MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Toe-Dipping Faith: How God Makes Miracles from Tiny Steps | Pastor Will Hawk | August 25th, 2025
What rivers of impossibility are you facing right now? The story of Joshua leading Israel across the Jordan offers a surprising message of hope for anyone feeling overwhelmed by life's challenges.
This powerful exploration of Joshua 3 reveals that beneath the dramatic miracle of waters parting lies something even more remarkable - the unseen currents of God's faithfulness flowing through history. Like children playing with beach toys, we often focus on what's happening above the surface while missing the stronger forces moving underneath.
God deliberately chose flood season - the worst possible time - for Israel to cross the Jordan. Why? Because our moments of greatest difficulty often become the stage for God's most dramatic displays of power. When waters rise around you, it might not be evidence of God's absence but the setup for His most magnificent work.
The beauty of this story lies in how little faith was required. The priests carrying the ark weren't asked to wade into deep waters on blind faith - they simply needed to put their toes at the water's edge. That small act of obedience triggered God's supernatural response, stopping the river's flow for fifteen miles upstream and creating not just a narrow path but a wide highway of dry ground.
This pattern reaches its fulfillment 1,400 years later when Jesus would be baptized in this same stretch of the Jordan River. The God who parted waters for His people would ultimately send His Son to pass through the waters of judgment, creating a path for us all.
Whatever flood-stage challenge you're facing, God isn't asking for heroic faith - just enough trust to put your toe in the water. Take that small step today and discover the solid ground that comes from following the One who goes before you.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
While you guys are settling in Landry, will let you know where we're going to be reading from as we continue our time in the book of Joshua. If you hadn't had a chance to grab a journal, we've got a few of them floating around for you to grab at your leisure Landry. Where are we going to be?
Speaker 2:We're going to be in Joshua 3, 5 through 11 today.
Speaker 1:I'm acting like I don't know.
Speaker 2:Which is page 179 in the Pew Bibles.
Speaker 1:I feel, pretty confident.
Speaker 2:I know where we're going. So I'm going to count to 10, awkwardly while y'all turn there in my head.
Speaker 1:By the way, if you don't have a Bible, you're welcome to take one of the Pew Bibles and just make that your own as a gift from us to you. For what it's worth, it's nicer than a typical Pew Bible. For what it's worth, it's not as nice as a Bible you could probably get for $20 or $25. And so you decide.
Speaker 2:Cool.
Speaker 1:Landry has a very nice Bible.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're going to start in verse five, sorry. Okay, verse 5. And Joshua said to the people of Israel Come here and listen to the words of the Lord, your God. And Joshua said here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will. He will, without fail, drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord and all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. This is the word of the Lord. Hey, killer job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you practice? Way to go? Yeah, way to go, way to go, all right. One of the things I want you to notice before we go any further in the text is when God says okay, today you are going to know that as I was with Moses, so I am going to be with you. So there's going to be this sort of obvious passing of the torch from Moses to Joshua, and I want to show you in a unique way how this is going to happen. You'll see it. I think guys maybe is it me or is it you there we go All right.
Speaker 1:In verse 15, there's this, in fact, most of you in your Bibles. If you want to look in verse 15, chapter three, you'll probably see a parentheses there. There are two parentheses in our passage. One of them is physically a parentheses and it's this in verse 15. Now, the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of the harvest. It just sits right in the middle of our passage. What I want you to begin to wrestle with and ask the question is this why would God choose for his people to cross a river, going into the land that he has called them to, at the worst possible time in the flow cycle of the river, of the God who knows all things.
Speaker 1:Whenever I go to the beach, especially with my nieces and my nephews, our family has so many beach toys. It's ridiculous, something about having a number of kids all squeezed. Right now we're at 16, 14, 12, and 10. And so this summer we were aging out of our beach toys. My kids aren't playing with shovels anymore and little pails and little toys. They want to catch fish and they, you know, want to skimboard and do things like that. So I packed every beach toy we have ever had from our basement into the car when we drove down to the beach and on like day three, I pulled every single one of them out to the beach and one of three things was going to happen it was going to show, to be broken, no longer needed, useful or desired, and it was going to go into the garbage can or some other neighboring little kid was going to wander by and they were just going to have the greatest day ever as they got all of this stuff. It was going to get used and I knew I needed to keep it, or maybe that was just it. I thought there were three oh, oh, or we realized it would work if we had a piece, and then I got on Amazon and I ordered the piece, so like we finally had a much more small, like little kit of our summer stuff.
