The Christians Hour

Bob Russell: Welcome to our weekly broadcast filled with teaching straight from God's Word. The Christian's Hour is a ministry of Gospel Broadcasting Mission, where we proclaim the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ through radio and media to the ends of the earth until all have heard.

Today we're continuing in our series on courage with Pastor Rick Atchley of The Hills Church in Fort Worth, Texas. We'll be exploring the third chapter of the Book of Joshua as the Israelites are standing on the edge of the Promised Land. God had promised to go before them and give them the land, but there was still a major obstacle standing before them and what God had called them to do. It was the Jordan River.

This was no small stream. The Jordan was raging; it was at flood stage. God told the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to step into the water. But waters didn't stop before they stepped in. They had to move forward in faith and obedience. When their feet touched the water, God then made a way for them to cross.

That's the challenge we face sometimes, isn't it? We know what God has called us to do, but we can't see how everything is going to work out. The unknown can make us hesitate. Fear can keep us standing on the shore wondering, "What if?" But faith means trusting God enough to take the next step, even when we can't see what he's going to do.

Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. So if you're feeling like God is calling you to take a step out in obedience, but fear and uncertainty are keeping you on the shore, listen in today as we discover what happens when we choose faith over fear and obedience over hesitation. Here is Rick to share more.

Rick Atchley: Life often presents moments where one must choose to either stay where they are or attempt to go where they want or ought or need to be. But here's the problem: what makes that choice difficult is that there is typically a barrier between where I am and where I need to be. And it's going to take courage to cross.

God doesn't want his children to settle for life without their full inheritance. That's why we're using the Book of Joshua as our template. Because the children of Israel had to make a decision: are we going to cross and enter into all God wants us to have, or are we going to stay where we are and settle for something much less than God wants to give us? Because here's the thing: you can't enter Canaan if you're too afraid to get over the Jordan.

Bob Russell: Chapter three starts like this: early in the morning, Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan where they camped before crossing over. After three days, the officers went throughout the camp giving orders to the people. "When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it."

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." And then a little later in the chapter, we get this one very important detail: now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Now you recall they were at this same spot 40 years ago and they didn't have enough courage.

This is a very important moment in their history because God's goal for the Israelites was not just exodus. You see, God's goal was not just that they would be freed from bondage, but that they would be freed for blessing. Deuteronomy 6:23, Moses said, "God brought us out from there to bring us in and to give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors." God brings us out to bring us in.

You see, all through the Bible, the Exodus is God's metaphor for redemption. God wants to save you and release you from the bondage of Satan. But God doesn't want you to spend the rest of your life walking in a wilderness. He wants to take you out so that he can take you into the life you were meant to live.

Your salvation is not just about escaping death. It is about entering life and experiencing the abundance that God wants for you that was purchased by Jesus. Israel was called to be Canaan-conquerors, not just wilderness-wanderers. But there was an obstacle in the way. The river was at flood stage.

Rick Atchley: Now some of you have been to Palestine, you've seen the Jordan River. It's not that impressive. There are parts of that river during a drought you could just walk right across. But not at flood stage. In those days, when the snows of Hermon would melt and the rains would come, that river would grow to as much as a mile wide, and the current would move fast. It would pick up debris and brush, and it was impossible and impassable.

And that's when God brings the people there. The sovereign God—you couldn't plan the calendar a little better than that? I mean, just wait two months and you've got no problem, and you can get right over that river. After all, you have waited 40 years. In fact, for that matter, go back to the promise to Abraham: you've waited 440 years. So let's just wait two months.

And that's why many Christians and many churches settle for so much less than the life God wants for them. Because they come to the bank of the river and they decide, "I just can't get there right now. The conditions just aren't optimum right now. Right now, I'll just have to settle for where I am. Maybe later it'll be easier to get where I ought to be."

Mike Breaux: Here's what happens: we're often put in situations where timidity would stay put. And we allow the river to decide what we can do and where we can go and who we can be. But when you journey with God, the right place at the right time will often first feel like it's the wrong place at the wrong time. Have you noticed that?

That when you journey with God, it's his sovereign choice to often put you in a moment that feels like this is the wrong place and the wrong time, when it is exactly the right place and exactly the right time. Because here's what God is doing: he's trying to grow your character and grow your courage.

So he has sovereignly put you in a moment where you've got to decide between fear and faith, between victory or timidity, between seeking the kingdom or settling for boredom. You have to decide: am I going to keep just walking by this river, or is this my moment to walk into it? Is the river going to make the call for the kind of life you could have in Jesus, or are you going to obey the call of God? Because let me tell you something about the call of God: it'll never make you timid.

Aaron Brockett: 2 Timothy 1:7: "For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." You are going to have moments in your life where you've got to decide who makes the call: God or the river? And I want you to become a river-crosser. Here's the thing about river-crossers I want you to know. Number one: they let God lead the way.

