Heavy Things (Part C)

The church is afraid of losing people.

I don't know that it's really that healthy of a church. You can't be afraid to lose people. What we have to do is be afraid of offending God. That's where the strength is because God is offended by unkindness and lovelessness. He's offended by lying and suppressing truth when it needs to be spoken.

We have to balance this and it's okay. Some of you may be afraid of losing friends. Don't be. God bring you good friends.

If you're younger Christian, don't try to get people to like you. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Joshua.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Today, Pastor Rick will continue teaching through Joshua chapter 4 and his message called Heavy Things. Now these types now are types. They have scriptural support that sign them over to that category in Bible study. They are events in the Old Testament that spoke of coming events in the New Testament that were prophetic and are educational and beneficial to us. Romans 6-3, many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death. So this water baptism, this being immersed, that's what baptized means, to be immersed in Christ is symbolic, an ordinance given to the church. And as I mentioned, it is something that we do to this day.

It has never been canceled out. It has no terminus in this lifetime as a rite of the church. We have died to the world. That's what the water baptism symbolizes. In the flesh, we are against it. We identify now with Jesus Christ. And there's this image of the person being baptized, being buried under the water, and then coming up, resurrected in Christ, a new creation. Not without war, but it's symbolic.

It's where we stand now. As those priests stood firm in the Jordan, there was no question about what they were doing and who told them to do it, and so it is to be with us. He says here in verse 8, and laid them down there. That's the stone. Well, stones and foundations, of course, there's a connection there. The foundation of my old life is buried.

It's gone. It's put where no one can see, at the bottom of the river, and I've crossed into my inheritance. The other ordinance that the church has is the communion table.

It is the same, it is a memorial. We remember. Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. When we come to the table, we are saying, we believe these things about you.

We believe what you told us. We cannot tell you, God, who you are. That is idolatry. But we can receive from you lessons about who you are, and that, of course, is true religion, true faith. And we gather around the broken bread and the cup that represent his body and his precious blood, and we remember that Christ died for us, that he rose again, that he said it would happen this way, telling us this was no accident.

He was not a crime victim, though it was a crime committed. This was prophetic. It was planned and executed by the Lord, using sinners to do it according to their self-will. The sovereignty of God. The communion table speaks of the return of Christ, the presence of Christ. It is every bit of a necessary memorial, and if it was taken away from us, we'd notice it. We'd miss it.

We'd want it. These two rites, they complement each other. In fact, in chapter two of the book of Acts, when Peter is leading people to Christ, he says, come and be baptized.

Repent and be baptized. And then, after that paragraph closes, the next words are, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and prayer and communion, the breaking of bread. And this breaking of bread is the connection that we have with a risen Christ. He's real to us.

And so when they take these stones out and the kids say, what are these? The parents were supposed to say, God, Yahweh, is real. He's real to me.

I saw this happen. Now, I'm trying to get you to understand so He can be real to you. What are you going to do with this? And there is where we meet with a lot of struggle, but we are to be faithful in the struggles that come our way, all of them as faithful as we can. Well, Romans chapter 10, we share our faith. When you share your faith, we're after the soul. We're not trying to win the argument. We're not trying to lose it either.

But that's not where it is. We're not getting sucked into the argument. We're after the soul. And when a person is listening to what we're saying about they being a sinner, incapable of getting rid of their sins, incapable of being perfect, but there is a God who will receive them, and He died in their place that the wrath of God would not be upon them, but the mercy of God would be upon them. No longer am I under God's judgment.

I'm under His grace instead. And then when we say, do you believe that? If they say yes, then we need to lead them in prayer and say, do you want to receive Christ as your Savior? You can say that.

They say yes. You say, well, make this prayer with me. I tell you, open your Bibles when you do this to them, to Romans 10, 9 and 10, Romans 10, verses 9 and 10. I'll read it to you. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. It's okay to do that. In my earlier years, I didn't know to do that. I just thought, well, I got them. They're agreeing with me. They're believing. And I had to learn that, you know what? I need to just take them in.

I need to cross this Jordan and make it official because we need that. And so this, of course, this grace does not mean that we are careless about our sin. Romans 6, verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. That has multiple meanings, but this is the main meaning that I love about that verse. Sin can think it has dominion over me because I struggle with it. But in the end, the dust will settle and I'll be in heaven because it did not have dominion over me. God has dominion over me. The weakness of our flesh will be pushed aside and what will be received is the strength of our will to follow Jesus. That's what will count. And so he says, likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, the Lord, because I can't be alive to him in my own self.

I can only do it through him. This is basic gospel teaching and we don't want to lose sight of it reaching for the more difficult passages of scripture. We always want to stay fresh when it comes to the basics of what we believe. Verse 9, then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood and they are there to this day. So the commandment recorded that they were to do this. Again, returning back to the priests and standing will come, I think, to them one more time. That will be mentioned because it is that beautiful.