Speaker 1:One of my niece and nephew's favorite toys is this little surfer guy. And this little surfer guy sits on a floating board and you just chuck the thing into the waves. He always pops upright, he always rides a wave in, and then they joyfully run down the beach, pick it up and throw it back in. All right, let me tell you what. I'm telling you this To them, all of the power and all of the excitement is on top of the water. They're trying to throw this guy right into the curl of a wave. They want to throw it as far as they can, to the biggest wave that they can, so that they see this little guy get the longest ride that he can. But if they go to pick it up too early, here's what happens they run out to get it and the unseen force underneath them, which is actually much stronger that current underneath, sucks them off their feet, and then what was a wonderful time becomes a very difficult time.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you why. I want you to think about that and why I want you to think about this. Here's what you're going to be prone to see in reading Joshua 3. You're going to be prone to see a guy named Joshua holding on to the reins as he leads people through the Jordan River. You're going to be prone to see these priests holding onto an ark which is incredibly valuable, like one time it almost fell. Some guy touched it and he was struck dead. So we're talking about valuable, not only because it's gold, but because it represents the presence of God. You're going to watch these priests hold onto something valuable and you're gonna watch all of God's people hold their breath as they are called to walk through this river at the worst time possible. And if that is all that there was in Joshua chapter three, it would be good and it would be great and it would be God exalting. But there's something going on underneath that is bigger and wider and stronger and far more powerful, and I don't want a single one of us to miss it today. So I want you to begin watching for these deep underwater currents, and I'm going to point them out for you as well.
Speaker 1:Now, landry started in verse five, so let me show you what happened to get us there in chapter three. Then Joshua rose early in the morning. They set out this would be on the third day. He gave everybody a heads up and they set out from Shittim and they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and they lodged there before they passed over. You'll notice I put that in bold At the end of three days the officers went through the camp, commanded the people Soon, as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord, your God, being carried by the Levitical priests. You shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2000 cubits in length. You guys know, 2000 cubits. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before.
Speaker 1:You're going to have to pay attention on the screen for just a minute here. This word passed over. I want you to realize this is one of the undercurrents that would be easy to miss if you're just watching what's happening on the surface. This term Passover appears in chapter three six times. You're going to read this phrase. It's the exact same word in the Exodus account as when the angel of death passed over God's people who had placed their trust in him by putting blood over the doorpost. If you want to see it, this is what it would look like. I've got it highlighted in blue for you. It starts with a Passover, then another Passover. Got it highlighted in blue for you. It starts with a Passover, then another Passover, passover, passover, passover.
Speaker 1:One of the things that would be very easy to miss in Joshua chapter three is this oh, okay, it's time to move from Moses to Joshua. Let's see what's new. That's not actually what's happening. What's happening is God saying it doesn't matter if it's Moses, it doesn't matter if it's Joshua, it doesn't matter if it's Gideon. There is this bigger, deeper, stronger, unrelenting pulling force coursing through the river of life. In the story that I've written, I have made these promises. I made promises to my people in slavery that death would pass over, and now they are going to pass Passover as my promises pull them forward.
Speaker 1:One of the fantastic things about Joshua chapter 3 is the way the story plays out. Let me show you what I mean by this. In Moses, we have a Passover of blood over a door I want you to watch the balance of this, and Moses walks through water running from death. But when we get to Joshua, he walks through water first, going toward life, where there is a window and a red thread dangling from it. Do you see the balance here? We have red over a door as they flee death. We have red hanging from a window because Rahab put the cord out as they run toward life. They walk through the water hoping not to die. They walk through the water hoping to find newness in life, and in the middle of these things is something that God's people would not be able to see for 1400 years. You'll be able to see it in about 14 minutes, depending on if I cut or not. This little middle area is one of the courses, one of these currents that I don't want you to miss, and this would be another.
