Sermon

Click here to print this sermon.

October 24, 2004
Building Together Sunday
Joshua 3:1-6, 15-17
Pastor Robert Raasch

God's People Step Forward in Faith

Well, this is it. You might call it the Moment of Truth. After months of preparation, after weeks of intensive prayer and searching of our hearts, after listening to the direction that God offers in his Word, after reflecting on the grace God has shown to each of us in Christ, today we arrive at Building Together Sunday. I expect that this day brings with it a wide variety of different emotions. On the one hand, there's excitement as we think about being a part of something big, as we think about the opportunities that God has given us to us to bring the gospel to more people, to touch more lives with the message of a Savior from sin. But along with that excitement, there is maybe a bit of apprehension, even anxiety as we think about the financial impact that Building Together may have on our congregation and more specifically, on our personal lives. I mean, later in this service we're all going to be asked to write down a dollar amount on a blue and white card. If that number truly represents a sacrificial gift, then we may well be wondering, "God, how is this going to work? Should I really be doing this? Can I trust that you're leading me in this matter?

My friends, you realize, don't you, that you and I are not the first group of believers who ever faced such a pivotal point in their lives. Over 3400 years ago, another congregation of believers stood at a very similar place. The congregation was the Children of Israel. The place was the bank of the Jordan River. Just like us, each one of them faced a critical decision. Would they stay where they were? Or would they step forward-and maybe more importantly, why? Today let's draw a number of parallels between their situation and ours as we consider this theme:

God's People Step Forward in Faith

In fact, for our meditation today let's break that statement down into three parts: God's People…Step Forward…In Faith. First, God's People. That phrase, in and of itself, represents an amazing statement, doesn't it? To think that these people, spoken of here in our text, the descendents of Patriarch Jacob, were still God's people-in spite how they treated God throughout their history.

I mean, think about it. After God miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt, how do the people respond? They complained, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" (Num. 21:5). Talk about ingratitude! And while God was handing down the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai, what were the people doing? They're dancing around a golden calf. They're handing over their hearts to a god made of gold. And when Joshua and Caleb reported that the land of Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey and that God was going to give that land into the hands of Israel, how did the people react? They doubted! They said, "We'll never be able to take the land. We'd be better off dead!"

Man, you think about all that rebellion, and ingratitude and backsliding and yet here they are in Joshua, chapter 3, standing on the banks of the Jordan River preparing to enter the Promised Land. How could that be?!? The answer: because God is a merciful God. Because God promised that a Savior would come from this nation, God preserved them as his own. Purely by grace, these people were still God's people.

My friends, can you at all relate to these people? Have you ever treated God like they did? Grumbling about your lot in life. Complaining about the food and the accommodations. Ever bowed down to an idol of silver or gold, or maybe I should say, an idol of green and gold? Ever allowed something in your life to become more important to you than God and his commands? Or maybe when we were faced with a major challenge in life, we said, "God, I don't know if I can trust you. I just can't believe you'll make this work." We doubted God.

And yet, in spite of all that, in spite of the times that we've complained about God or offended him or shook our fist at him, what has he done? He's forgiven us. Instead of destroying us, or disowning us, he's had his Son die for the sins of us and all mankind. And yet, God has done even more that that. At a specific point in your life, God stepped into your heart and made it his own. Maybe it happened at a baptismal font. Maybe it happened when you heard and understood that in Christ God loves you, no strings attached. Somewhere along the line, God made you a member of his family. In fact, that's why you're here, isn't it?. You're here because you know you're going to heaven. You're here because, purely by God's grace, you are one of God's people.

But now, the question is: So what? So what do God's People do? The answer to that question is found in the second part of today's theme. And that is, God's People…II. Step Forward.

Certainly, that's what God asked the Children of Israel to do here in our text, right? After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, after 40 years of being tested and trained and prepared by God, they now stood on the banks of the Jordan River. On the other side lay the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants, a land where God's people could grow and prosper. All that stood between them and the Promised Land was a river. But this was not just any river. It was the Jordan River, and as Joshua tells us, it was the Jordan River at flood stage.