It is a romantic picture. But we have no word of them, of God commanding Joshua to take the stones out of the river and put them on land. But we have no rebuke either and we are left to believe that this was part of the commandment. It just didn't make it into print, which is not uncommon in scripture.

Detective work is necessary quite often to get closer to what was going on. So God told them, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I've already given to you. And it's theirs by right and sword. And it's the same for us. I used to think as a new believer that, hey, it's already, this is mine.

No, it's not. Satan will say, take it then. And that's, it's on. We respect his power. We're not to give in and tremble at it. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind and just to face him in the faith.

So this transfer of ownership is what's going on. As the water baptism symbolizes transfer of ownership, I belong to Christ now. Communion symbolizes eternal gratitude because of this new ownership, that Christ owns me.

Romans chapter 6 verses 3 and Romans 6 lays out for us to plan God's salvation and then 7 talks about the weakness of the flesh and then chapter 8 in Romans, the strength of God. There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 6 verse 3, or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. I have to stop there because see what we have is the Jews crossing Jordan to receive their inheritance.

The old life in the wilderness is passing by. This new life of glory is now before them in newness of life and those stones were buried as was their past. He continues in Romans 6 verse 5, for if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. So you see the metaphor is very powerful. We've been crucified with Christ.

Not a physical thing for most of us. It was for Peter. He was crucified because of Christ and others too.

He was not the only one. But this is a powerful language. Here are these Jews crossing into a new life. Here I am being water baptized to tell the world where I now stand. If I mean it, because of course there are frauds, there are fakes that get water baptized.

You know, it's an interesting thing. Over the years I've baptized a lot of people and some of them, after I've baptized them, I never see them again. That's happened more than once, more than twice. What happened there? I mean, the baptisms are free.

You pretty much get them in a lot of places. Why would you do that? And of course we don't call up and ask, you know, what's wrong with you? Because we get in the flesh.

What, you don't like me no more? Anyway, verse 10, so the priest who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to speak to the people according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed over. Then it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over that the ark of the Lord and the priest crossed over in the presence of the people. So he goes back and he summarizes this again because chapter 3 they crossed over all of them.

But isn't this interesting? He says that the people hurried and crossed over. Now you know if they were driving cars, they would not have been hurrying.

You'd be screaming out the window, it's the panel on the right! Especially the people at the light, okay, I know I'm in the flesh, I've had a hard day driving, no I haven't. But I just, you know, why do people do that? Why do they, when there's time to move?

30 miles an hour in a 55 is, it's a crime. So I just thought that's kind of cute, they're hurrying over because the rider noticed it. There was nobody like, look at the dragon, come on, what are you doing?

Get moving! Nobody there pushing them along, gunnery sergeant, taking any mess from a bunch of bribes. All right. Verse 12, I'm sure you all have experiences in life. I'm sure you're all not just boring people. Don't, when you share Christ, do these things not surge up?

It should. Don't forget to be yourselves, not your bad selves, but your good selves. Just be yourselves. When you share Christ, be who you are. Don't try to be the philosopher, the pastor, the scientist, don't try to be me. Be yourself and let God do the rest. Don't be fake and polished. I used to try that, I'm going to be in the pulpit and just be very monotone and professor-like. Man, that was just painful to people listening to me, to God, it was painful.

And just to be yourself, so what you make a mistake? Verse 12, and Reuben, the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, the tribe of Manasseh, half the tribe crossed over before the children of Israel and Moses, as Moses had spoken to them. You see, Moses keeps coming back into this. Just what a man of God.

He's not forgotten. Verse 13, about 40,000 prepared for war, crossed over before Yahweh for battle to the plains of Jericho. Well, over 60,000 were laying back on the east side of Jordan in their territory. Because we're given troop strengths, the total strengths of these three tribes was 110,000, a little over, this is only 40,000 of them going in, over half a million men for war. This is an invasion force. D-Day didn't have anything on the numbers of ground troops being put into this arena. Very serious business, quote from Douglas MacArthur, and then you young men especially, you should know who Douglas MacArthur is.

Like him or leave him, you should still know who he is. Him and George Patton, you should know who these two generals were. Because you can learn about life from them, God uses unbelievers to teach us still. I've learned a lot from men who were not believers, but as men, they were very helpful. And they, many of them were decent men.

I just couldn't get to them with the gospel, and I always tried. But anyway, MacArthur's quote, in war there is no substitute for victory. Well, that's the truth!

Because what's the alternative? I mean, look what they did to Nankang, for example. And this is what's happening with these Jews. They're crossing into this promised land.

There's no substitute. They have to win. Verse 14, on that day Yahweh exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they feared Moses all the days of his life. Acts chapter 2 verse 43, then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Fear came upon every soul. Because they couldn't refute it.