Speaker 1:We move as God's people. We are not called to be ecstatic people. That doesn't mean you can't die in the city that you were born in, but what it does mean is you better be moving while you're there. It doesn't mean that your address has to change, but it does mean that you need to recognize that you are a small part of a great story, that you may be an American, and that is a wonderful thing, with all kinds of rights and privileges. But if you're a Christian, you are more God's son than you are anything else. It is eternal, it is unchanging. And so, as we move, what we wanna realize one of these hidden currents is we move, but we are never the first one to move.
Speaker 1:I jokingly mentioned the 2,000 cubits in length. Does anybody want to guess how long that is? I'm only giving you five seconds. Okay, somebody got real specific and has been Googling. That's probably more specific than what I'm going to tell you, which is about half a mile. If you don't know what half a mile is, it's going to be a little harder to help you. Half a mile in Columbus is when you see the exit you're getting off on. Okay, generally speaking, that's about what half a mile is. If you're going 60 miles an hour, count to 30. That's what half a mile would be.
Speaker 1:This is pretty fascinating, usually when God says don't come near me. Why is he saying it? He doesn't want them to be killed. His holiness is great, their sin is great. These two things do not come together. In fact, the only time holiness and sin come together is right here, in a way that gives us any hope at all, as Christ takes the sin of his people, being holy himself, drawing them near to a holy God. Why would God tell them to stay back about half a mile? You would think in the reading. It's because he's holy and they're not. That's not actually what the text says. What the text says is I don't want you to come near it in order that you may know the way you should go.
Speaker 1:You ever been walking through an airport trying to find your gate with a group of 15? Because I have, and I can tell you what happens if people walk in horizontal lines. Here's what happens You're looking for terminal B17 and B1 through 16, or to the left, b17 through 24, to the right, and the dude who's paying attention if you're in like this horizontal line, sees it and turns and the moms or the teenage girls or the guys who were looking down playing brawl stars or whatever, they just keep on going. They have no clue and off goes. The group get to the gate and now we're trying to make phone calls to figure out where this lost person is. God has given them enough distance so that they can see where he is. He's not so far away that they would lose hope, but he is not so near that they're almost blown away by it.
Speaker 1:And one of the things that's beautiful about this is, I feel like this is such a kindness to God's people. Hey, you're going somewhere you've never been. Can you let me take the first few steps for you? This is God saying I'm never going to lead you somewhere I've never been. If I'm going to ask you to walk through the waters of death, I'm going to walk through the waters of death first. If I'm going to ask you to live a life that is righteous and holy, I'm going to do it for you first, and I'm going to show you what it ought to look like. And you're going somewhere you have never been before.
Speaker 1:I think our lives would be more whole. I think we would find life more satisfying and free if we would embrace this simple truth Christians in the room, you're called to follow. I know that we want to be impressive. I know that as Americans, we are independent, we are pioneers, we are called to follow, and it is a really good thing that God doesn't get 10 miles out. Some of us would love to know what's going to happen 10 exits in our life from now. But God knows it's good for us not to know that. It's also really kind that God gives us enough distance so that we can get to the place and say okay, god, I know what I would do, but I don't want to do what I would do. I want to do what you would do. This is us trusting that God is in control, that we can follow him. We do not need to see miles ahead just enough to be able to follow him, and I think this would change your homes. I think it would change your jobs, your relationships. I think it would change our church if we saw this reality as a joyful thing. Okay, god, so work is going to be different than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was in this job for 10 miles. It looks like we're about to turn in half. All right, well, where do you want me to go, lord? What do you want me to do when it comes to my marriage or getting married or any one of a million different things? When it comes to school or team or dorm or sorority or anything like this, all of these beautiful little things that we get to pray for every week when you fill them out on the prayer cards. It is God telling his people me. Being half a step ahead is exactly where you want for me to be.
Speaker 1:There's this really beautiful quote from David Dixon. He was a pastor in the 15 and 1600s. Fair warning, I know that fall has just begun. I'm going to read a little old English to you. So click in your thinking brain for the moment. How weak soever the believer finds himself and how powerful soever he perceives his enemy to be, is all one to him. Let me interpret perceives his enemy to be is all one to him. Let me interpret when you feel strong and the enemy seems weak, or when you feel weak and the enemy seems strong, it's all the same thing. It's all the same thing because it's never about your strength or the strength of the enemy. It is about the strength of the one that we follow. He, the Christian, hath no more to do but to put faith on works and wait until God works. It is our job to be faithful. It is our job you're going to see this to consecrate ourselves. It was one of the very first things that Landry read. Our job is not to fret. Our job is not to fear. Our job is to follow and to say God, if you call me to turn sooner than I expected or to go longer than I desired, it's all the same to me so long as you're the one in front, and that is what God wants his people to see.
