to the word of God through Joshua and did as they were commanded. A miracle always happens when there is the obedience of faith and faithfulness. God expects us as ministers to manifest our faith with faithfulness. You cannot have faithfulness without faith; if you are unfaithful, it is because you are unbelieving. Faithfulness begins with faith. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2). The people who will be with the Lord at last will be characterised by faith and faithfulness. “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14).

 

  • The People’s Acts of Obedience in Faith Joshua 3:9, 14-16; Hebrews 11:29; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:20. When the Lord calls us to do something we have never tried or done before, it will demand faith from us. “And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.” (Joshua 3:9, 14-16). We must start with the word of God because faith comes from hearing the word, and faithfulness will come from faith. The children of Israel expected and experienced the miracle of the parting of the River Jordan because they had faith and faithfulness. “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.” (Hebrews 11:29). Today, as we walk by faith, follow by faith, and do what the Lord wants to be done by faith, we will have the breakthrough and possess the land that God has given us. “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Walking by sight means walking in unbelief because we depend on the members of the flesh, but we walk by faith when we look away from what we can see, and look unto the Lord that we cannot see, and depend on His word alone. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). Until the self is crucified, we will be living a struggling Christian life.

 

 

  • The Prevailing Almightiness of Omnipotence in Focus Joshua 3:10-13, 15-17; Psalm 78:13; Luke 1:37; Ephesians 3:20-21. What makes us go through any challenge we have in life is our focus on the almightiness of God. “And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” (Joshua 3:10, 15-17). When we pass over with faith and faithfulness, we must remember that we are passing over for duty, for obedience, to do what the Lord has called us to do, and for renewed service. We must cross over while others are crossing over so that we will not be stranded.

 

3.      PRESERVATION WITH SET STONES FOR A MEANINGFUL MEMORIAL

 

(i) The Incredible Miracle of His Might for All Time Preservation Joshua 4:1-9; Exodus

13:14; John 20:30-31; 2 Peter 1:16-21. The miracle of God parting the River Jordan and all the miracles that Christ did during His earthly ministry are miracles to be preserved until the end of the age. The altar that was erected after the miracle of dividing River Jordan was not for prayer but to serve as a memorial for their children and the coming generations of what God did for them. “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:30-31). The preservation of the miracles of Christ for us is so that those who read it might believe that He is the Son of God.

 

  • The Immovable Ministers with Mastery in Perseverance Joshua 4:10-19; Psalm 46:5, 7, 10-11; 112:6-8; 1 Corinthians 15:58. The priests remained at their duty post of carrying the ark without complaining. Whatever duty, ministry, or assignment that God has called us to, even if we have not done it before, He gives us the strength, power, fortitude, energy, ability, and grace for us to stay there and complete the work until it is done. “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalms 46:5, 7, 10-11). The priests remained where they were, and their obedience brought the miracle. “Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalms 112:68). The committed, consecrated, and sanctified person will not be moved by the winds that blow and the events that happen around them. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

 

  • Instructive Memorial with Message for All People Joshua 4:20-24; Psalm 78:3-8; 1 Kings 8:60; Romans 15:4. The priests did what the Lord told them to do and built an altar with the stones as they were commanded; this was a testimony of God’s faithfulness that He has done what He said He would do. “That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.” (1 Kings 8:60). When you know that the results of your action, of your obedience, and of your compliance with the instruction you have been given will be the conversion of many to the Lord, it will not be difficult for you to endure the temporary pain of obedience and faithfulness unto God. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). If we do not obey the Lord, become faithful to Him, and forget ourselves, our comfort, convenience, and our preferences, and do what God wants us to do in our generation, there will be nothing written for the coming generations. What you do today that is going to be written for the coming generation is what will bring hope, faith, salvation, conversion, and entrance into the kingdom for those who are coming after us. What will be written concerning you? What will be written about your faith, faithfulness, fruitfulness, obedience, determination, consecration, personal, human sanctification, and the divine sanctification experience upon your life? Maybe scanty things have been written about your life in the past, you can change that now and let God get busy with writing your record for the encouragement of the coming generation.

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