Can you picture the scene? This whole generation of Israelites had spent their entire lives in the hot, waterless environment of the Sinai Peninsula. And now suddenly they're face to face with this raging river, overflowing its banks. And God says to cross it?!? Don't you think that there would be some of those Israelites who would be thinking to themselves, "Wait a minute. I'm not crossing that river. I think I'll stay right here. I'm not sure I want to step forward."

Tell me, are there times when you and I are confronted by the very same feeling? We see a challenge in front of us and we think to ourselves, "Man, I'm not sure I'm up to that challenge. I don't know if I want to go there. I don't know if I want to do that. I think I'll stay right here." Just like those Old Testament believers, we too are tempted to stand right where we are and do nothing. But Christian, remember the words of St. James, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17). God did not call us to simply mark time, or just march in place. He says, "Go, make disciples of all nations." "Go, feed my lambs." "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Luther says that faith is always a living and active thing. It is not content to be stagnant. It is moving forward, guided by God's love, compelled by a love for lost souls.

My friends, don't you and I stand today where those Children of Israel once stood? In a sense, we stand on the verge of the Jordan. In our Building Together campaign, we have just been through a period of preparation. We've come to God in prayer, seeking his will for our lives. We've asked ourselves, "What is my purpose in life? Why has God put me here? What does he want to do through me to carry out his will to win the lost and nurture the saved? The time of planning is over. Now is the time for action. Any hunter can tell you that you can watch and wait, you can plan and prepare, you can get ready and aim, but sooner or later you have to pull the trigger. How does the sequence go? Ready, Aim…you can't stop with Ready, Aim. The final step is: Fire. Today is that day. Today is the day for God's People to Step Forward.

Now, let's not fool ourselves. The step we are about to take will not be easy for any of us, because we all have an Old Adam. And our Old Adam desperately wants us to trust in ourselves. It wants to believe that we are in control. But trusting in ourselves is a recipe for failure. No, the only way we're going to get the job done is by putting our trust in God. Really, that's the third and most important point in today's theme, namely: God's People Step Forward…III. In Faith.

I mean, think about it. When God told the Children of Israel to cross the Jordan River, did he expect them to get across by their own efforts? Did he expect them to all become Olympic swimmers? "Get out there and start paddling!" No, he said, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it." And then God says, "as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD--the Lord of all the earth--set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap." (Josh. 3:3, 13). What is God saying there? In effect, he's saying, "Children of Israel, trust me to do what you think is impossible." Put your lives in my hands and I'll protect you from harm. Step forward in faith."

My friends, in a sense, isn't that what God is asking you and me to do today: to put our lives in his hands? To trust that he will make ends meet. To trust that he has a plan for our lives? But not only trust that he will take care of us when we put him and his kingdom first. But also trust that he has put us in this place at this time for a very special purpose.

Do you remember the story of Queen Esther? Esther was a Jewish girl who was married to Xerxes, King of Persia. Without really realizing what he had done, King Xerxes issued a decree that on one day, all the Jewish men, women and children in the land would be killed. When Esther's cousin Mordecai heard about this, he came to the Queen and begged, "Esther, you have to go to the King and plead for the lives of your people. For if you don't, they will all die, and probably so will you." But Esther replied, "But you don't understand. If I enter the king's presence without his permission, the law of the Medes and Persians demands that I be immediately executed." Mordacai's answer: "Esther, who knows but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this?"

For such a time as this. My friends, today is just such a time for you and me. First, it's a time for prayer. It's a time to pray, "Lord, guide me. Use me. Stretch me in a way that I didn't think I could be stretched before. And strengthen my resolve to do your will." Secondly, it's a time for sacrifice. "Lord, lead me to appreciate the ultimate sacrifice you made for me on a cross, so that I in turn can respond with a sacrifice of my own. Help me see what I can give up for you, in response to all you gave up for me." But most importantly this is a time for faith. It's a time to say, "God, I'm not sure how all this is going to work, but I'm going to trust you on it. I'm going to take you at your word. I'm going to put my life in your hands. Lord, allow me to take a step of faith."

My friends, today we've looked back 3400 years and seen a group of people gathered on the banks of the Jordan. They faced a major challenge. And yet, in response to God's grace and trusting in his promises, we can say in their case, we can say that God's people stepped forward in faith. It is my prayer that some day, people will look back on this congregation of believers, gathered in this place, and say the very same thing: On this day, God's People…Stepped Forward…in Faith. To God be the glory. Amen.