Speaker 1:Second deep current that is flowing through this has to do with what we see in verse five. Christians do get ready, but we get ready differently than the world does. Joshua said to the people consecrate yourselves for tomorrow. The Lord will do wonders among you. And Joshua said to the priest take up the ark of the covenant, pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and they went before the people, as God's presence is going before them. He does give them this thing to do. I want you to notice what he doesn't give them to do. He doesn't say.
Speaker 1:Joshua said to the people I need the wisest among you to come and strategize with me. We're going into a land we don't know, against an enemy that is more numerous than us. I need a really good planning committee. You're not going to see that. What you don't see, that you would expect would be, joshua say I want all the military age men up. I want them doing pushups and I want them at PT. I want the guys with the biggest shields and the biggest arms and the sharpest spears and the best swords. I want them ready to go, but we don't actually see any of that. There's no strategy, there's no planning. Here is what they do. Hey, god is about to do something incredible in front of us. Let's be ready. Their work, the work of the Christian, is not to be impressive. Christ is impressive enough. Let them see Jesus. They don't need to see you.
Speaker 1:The work of the Christian is to follow and say Lord, how can I most be ready to receive? I'll tell you what I love about this. So often when I meet with people and, by the way, we're at a really neat season I think sometimes this is good to share with you. Just a little behind the curtain from the pastor in the meetings he's been having over the past two months. Typically, the meetings that I have with people are heavy. Typically, the meetings I have with people are life is falling apart, health is an issue, relationships are a problem, I don't know how money's going to work. That is all normal, typical pastor stuff. Can I tell you what's been really neat.
Speaker 1:Over the past four weeks, I've met with more people than is normal who are just saying this Will? I just feel like the Lord wants me to follow him faithfully and I'm not exactly sure how to do that. In the next season, beautiful, I will have coffee with you for eight hours over stuff like that. It's just people who are like I don't feel like I'm sinning in any profound way. Don't get me wrong. I'm sinful. I still need the blood of Christ to cover me, but I'm just in this season where I want to grow. I want to know Christ in a deeper way. I want to serve the people around me. I want to live a life that leaves a mark and a legacy for my children or the people around me. I've been walking through this suffering for so long and I finally got to the point where I'm like well, maybe it'll just be suffering, but it doesn't mean I can't have joy. That doesn't mean I can't love the Lord. And when I look at this this whole idea of consecrate yourselves one of the deep currents that runs under this is that this is not a change. This is God saying hey, I want you to make yourself holy, not so that you can convince me to do something, but because I don't want you to miss out on anything I'm doing. This is the positive version of holiness that we often look at in the negative way. This let me put an illustration I think many of you will appreciate.
Speaker 1:I wake up in the morning every morning and I look at my calendar and I see what's coming and, based on what's coming, I decide buttons or no buttons. And okay, all right, I'm with my people, if I might be a little bit grosser, depending on the day. Let's say it's not a work day and I'm going to meet Casey at the gym later. I wake up and I decide shower or no shower, and I'll tell you why. What I don't want to do is take a shower, walk outside in 180 billion degrees where it's humid as all get out. I just took a shower. Feels like it did nothing. I work in the yard or I work on the car and then I go to the gym. I'm like why am I going to take a shower? That makes zero sense whatsoever. I'm about to walk out of the house and be gross for the next six hours. This is God saying hey, guess what? You're about to go for a walk. It's about to get really, really dusty.
Speaker 1:This would be one of the mornings where you would say, eh, shower hashtag, maybe because we're about to go for a long walk. I got to keep up with the kids. There's going to be dust everywhere. But what does God say? Here's what I'm most concerned with. It's not your strategy and it's not your strength. I want you to make yourself clean.