They could not stop it. And they were faced with truths that they had to consider or ignore, and that rocked the boat. And today many church leaders are afraid what people might think about them telling the truth. About preaching all the Bible. About calling sin, sin, and perversity, perversity. So they're more afraid of what people will think so they don't do it. Well, that's not how we're supposed to be as believers. We're supposed to tell the truth. The church is afraid of losing people.

I don't know that it's really that healthy of a church. You can't be afraid to lose people. What we have to do is be afraid of offending God. That's where the strength is, because God is offended by unkindness and lovelessness.

He's offended by lying and suppressing truth when it needs to be spoken. We have to balance this. And it's okay. Some of you may be afraid of losing friends. Don't be. God bring you good friends. If you younger Christians, don't try to get people to like you. Just be. No, don't be a creep now.

Help people. You know, I never liked that boy. Don't be that person either. But just be yourself. Moms and dads might be cringing at that. No, you don't know.

You don't know since we gave them that chemistry set. But anyhow, keep it real. Be loving and kind. And if the other person bothers you, then seek the Lord on the matter. Verse 15, And then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come up from the Jordan, crossing into the land. It's only the beginning.

It's just starting. In front of them is Jericho. And hundreds of other places like Jericho. That they're going to have to take. War is about to begin. And if they're going to be blessed in this land, they're going to have to fight.

They're going to have to battle for it. This is the story of the Christian life, is it not? You know, you go to church, you hear a great sermon. Well, if you come to this church, you're going to get a great sermon? And then you have to go out and face the world on the strength of what you just heard.

And hearing and doing are not identical. The greater blessings, the greater life is ahead, but so are the powers of darkness. And we have to press into it to secure God's favor. What would have happened if the Jews decided, you know, we crossed the Jordan, let's just stay here on the riverbank? Well, they would have been wiped out. That's what would have happened. And there are unfortunately souls that think when they give their life to Christ verbally, that that's it. They can sit there on the riverbank.

That's a big mistake. Verse 18, and it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come from the midst of Jordan, that the souls of the priests' feet touched the dry land and the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month and they camped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. So this day concludes with the day of selection according to the Jewish calendar, that is the 10th of the first month. That's the day when they would say, this is the lamb I'm going to, or whatever animal they were going to, clean animal to offer.

This is the one I'm going to offer. And then they would quarantine the animal and they'd watch. They wouldn't sit there, you know, watching, but they would check the animal to make sure it wasn't sick, it was healthy to present to the Lord. And then of course the Passover would come and that would be the sacrificed animal.

That would be, the 10th of Nisan would be the same as what we call Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He was the Lord's selected sacrifice and he would be there in full view of everyone and then they would crucify him.

And so the type, the symbolisms and prophecies, they just fly all over the place concerning, of course, the crucifixion of Christ. Verse 20, and those 12 stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. And that's where they will, where the ones taken out of the riverbed ended up being.

Gilgal would be his base of operations throughout the campaign. Verse 21 now, then he spoke to the children of Israel saying, when your children ask their fathers in time to come saying, what are these stones? Then you shall let your children know saying Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land. And the kids would say, get out! No, I was there son.

No way! I'm not lying to you, you're getting me irritated. That's the process. Verse 23, for Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we crossed over. Psalm 114 is an ode to the parting of Yam Suph, the Sea of Reeds, also called the Red Sea, and also here the Jordan. So the sea and the river were parted and that psalm speaks of it.

Verse 24, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Yahweh that it is mighty and that you feel Yahweh your God forever. Well, three reasons why the setting of the stones in Gilgal were to be, that the parents get to tell the story to the children, which serve of course as a trigger, trigger the conversation, that the children get to hear the story. Not only did they tell it, they got to hear it. And that the surrounding nations would also know that these things were taking place, that God was making good on his promises. And there were reasons for setting the stones in the river.

Transfer of ownership was being announced to the people. And as those people hurried across, they saw the priests, and when they saw the men take the stones, even if they didn't see it, maybe they were out, you know, working on their car or something, and they missed it, they knew it was taking place. They knew that Joshua commanded men to put stones in that river.

It was happening right there in their camp. And they would be challenged to remember these things as they started the war. That they would remember that God brought them onto a battlefield. But before they could engage in war, they had to learn a vital lesson that we have to learn, too.

Wait to receive instructions. Every Christian finds this to be a difficult thing, to wait. This is why so often times we end up getting into the flesh. God takes too long. One of the great lessons in the life of Saul, King Saul, he just would not wait. So he went ahead and acted as a priest, and Samuel showed up right then. And then Saul lied. Did everything God told him. Samuel called him out on it.

Oh yeah? Then what means this bleating of the sheep and lowing of the oxen? And then Saul continued to lie. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Joshua. Cross Reference is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you're interested in more information about this ministry, please visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com.

You'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick available there. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. By doing so, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. Just search for Cross Reference Radio in iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. You can also follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today. Tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Joshua right here on Cross Reference Radio.