Truth: When there is no way forward, only God’s power can see you through. Once again, the nation of Israel is hemmed in and trapped by a massive body of water. The faith of the priests is not the focus of the story. The author is focused on the ark, the presence of God. God’s power is inherent to His presence. Where the presence of God is there the power of God is.

Response: How has God recently displayed his power in your life? How has God carried you or is carrying you now in his power? Pray and thank God that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, now exists in you if you know Christ, and it is the same power that will see you through every situation you face in life.

Truth: To experience God’s power, we must accept our inadequacy. The first thing Joshua did was to take Israel to the banks of the Jordan where they camped out three days next to the river. Three days of nothing except staring at this flooding, raging river. Three days of having to come to grips with their own inadequacy.

Response: In what situations has God placed you where you are forced to accept your own inadequacy? Examine those situations in your heart and determine where you are placing your hope and sufficiency. Humbly surrender control of those situations to God entirely to put yourself in a place to experience the power of God.

Truth: To experience God’s power, we must devote ourselves to God entirely. To experience the power of God at the Jordan, Israel must consecrate themselves. To consecrate yourself means to set yourself apart for God and His purposes. It is forsaking the desires of the flesh and the world and being singularly devoted to Him.

Response: Is there a singular devotion of your heart toward God? Are you standing with one foot in Egypt and another in the Jordan wondering why God isn’t moving in your life? What are some things you need to get rid of, or take on, to singularly pursue and devote yourself to God and His kingdom? Ask God to expose any area of your life that you haven’t consecrated to him. Ask him for the power to rid yourself of anything you are holding back from giving to him.

Family Response

Truth:  The preconditions Pastor Rickey identified for the Israelites to move forward in God’s miraculous power are very similar to the preconditions our children must understand before moving forward in God’s miraculous salvation.  Our children must understand that they are sinners, and our children must understand that God is holy.

Response:  When our children sin, it is natural to encourage them to “do better next time”; however, it is also critical that we teach them why they sin.  They sin because they are sinners. A sinner isn’t someone who just messes up occasionally; a sinner is someone whose inclination or instinct is to sin.  The Bible says this is who we all are naturally without Jesus Christ.

Response:  This is a much bigger deal than trying to decide if you’ve been good or bad.  This is such a big deal because God is holy. That means God is always right, perfect, and just.  The Bible describes God’s holiness as being clean and our sin as being dirty. The Bible says God made a way for us to be cleaned by His perfect, holy Son, Jesus.  Children must believe that they are sinners and that God is holy before they can respond to Jesus Christ’s offer to take away their dirtiness and make them clean before God.

Prepare for Sunday, May 26, 2019