Speaker 1:This would have been consecrate yourselves. This would have been them physically bathing themselves, not only so that they would physically be clean, but as a sign. By the way, back then they didn't even take showers every day. So keep your judgment to yourself. Maybe it's biblical, it's really not. But whatever, I'm moving on. They would have done this as a sign of what they want. Going on, they would have hit a pause on marital intimacy. They would have focused on the goodness of God and who he is. This was them. It's more along the lines of them getting all cleaned up to run down on Christmas morning feeling fresh and new in their pajamas, because God has something beautiful to give them.
Speaker 1:That's what's happening here. It's not get holy so God will give you what you want, or get holy, because God will be angry with you. If you don't, it's get holy, because God doesn't want you to miss out on any of the great things he's about to do right in front of you. And when you think about your holiness and what that might mean, don't get me wrong. There may be some good things for you to stop. There may be some good things for you to start, but appreciate the order. They're not convincing God of anything. He's already said this promise is going to happen. He's already in the midst of doing it. He wants them to be holy so they don't miss out on him. Be holy so they don't miss out on him.
Speaker 1:The other deep current that I want you to see is that we move, but we move based on his promises and his word. If you look real closely and this screen's very small, so you're going to have to look real closely Joshua isn't even the one who starts moving. He's not the one who leads. Joshua sends the priests, he sends the presence of God first. If I'm walking into enemy territory, I'll tell you what I'm not putting in front my wife and my children. They're valuable, they're vulnerable. I'm going to put those strong dudes who have been doing their pushups every day with shields and swords and spears. That's who I'm putting in front. God's people. No, god goes in front of them. The most valuable, vulnerable thing walks through first. One of the reasons I put this screen up the way I did is because I want to show you another parentheses of thought. It's in verse 9 through 11. So I'm putting it in parentheses now You're going to notice I skip it when I read. I will come back and read it, you'll see why.
Speaker 1:Momentarily, the Lord said to Joshua today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I'll be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant. When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan. Pause on verse nine and the story picks up in 12. Now, therefore, take 12 men from the tribes of Israel, for from each man a tribe. You'll find out why later in the chapters ahead. And when the souls of the feet of the priest bearing the ark of the Lord, when the most valuable thing, walks into muddy water, the Lord thing walks into muddy water. The Lord, the Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan. The waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.
Speaker 1:Now why did I pause and put the parentheses there? That's the story. You're going to carry the ark, you're going to walk into the river, the priests are going to carry it. Once they step into the water, I'm going to do a miracle in front of you and all of a sudden, it's going to turn into dry land. Why do I put this in parentheses? Because Joshua pauses and he, he sort of quietly, speaks to the people. This isn't narrative, this is his thought.
Speaker 1:Joshua said to the people of Israel come here, listen to the words of the Lord, your God. I don't want you to miss this. You're gonna see something miraculous, but I don't want you to miss something even more miraculous. Joshua said here is how you shall know that the living God is among you, that he will, without fail, drive out from before you Landry way to goites, hittites, hivites, perizzites, girishites, amorites, jebusites. Here's how you're going to know. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you in the Jordan.
Speaker 1:This little parentheses is Joshua doing something fascinating. I want to show it to you. I know it's too small to see, so I went ahead and color-coded it. This is Joshua looking at the generation that chose to be strong and courageous. If you haven't been with us for the past couple of weeks, I can't get you all the way caught up, but what you need to know is what you're seeing.
Speaker 1:In Deuteronomy 7 was said to a generation who was supposed to come into this land, but they saw all of these ites and they got scared and they ran home and they wandered for 40 years as a result of it, until they died. But their children, who saw their lack of faith and learn from their lack of faith, they all of a sudden have a very different expression and Joshua huddles them up and he says you remember that promise that was given to your mom and your dad. You're gonna fulfill it. And by name, joshua calls out their enemies in front of the Lord. Do you know why this would matter to me If I was leading a group of people and for the next number of years we were going to be going into battles? Do you know how confirming it is that I can say hey, I remember this.
Speaker 1:Joshua pulled us to the side. We're about to go into the land of the Amorites. It's been a while since we talked, but I remember that river being ripped open. I remember walking through on solid ground and I remember it was more than just a miracle, it was a promise. It was Joshua saying God hasn't stopped keeping his promises. Will we be a holy people so that we will not miss out? This is one of the deepest currents, but the final current that I want you to see, the one that we'll explore for just a moment together, is this reality when Christians move, they never, ever move alone.