Rick Atchley: Now think about this: God leads the Israelites to the river at flood stage, and for three days they just stay there. Why? Does God need some time to come up with a plan of what to do next? No. God wanted them to look at that river for three days to understand they can't get across it in their strength. That in their flesh, that river is impossible and impassable.

But after three days of looking at the river, Joshua said, "Look at the Ark." The Ark is mentioned 16 times in chapter three and chapter four. I'll explain why in just a moment. Here's what he said: "Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, the Cellulites—Canaan had a lot of 'ites'."

See the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.

Now you may not know what the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was. It was a box, about four feet long, about two feet high and wide. It was covered in gold. And inside were some of the important things that were part of Israel's history. But what was in it was not as important as what was on it: the two figures of angels, wings touching on top. It was called the mercy seat. That's where God met with Moses.

Aaron Brockett: You see, that Ark was the visible symbol of the presence of God. So what's going on here? After three days of watching that river, Joshua said, "Watch the Ark." And the point is this: that God is not sending us into the land, God is taking us into the land.

Rick Atchley: You see, once a believer or once a church determines God's desired future, they can move out in full confidence that God is going to guide and God is going to empower their pursuit of it. Because God never commissions and then abandons. God never said, "I want you to go there, and send me a postcard."

God said, "I want you to go into all the world, and lo, I will be with you always." God doesn't ship you across the river; God takes you across the river.

Ben Cachiaras: Harriet Tubman is one of the greatest heroes in American history. Born into slavery in 1822 in Maryland, as a child, she endured back-breaking labor and whippings. She saw her three older sisters sold into other masters. And when it was time for her master to try to sell her, she said, "I'm not doing that."

And she ran away, at great risk to herself, no clue what to do, no GPS, all she had was the North Star, and she managed 90 miles to get to Pennsylvania and freedom. And you think, "Okay, that's where she's going to stay." No, you know the story. This brave woman, not once, but dozens of times, went back to free more slaves. And she never knew where she was going; she never knew what she was doing. She said, "I'm just going to have to ask God to lead me." And she did.

Aaron Brockett: She expected God to lead her. In fact, one fellow abolitionist said, "I have never known a person of any race who had more confidence they would hear the voice of the Lord than Harriet Tubman." Because God doesn't send; God takes. "This day you will know that the living God is among you." And when God is present, "same old, same old" is absent.

Rick Atchley: And you get excited, like Israel did. You see, river-crossers get ready to be amazed. Now this is a unique nation Joshua is leading; it's very young. All the parents are gone. They didn't have the courage to go into the land. Now here's what that means: most of the people Joshua is leading weren't alive when the Red Sea crossing happened. If they were, they were just little babies.

They'd heard about it. They'd heard about how amazing God was back there. But this is here. And every generation needs its own crossing moment. Praise God for the faith of our fathers, but you cannot live off the miracle that God did for the past generation. You need to know that his name is not "I was", but "I AM". They needed that moment. You do too. So Joshua says, "Tomorrow, the Lord is going to do amazing things among you."

Gene Appel: And he still does. Right before World War II, there was a missionary in China named Gladys Aylward and she ran this orphanage. The Japanese invaded Yangcheng, were destroying the city, and she's got to get over 100 kids out by herself across the mountains into free China. No food, cold, hungry, not knowing where to go. She began to despair.

And one of the girls, a 13-year-old orphan, said, "Miss Gladys, remember your favorite story is Moses leading the children through the Red Sea." And she said, "But I'm not Moses." And the little girl says, "I know that, but Jehovah is still God." God wants you to know that all those awesome stories in the Bible you learned as a kid are not there to tell you how powerful God was. They are there to tell you how powerful God is.

Rick Atchley: C.H. Spurgeon said, "God has great things in store for his people. They ought to have large expectations." We should. You should. Our church should. We ought to be dreaming dreams so big and so audacious that they are impossible unless the God who was is the God who still is. I want to go to a church that every week has more amazing stories to tell of what God is doing among us because we serve a God who's bigger than any river. But here's the thing: you will never know that as long as you stay a safe distance away.

Gene Appel: So let's keep reading. 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. Please notice the order. The water didn't stop flowing because they walked beside the river.

It stopped flowing because they walked into it. God said, "Carry the Ark into the river, and I'll stop the water." And so there are those priests, and all the people are watching. They're 50 feet away—that water is flowing. Thirty feet away—that water is flowing. Five feet away—that water is flowing. When did the water stop?

When they got their feet in the river. They didn't see a miracle and then start walking. They started walking and then they saw a miracle. This might be the most important thing about river-crossers.

Rick Atchley: In fact, just put your seatbelt on, I'm about to start preaching. River-crossers set their feet in the water. The river didn't lose its power until those who trusted God got their feet wet. This might be the most powerful story in the Bible about what it means to walk by faith. See, the heroes of faith in the Bible are commended not because of how they can study rivers, but because their faith gets them to move.

Go read Hebrews 11, the great chapter of the heroes of faith. Every single one has an active verb right after their name. Abel offered, Noah built, Abraham went, Jacob worshipped. Faith moves toward the future in spite of the river, in confidence that the God who calls us will make a way.

