Joshua 3:3-4 ESV3 . . . “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place & follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you & it, about 2,000 cubits in length.”

Joshua 3:4 ESV

“Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."

God wants to lead you where you’ve never

been before

Following means staying close enough to let God lead us

Following means staying close enough to let God lead us

• Where His presence is evident to us

Following means staying close enough to let God lead us

• Where His presence is evident to us

• Where we aren’t distracted by fear of what’s ahead

Following means staying close enough to let God lead us

• Where His presence is evident to us

• Where we aren’t distracted by fear of what’s ahead

• Where we aren’t distracted by speculation about what road to take.

Joshua 3:5 ESV

5 Then Joshua said to the people,

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

Following the Lord begins with setting yourself apart for the task

Following the Lord begins with setting yourself apart for the task

• Because you trust that God is going to do a great work in/with you

Following the Lord begins with setting yourself apart for the task

• Because you trust that God is going to do a great work in/with you

• Because following the Lord in any area of life requires spiritual preparation

Joshua 3:8-9 ESV8 “. . . command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here & listen to the words of the LORD your God.”

Joshua 3:10 ESV10 And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you & that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, & the Jebusites.

Joshua 3:11,13 ESV11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan . . . 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan,

Joshua 3:13,15 ESVthe waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, & the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap."15 & as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, & the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water

Joshua 3:15-16 ESV(now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood & rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, & those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off.

Joshua 3:16-17 ESVAnd the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, & all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

What God does for you today prepares

you for what he wants to do with you

in the future

Prepare yourself todayfor what God wants to do for you / with you

in the future