Speaker 1:Who is it that goes with us? I'm going to build, by the way, note takers. I'm going to build a little list. Okay, y'all always get upset if I go too fast and you tell me I click my slides too quickly. It is now on you. I'm letting you know and I tried to keep all my sentences so short who goes with us?
Speaker 1:A God who is sovereign over all. How sovereign this sovereign. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you, when the souls of the feet of the priest bearing the ark of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you, when the souls of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord. Which Lord, the Lord of all the earth? Ruth's confession in chapter two. I know that the Lord Yahweh, god, your God, who I don't know but I long to know. I know that the Lord of all the earth is in charge of you and he is in charge of your people. We are following a God who is sovereign over all things. Every plan, every day written, every decision of the multiverse of your life has been seen and written and cared for, and it is known and how is it known? By the Lord of all the earth. This is not some little tribal deity doing his absolute best to nudge a river to the side so his people can move. No, this is the creator of the universe, who placed stars in their spot, who told this river. This is where you will go on this day, saying not now river, back it up just a bit. When I read this, I'll tell you what it makes me think of.
Speaker 1:We were doing Bible time with our kids earlier in the week and we were reading the story of the disciples in the boat when Jesus is asleep. He's asleep and the storm kicks up and they're afraid that they're about to die. And Jesus is like getting all the Z's hitting the snooze down in the bottom of the boat. Why? Because God is sovereign over all. He's not worried about this day. He knows his day and he knows God knows his day. So Jesus pops up from the bottom, he walks up to the sea and he says hey, hush, be still. And what did the disciples do? Marvel, and Jesus looks at him. He says hey, hush, be still. And what did the disciples do? Marvel, and Jesus looks at him. He says you of little faith. I'll be honest with you. That does hit me in the feels a little bit.
Speaker 1:I'm like what did, like what are we supposed to expect? If I'm in a boat and I'm about to die, crying out to the Lord seems like the right thing to do. But here's what I would venture. The next time they hop in a boat which we know they do and the next time a storm comes up, do you think they respond a little bit differently? You better believe they, do you better believe? When the wind kicks up and the waves smack them in the face, they look at that wave and, instead of fearing, they smile. Why? Because their God is sovereign over all. If it is their day, it is their day, and if it is not, they can get pitched into the water. Maybe a fish will come and gobble them up for just a moment, but they have nothing to fear, christian. Nothing to fear nothing. The God who knows you and loves you and called you. He is sovereign over all your days. Secondly, the God who goes with us is a God who invites those, even with the littlest of faith.
Speaker 1:I really love how God did this. He could have expected big faith. He could have said all right, here's what I want. I want the priest to carry the most valuable thing. I want them to go forward in front and I want them to wade out into the middle of the river during its flood stage. That's not what he says. I mean, check this out when the souls of the feet of the priest bearing the ark, as soon as those bearing the ark come as far as the Jordan and their feet are dipped in the brink of the water.
Speaker 1:I mean this is like when you talk about, like putting your toe in the waters of faith. This is what we're talking about. These priests are like all right, let's see how it goes. Oh, my goodness, that was insane. Like that's how it plays out. Their faith is to put their toe in the water. That's what they are called to do, and as soon as they do, the water's coming down from above. Stand up and this heap of water begins to build.
Speaker 1:When you look at your life, I know that there are a number of things that God is gonna call you to be faithful in. I'm looking at your faces now and I know, because I pray with you and I talk with you, what many of your toe-in-the-water faith ought to be. Guys, this is a joy. This is the difference in feeling hesitant and feeling like God wants to display his goodness in front of you. What is it for you to put your toe in? The water of faith?
Speaker 1:Look, there are going to be seasons where God asks you to baptize yourself in faith, where you have to lay headlong into difficulty. But for many of us, this is how life plays out One toe in, and some seasons you're going to be carrying a light load. And in carrying that light load, you're going to be on solid ground and it's going to feel easy. Some seasons you're going to be carrying a heavy, valuable load. You're going to look at the marriage you're trying to shepherd, the business that you're trying to lead, the children that you're trying to point to students, or the players that you are leading. You're going to have these things underneath you that you want to lead and shepherd well, and you're going to be carrying something heavy, hopefully on solid ground. But there are going to be seasons, like this, where you feel like you are carrying something that is far too valuable for you the life that is in your hands, the decisions that lie before you. And God calls them to carry the most heavy, valuable thing they will ever have in their lives into the soggiest, most unstable water that they can imagine. And he says I need you to put your foot in before the ground gets solid. I need you to show me that you trust me.
