You Have not Passed this Way Before

April 5, 1992 PM

Joshua 3:1-13

"When you see the ark of the covenant ... then you shall set out from your place and go after it. ... Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before. ... Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. .. By this you shall know that the living God is among you ..."

Introduction

My immediate ancestors on both sides were people who either through bravery or desperation dared to venture into absolutely new worlds. My father's father left his wife and small children in the north of England and came to this country where he worked for several years until he had the money to send for them. And my grandmother came by herself on a sailing vessel with those small children.

My mother's father and mother were both children of homesteaders' families on the northern frontier in Michigan more than 100 years ago. About three years ago a cousin of mine visited me here in Quincy— and stayed for all of about three hours. After she got back to Michigan she sent me a good copy of an old photograph taken in 1889, along with some other really old tintype-kinds of pictures of my Michigan ancestors. In that old photo are all four of my maternal great-grandparents as well as my grandfather and grandmother Purchis when they were still teenagers. There they are, dressed in their best clothes and holding their guns and looking for all the world like some realistic western movie. They were homesteaders. They were miles from the nearest telegraph or doctor. Tractors and automobiles and electrical power were still unknown to them. I have reflected many times on the kind of courage it takes to break new ground, to enter territory that has never been entered before.

This is the message Joshua had for his people in the words of our text: "You have not passed this way before!" And whether you believe it or not, in a very real sense, even though we may try to stay as conventional as possible, even though we may try to do things in a safe manner— every one of us is headed into the unknown. We are facing a future that no one can pretend to understand.

I. WE ARE ALL PRESSING INTO THE UNKNOWN

  1. At certain seasons or stages of our lives we become more aware of the hazardous nature of our choices as we press into the unknown future. I remember standing in the room at the front of the church waiting for the wedding march! But there are many such seasons: the finish of any course of study ... the challenge to decide on a move in residence or employment ... the birth of a baby ... a serious or threatening illness. You may or may not feel like a pioneer. But we are all pilgrims and strangers in search of a city.
  2. And really, every single day we live we are, in one sense, pioneers, trail-breakers. We never know what a decision may bring forth.

    If we could see into the future, as God sees, we might try to play god; but God in His love and mercy has veiled it so that we might better learn to trust Him, and walk with Him. I often wish that God might tell me what the next step should be!

[God does not reveal the details of the future; but that does not mean we have to be afraid, because...]

II. GOD HAS GIVEN A GUIDE TO HIS PEOPLE

  1. God's guidance begins with a covenant. God is a covenant- making God. Not "contract," with services rendered for payment received; not "bargaining" with a let-the-buyer-beware attitude. But covenant, or an agreement of good will between two free partners. I did not say free and equal. And I do not say that our freedom is like God's freedom.
  2. God leads us primarily in the context of the church and NOT merely at the whim of each individual. This is hard for the American mind-set particularly. WE have substituted the STATE for our corporate conscience. It is automatic.

    God's people will find safety in WORSHIP. Personal prayer, and the study and knowledge of the written Word have vital places in our guidance. But in the house of God, in the act of corporate worship, in the seeking to praise and honor God the covenant is renewed, and the insights come!

    We must revere the Presence! Our task is to follow God. We turn this around all too often and think we come to church in order to get God's advice on how best to achieve our goals or meet our (perceived) needs. Analysis and human evaluation and weighing of all possible alternatives are great and wonderful; but there is no substitute for the clear, direct, certain leading of God! And often that comes in the place of worship!

[Joshua's call was:]

III. CONSECRATE YOURSELVES! SANCTIFY THE LORD GOD IN YOUR HEARTS!

  1. [Back into the story: The children of Israel had been in the wilderness 40 years. Joshua knew God was ready to bring them into Canaan now. But first:] THERE WAS TO BE A SOLEMN ACT OF DEDICATION. "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts!" Get the foundation sure and solid! Don't try to go forward, to build on a partial surrender!

    [Jesus wanted His disciples to go into all the world. But the last thing He told them before He left was "Don't leave town!" WHY? Because they were ready to go and give of their best— but that wasn't good enough!

    They had to "sanctify the LORD God in their hearts— that is- - give HIM total allegiance— so that the Lord God could sanctify THEM through and through! Can you see the parallel? If we want God to bless us and use us, then God has to have our total and complete allegiance!]

    OUR best isn't good enough in this day— or any day! But when we belong wholly to God, and are seeking His mind— then what God can do is better than our best!

    [God DID do a wonderful thing for His people in their tomorrows! They walked through the waters of the Jordan by a miracle!]

  2. WHAT IS THE PERSONAL APPLICATION HERE? Do you need to "sanctify the Lord God in YOUR heart?" Do YOU need to work on your personal willingness to obey? Do I? Before the Lord can do wonders tomorrow, we have to obey Him today!
  3. WHAT CHOICES DO YOU AND I HAVE?
    1. IF NOT JESUS, THEN WHO WILL BE YOUR MASTER? No man, no woman can serve two masters! You cannot be lord of your own life and expect Jesus to guide you into the unknown future.
    2. IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN SHALL YOU DECIDE TO LET HIM HAVE HIS WAY? God is patient and long-suffering. But God is NOT mocked! Whatsoever a person sows, that is what a person reaps!

      And if God is dealing with you over a matter of surrender— some area— some situation— some thing in your life— then to deliberately hold Jesus off is to refuse to receive His leadership! The eternal YES must needs be said in a moment of "NOW!"

    3. IF NOT GOD'S GUIDANCE, THEN WHO WILL WALK WITH YOU INTO THE UNKNOWN? The answer is— you will follow your covenant with God, and go with His people, and be a part of His church— or you will walk alone into the darkness where you have never been before!

Conclusion

In two weeks I am challenging the church to a corporate act of dedication as we partake of the Maundy Thursday communion together. At that time we will tell God that this church "sanctifies the Lord God in its (corporate) heart" ... that this church belongs to God without reservation.

We will tell God together that this church expects that "tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among us!" We will be leaning hard on Him as a church, even as we already are seeking to do.

But just now, tonight, I am challenging each one of us as individuals— whether or not you belong to this fellowship— to prepare yourself for the challenge of tomorrow!

HAVE YOU SANCTIFIED THE LORD GOD IN YOUR HEART? Have you set HIM, and Him alone on the throne of your heart to rule and reign forever, unchallenged by idols, and unchallenged by YOU yourself??

Prayer:

Hymn #241 - His Way with Thee