Setting Yourself Up for a Miracle
Joshua 3:5
Joshua 3:1b (ESV)
And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel and lodged there before they passed over.
Joshua 3:5 (ESV)
Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
1. Willingness to Wait on God and follow His lead sets you up for a miracle
Joshua 3:1b-2 (ESV)
And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp.
Joshua 3:15 (NLT)
It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks.
Joshua 3:3-4 (NIV)
At the end of three days the officers went through the camp. giving orders to the people: "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. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."
2. Consecration sets you up for a miracle
Joshua 3:5 (ESV)
Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
Consecration: separation from anything that would contaminate your relationship with God.
a. Consecration is a reminder of who you belong to
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Be not conformed to this world.
b. Consecration is a reminder of who you serve
Exodus 19:10-11 (NIV)
And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”
2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 (NLT)
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
c. Consecration is a reminder of why you exist
2 Timothy 2:20-22 (ESV)
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Hebrews 12:14b (NLT)
...work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
3. Movement sets you up for a Miracle
Joshua 3:14-17 (NIV)
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away.... The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
1. They broke camp.
2. They started moving
3. They touched the water