Speaker 1:Ever so little faith, but it matters to God. The psalmist understood this in 18. Who is God but the Lord, and who is a rock except our God? Is there anything more stable than our God, the one who equipped me with strength? He made my way blameless. I couldn't make my way blameless. I couldn't be holy, I couldn't be consecrated. He did this on my behalf. He made my feet like the feet of a deer. He sent me secure on the heights.
Speaker 1:I know that a number of you are hunters. I'd be willing to bet your experience is the same as mine. I've never seen a deer twist an ankle. I don't know if that's exactly why this is in here, but I'll tell you. When I'm in a stand they seem to be awfully nimble, especially if they have figured out where I am. Never twist an ankle, never miss spot bounding around.
Speaker 1:This is who God makes his people trains our hands for war so that we can bend a bow of bronze. He has given me the shield of your salvation. What do I have to fear if I know that my eternity is covered? Your right hand, you, god, gave me a wide place for my steps. Do you realize that that is spoken over you, even when we feel like we are on a balancing beam? If we could see by faith, a wide path has been opened up for us. The Lord lives. Blessed be my rock and exalted be the God of my salvation. Carrie, is that a Sandy Patty song? Blessed be the rock and may the God of my salvation be. I do too. I think my mom used to play it by cassette tape.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Who goes with us, a God who is supernatural in power this is one of my favorite things. As soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan now, the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of the harvest, the waters coming down from above. They stood, they rose up in this massive heap. And the priest bearing the ark? They stood firmly on dry ground, firmly on dry ground. The God that we follow is supernatural. We are fortunate enough to live very near a really cool river and at about five o'clock the Chattahoochee opens up and the rivers begin to overflow their banks. And when it does, that is not the time you cross the river. Bad call. But here God waits until this massive flow begins to come. Why? Because when the waters of difficulty rise, we are prone to assume that God isn't present or God doesn't care. But God often raises the water level of our difficulty in front of us to show us that the only way we're going to make it across is with Him and with Him alone. God's greatest kindness is often hidden in your conflict, and if you're too busy trying to get out of the conflict, trying to figure out how you're going to circumvent the river or build a boat to get across this difficulty. You may never have the presence of mind to pause and say God called, allowed and brought. Maybe I should just put my foot in this thing and see if God will not make a way. Many times, the kindness of God is hidden in the conflict and that's one of the treasures of this passage that God will occasionally allow your marriage to get worse. He'll allow your job to get worse. He will allow your health to fail. He'll allow your adult children to wander. Why? Because many times, god's greatest kindness is often hidden in conflict. Watch. Here's what a Christian ought to do. A Christian ought to watch for the waters to rise and then do this. Okay, let's see how this plays out. God is sovereign, all powerful, in control. Loves me. Let's get my toe in this water and see if he will not do something absolutely amazing. The God who goes with us is a God who can actually be followed. This is my favorite, my favorite. I'm a science guy. I love this. Actually, this is my second favorite.
Speaker 1:Here is where God's people began. Here is where they are on their way. You will notice they are crossing this sea sorry, not sea this river right here, now, if you pay close attention in the text, the Bible tells you where God stores all the water that he held up. The waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away at Adam. I know it says Adam it's actually pronounced Adam the city that is beside Zarethan, which means, for those of you who remember being in the sixth grade and doing map work, if you take this little scale and you apply it to, here's Adam, here's where they cross, god carried that water 15 miles and he stuck it over there. Now here's my question why on earth would God do that? When you picture Moses walking through the Red Sea, where's the Red Sea? When they go through it, it's like right there. Have you not seen the little fishies swimming by as they go through? In every little movie that you have ever seen here, it is 15 miles away. If you're standing on flat ground in Texas, you can see 16 miles before the curvature of the earth cuts you off.
