[Scripture: Joshua 3:9-17]
This is the story of when the Israelites came out of slavery and crossed over the Jordan River to get into the land of milk and honey. Crossing over the Jordan River was their last gateway to getting into the Land of Promise. In the Bible, the Israelites had to cross over water twice to finish their journey in wildness. The first time, it was the Red Sea. The second time, it was the Jordan River after which they would reach their final destination. So the title of my sermon for today is: “Crossing over the two waters to freedom.”
Underground Railroad
When I came to the States, I had to go to a language school to learn English as a second language. It was at nine-mile, Southfield. At that time, one of the stories in the textbook was about the Underground Railroad. I learned about the freedom seekers who escaped from Kentucky to Canada. If the slaves wished to have total freedom, they had to cross over two rivers. The first one was the Ohio River. The second was the Detroit River.
After two years of language training, I transferred to a college in Cincinnati. One day, I had a chance to walk along the Ohio riverside with a friend. I found houses that had windows with candle lights, so I asked my friend why people put the candles in the windows. He said the candlelight was the sign that the house would provide shelter and food for freedom seekers who wanted to cross over the Ohio River from Kentucky to be free.
Crossing over the two waters
In the same way, the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, the land of slavery, to the land of freedom. They had to cross over two waters also, which were the Red Sea and the Jordan River.
- The first was the Red Sea. When the Israelites tried to cross over the Red Sea, they did not do anything. Instead, God split the water and made the way for them. God did everything to save them while they were crying for help.
- The second was the Jordan River. At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, “Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘As soon as the priests who carry the ark reach the Jordan and their feet touch the water, the water from upstream will stop flowing.’” And they walked into the water with confidence.
That was the story of the crossing over of two waters into freedom in the Bible.
For Christians, these two waters can represent the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In Titus 3: 5-6, it says, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” These are the two steps of the salvation process.
The first step is Christian Baptism. When we are baptized with water, we are justified and forgiven for all the penalties of our sins. However, justified Christians are not mature yet. Paul said to the Christians who lived in Corinth, “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.” He asked us to grow into spiritual maturity.
The second water is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He said, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.” In John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Jesus meant the Spirit, who those who believed in Jesus were later to receive.
Theological speaking, Christians who are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ are forgiven from the penalty of all their sins. But the problem is, the tempter is still there and is tempting us even though we are saved. This is the same tempter who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden. That is the reason why Apostle Paul urged us to be sanctified Christians through the Holy Spirit because sanctified Christians can have the spiritual power to overcome the power of sin. Power over sin means power over our sinful nature and its passions and the evil desires that are at work within us that constantly lead us into temptation in our daily lives.
Thirstiness on journey
Even though the Israelites came out of Egypt to freedom, they experienced a lot of temptation to go back to Egypt—in other words: their old life—because of the heat of the day, cold in the night, being attacked by fiery serpents, and because of the Amalekites who were their enemy. Among them, being thirsty was one of the worst things they experienced when they traveled in the desert.
In the same way, for Christians, if you feel that your joy, peace, love, and patience are dried out and you feel hunger and thirst in your soul, it is a sign that you need to have the water that comes from God through Jesus Christ.
Come into the Deep Water
Ezekiel 47 tells us the process of how the Spirit of God covers us and protects us from all kinds of sufferings and temptations. In verse one, it says, “I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.” Ezekiel saw that the water coming out from the temple made all kinds of trees grow, and their leaves were healthy and bore all kinds of fruits.
Ezekiel’s vision gives me clear theological insight into how the Holy Spirit brings all kinds of spiritual blessings to Christians. The water that Ezekiel talked about is not actual water but the Spirit of God coming out from the temple. The temple is the place of the worship of God.
However, the Temple of Israel was replaced by Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 2, “Tear down this Temple and in three days I’ll put it back together.” Jesus was talking about his body as the temple.
Nowadays, the Church took over the function of the temple after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said to people, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It seems that when you come to Church, the Spirit of God fully covers you up, and you are fully protected from evil by the power of the presence of God because it is the place of the worship God, and it is the body of Christ.
Please! Come into the deep water! The water coming out from the rock of Jesus Christ will protect you and heal you from all kinds of spiritual challenges and your physical sufferings if you stay in the body of Christ, which is the place of the worship God. The power of the Holy Spirit will restore your soul.
Our church is a place of worship. Please be connected with us. Through our Church the Spirit of God will overflow to you. Your life will prosper with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We will walk together to take you on the right track before God. God will help us and bless us.
2021.08.08. Pastor Cloud Poy
@ Photo on Unsplash
