A New Way
Joshua 1:1-2 “….the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”
Here was a new beginning in the history of Israel…”now, therefore, arise”.
And isn’t it the same for us as we begin a new challenge or a deeper experience with God…we need to arise….out of the old and into the new.
Joshua 3:3-4 “And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”
Two things to mention, here.
There was new ground to be trodden…you “have not passed this way heretofore”
And new promises to obtain….”ye shall remove from your place and go after it”
They were to look to the Ark of the Covenant, which represented God with them…and follow it.
They were not to come too near it….to show honor and reverence to God.
And this is the Way they were to go from now on…following God’s Way….and doing everything in honor and reverence to the Lord.
For us, as well, there are always new steps to be taken in our walk with the Lord. We have growing up into Christ to be done….
…..as well as new promises to get into our experience.
2 John 1:8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
“wrought” here, means toil, labor. Do not throw away what you have labored toward in the gospel of Christ.
This is where we face the reality of our profession. And the reality that we could lose some of the reward set aside for us.
Life is hard at times….and there are enemies around in the world.
Paul says that there is a danger of becoming a castaway….a worthless servant.
(We all know the term castaway…whether by circumstances of storm or being turned out because of dishonorable actions….these are set on desert islands, or in the midst of the sea. These are not able to do anything to regain trust….they are let go.)
1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
This does not mean the loss of his salvation….but the loss of reward. The loss of being of value to my Precious Lord Jesus.
And the apostle John says….it is possible to lose some of the things we have “wrought”….worked for…and not get a full reward.
How do we hear these verses?
What do they say to us?
Again, are the things the Lord has set aside for us, of any real value to us?
Revelation 4:4, 9-11 “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, Who liveth for ever and ever,
The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”
The glory of having a crown in that day, will be to cast it at the feet of Jesus!
(You will remember the dream my husband had once, years ago….of dying and going to heaven!
This is his testimony about it:
“First, the joy that I had made it! rejoicing that I was there with Christ!
Then, the reality of facing Jesus,….empty-handed….nothing to give Him….nothing to lay at His feet.
I wish I could describe to you the absolute despair that I felt….the absolute emptiness of it!
To be saved, yet so as by fire. With nothing to give Him, Who had given so much for me.”)
For all of us….wherever we are in our experience….let me exhort or awaken you to “arise and go over”.
There are new steps to take….we have not passed this way, heretofore.
We are treading new ground, things will be different.
We are to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Both require strength and courage in the face of our enemies.
Deuteronomy 33:25-27 “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky.
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”
We are to prove all things in our personal lives….God is a faithful God of Promise.
We are to go on and prove all things in our gifts and callings….to do what we have been called to do.
We are not a grand experiment…but a Purpose still getting worked out…in our everyday lives. There is a grand end in view!
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.”
What a Lord and Savior we have!
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 