Speaker 1:What's really fascinating about this is if this water was flowing at the same rate as the Chattahoochee, which is some. I did the math on this. I say that I've just got a really good account on chat GPT Chattahoochee river right down the way. 169 million gallons of water in an hour. If you started filling up a football field, I think we all know what that is. One week away, if you start filling up a football field, then it would be 40 stories high each hour. That's how much water we're talking about. That doesn't take into account the 15 miles of water that was already sitting in the river that God scooped up.
Speaker 1:What on earth is God doing here? Is he making firm ground for his people to cross? You better believe he is. Are they walking through single file like we feel like they did in Exodus? It doesn't seem so. It seems like God grabbed that river, which he put there anyway. He rips it up 15 miles and he says here's a wide way for you to walk through. Cross it in 10 minutes if you want to. It's plenty wide. But the longer you go, the more incredible my miracle is going to become, and, and and every other nation would have been able to see this.
Speaker 1:You see, god isn't just doing this to save his people or to give hope to his people. He's doing this to declare something I am the God who created it all. Where is your faith? Who are you trusting this is a God who is bringing a far better kingdom. He's sovereign over all, invites those with little faith to put their toe in the water. He is supernatural in power and he actually can be followed, and he is a God who is bringing a far, far better kingdom. You see, when all of that water begins piling up here in Adam, every nation sees it and they realize our kingdoms cannot stand against a God like this, and I'll prove it to you. I'll prove it to you by reading their own thoughts in Joshua 5.
Speaker 1:As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted. There was no longer any spirit in them. Because of the people of Israel, god is putting on display I love you, I care about you, I am powerful, you can follow me. Little faith is enough. Would you put your toe in the water when you're carrying a heavy load and it feels like the ground underneath you is not stable? I am stable enough and the whole world is going to know who I am. Don't you want to be on the right side of it? Don't you want to navigate life with joy and expectation instead of fear and trepidation? That is who we follow, and the reason that we follow him is because this is a God. One of my slides isn't working. It's my last slide. It's my favorite slide. It's working here. It's my last slide. It's my favorite slide. It's working here. It's not working there. It's a pretty big iPad.
Speaker 1:All of these things are true because this is a God who has been telling this story all along. You're ready to be blown away. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him. He would have prevented Jesus, saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me to receive baptism. But Jesus answered him. Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
Speaker 1:We don't know exactly, but do you know where we think Jesus got baptized? Here's where we think he got baptized. In our story, they were passing from here to here. Got baptized In our story, they were passing from here to here. You'll notice Jericho is right here, dead Sea below and here's the river, all the way up to Adam. And then, when we look at Christ and his baptism, we know that he was baptized near Bethany by the Jordan, in the very same stretch of river where, 1400 years ago, god had called his people to pass through on solid ground.
Speaker 1:Do you think God wasn't thinking ahead 1400 years? Do you think God wasn't thinking ahead and saying look, I know that you may be a little bit nervous, but can I tell you, you are about to walk through this flood, you're about to walk through it, but my son will be baptized into it. You will see something that is terrifying and wide and deep and great, and I will do a miracle so that it doesn't overwhel over him. Moses walks through water on dry ground. Joshua walks through water on dry, solid ground. That is why and we ought to have known, because we have this as a sure and steadfast anger of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place, behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, jesus runs headlong into the waters of wrath and the waters end up running from him, because he is greater than death. He is greater than anything and any enemy that you will ever see why, so that those of us can see this deeper promise that has always been pulling. And we can see that, no matter what life looks like, christian, you have solid ground to stand on because you are standing on the one who went before you. You are standing on the one who took what you deserved.
Speaker 1:And if you're not trusting in Christ, do you see this offer? It's not getting clean so that God will do something. It's not needing massive faith. It's you saying I feel pretty unstable. God, would you make my feet sure? Yeah, I certainly will, if you'll put them in the right place. Let today be the day where every one of us put our toe in the water. I don't know what you need to find in Christ today, but I know that he has all of this and a million blessings more. Let today be a day where we walk through life on solid ground, faithfully, because he is in control and he loves us. If you want to receive prayer, if you want to come down and talk with a pastor, if you want to celebrate what God is doing in your life, we'll have some folks on the back porch behind me. Take a moment, think and ponder, and then the worship team will lead us from there.