Gene Appel: But timidity says, "Play it safe. Wait till the river stops and then walk." And we don't want to admit that we're timid, so we baptize it with spiritual language. "Well, you know what, I just don't feel led to walk toward the river right now." Doesn't that sound holy?

Let me ask you something: how big would my waist be if I only ate what I felt led to eat? Or if I only went to the gym when I felt led to go? How many of you parents, when you say it's bath time and your child says, "Just not feeling led to be clean right now, Mom," say, "Well, that's okay, baby. You just stay dirty because I only want you to be clean if you feel led"?

"Honey, it's time to get up and go to school." "Mom, I'm just not feeling it today." "Well, baby, you get back in bed, because we only go to school when we feel led."

Rick Atchley: Can I be honest? There are some Sundays when I don't feel like preaching. Here's what you've got to know about river-crossers: they let their feelings follow their obedience. They don't let their obedience follow their feelings. How long are you going to just stare at the river?

When are you going to get your feet wet? Call a counselor, or just start doing the kind of things that you know God wants you to do, even though you don't think it's working and you don't see anything happening. How long are you going to settle for a marriage that's just there? You know it ought to be more.

How long are you going to hide your addiction, which frankly, you're probably not hiding as well as you think you are? When are you going to make the phone call? When are you going to tell a friend? When are you going to enter rehab? When are you going to get your feet wet? Take a risk, see if God does something amazing. Get your feet wet.

Gene Appel: See, we can do this all day long. We can do this all life long. But you will never enter the life God purchased for you in Jesus until you get over the river. And you'll never get over the river until you get your feet wet.

Rick Atchley: I'm talking to somebody right now, and you know who you are. And you can play it safe, and you can read some more books and watch some more videos about rivers, but there is something in your soul that will dry up if you never get your feet wet. See, it takes courage to go to a cross.

And I know I'm doing a little bit of a play on words, but I want you to think for a moment: what is a cross? Jesus said you've got to take up your cross to follow him. And I think in America, most of us confuse inconvenience with sacrifice. "Well, I was going to get a new iPhone, but I decided to help my church; I'll get it next month." That wasn't a sacrifice. That was an inconvenience.

A cross is a journey you make that you would never make except that you're following Jesus. You know you have carried a cross when you do something, when you risk something, when you give something, when you try something that seems stupid to people that don't follow Jesus. Because a cross will always demand the defeat of timidity.

And there will always be excuses to stay put. But we serve a God bigger than any river, and we serve a mission bigger than any fear. I recently read a book called *Chase the Lion* by Mark Batterson, and in it he tells the story about a missionary that went to the Congo in the 1960s when it was very dangerous to go there because of rebels and civil war. His name was J.W. Tucker.

The rebels got him, beat him, tied his hands behind his back and threw him into a crocodile-infested river where he died. And our first response is to hear that and say, "Oh, that's so sad. I feel bad for him." Let me tell you, as J.W. Tucker walks the streets of heaven, no one's coming up to him saying, "Oh, that's just so sad. We feel bad for you."

He faced the river and he didn't let the river tell him where he could go. There are churches all over the Congo today. Before he left, a friend tried to talk him out of it, said, "J.W., if you go in, you'll never come out." And he replied, "God didn't command me to come out. He just told me to go in."

Bob Russell: Because here's the thing: the spirit God gave does not make us timid. It gives us power, love and self-discipline. So maybe your three days are up and it's time to follow God, get your feet wet and see if something amazing is about to happen.

How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns his face away, as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders; ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished; his dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom; but I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer; but this I know with all my heart, his wounds have paid my ransom. But this I know with all my heart, his wounds have paid my ransom.

How about you? Is there a crossing in front of you waiting for the first step to be taken? To get your feet wet? To embrace the God-given spirit of power, love and a sound mind? Is today the day you dip your toes in the water to see what God has waiting for you? Friend, don't allow fear and timidity or the lies of the enemy to keep you standing on the shore when God has called you to move forward in faith.

Don't look back and wonder, "What if I would have said yes to God instead of yes to fear?" Well, our thanks to Rick Atchley for that powerful teaching today. And our thanks as well to Acapella Ministries for their music of worship. If you'd like to hear today's message again or listen to previous programs, visit us at thechristianshour.org.

And while you're there, we invite you to learn more about what God is doing through our global ministry. You see, we are actively working to proclaim the gospel through radio and media in five new languages this year, all across Asia, reaching people with little to no access to God's Word. Just as you're listening today, we want to make the gospel accessible to them as well.

So don't wait. To do that, we need partners who will pray, give, walk alongside us in this work. Would you prayerfully consider joining us? Your partnership can make an eternal impact for helping bring the gospel to people who have never heard. To learn more, again visit our website at thechristianshour.org, or feel free to send us an email at thechristianshour@gmail.com. We'd love to stay connected with you. Well, thanks again for listening today. We hope you join us again next time.