Go Ahead, Take the Big Step - Joshua 3

Joshua 3 brings Israel to the edge of something they have never done before. After forty years of wandering, death, discouragement, idolatry, and disobedience, God does not call the people to figure everything out. God calls them to take a step of faith. The ark goes first, the leaders give clear direction, and the people are told, “Go after it.” Faith is not aimless, reckless, or disconnected from God’s Word. God provides instruction, order, and guardrails because He wants His people to hit the mark.

The phrase, “You have not passed this way before,” puts words to the reality of daily life. Every day carries something new, and leaning on personal understanding becomes dangerous when familiar experiences are treated as enough. Proverbs 3:5-6 calls God’s people to trust Him rather than assume they already know the way. The past may be loved and appreciated, but the past cannot become the place where faith lives. God has more ahead.

Joshua receives God’s assurance that the living God is among Israel and will act “without fail.” The enemies in the land are real, the Jordan is overflowing, and the crossing will require more than positive thinking. The priests must put their feet into the rushing water before the river stops. Their feet get wet first. Then God holds back the waters, gives them dry ground, and brings the whole nation through.

The Jordan shows that the reward of a step of faith is not merely a desired outcome. God Himself is the reward. Faithfulness is not judged by whether every circumstance turns out easily. God may use a hard outcome, a setback, or even failure to shape a life and equip someone to serve others. The step is still worth taking because it brings a believer into deeper dependence on the Lord.

The church’s next step, including the possibility of a new facility, calls for the same kind of hupomone, endurance and perseverance. Good godly leadership is a gift, and good godly following joins that leadership in faith, generosity, service, and prayer. Fear may feel natural, but fear has consequences when it keeps God’s people wandering outside of obedience.

Christ still says, “Come, follow Me.” The call is not to endlessly analyze every instruction, follow personalities, or make big decisions on bad days. The call is to know His voice, keep eyes fixed on Him, and take the big step. God has placed His people in this generation to be salt and light, and His faithfulness remains stronger than the rushing waters ahead.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith gets its feet wet first The priests did not wait for the Jordan to become safe before obeying. God asked them to enter the floodwaters carrying the ark, and then He made a way through. Faith often begins before circumstances provide reassurance, because trust rests in God’s character rather than visible control. [83:47]
• 2. God’s guardrails aim at fullness God gave Israel specific instructions because faith is not doing whatever feels spiritual in the moment. His boundaries are not designed to shrink life but to keep His people moving toward the mark. The guardrails of Scripture protect a vibrant walk with Christ from becoming self-directed presumption. [65:34]
• 3. The past is loved, not inhabited Israel could not enter the promised land by living in the wilderness story. God uses the past to form His people, but He calls them to meet Him in the future He is opening. “You have not passed this way before” means there is fresh grace for a genuinely new day. [69:48]
• 4. No big decisions on bad days Pain, fear, grief, and exhaustion can become so loud that personal emotion is mistaken for God’s voice. Christ does not condemn weakness, but He calls His people to wait, pray, and hear Him clearly before making life-altering choices. The Lord remains present when circumstances are dark, and His larger purpose is not threatened by a hard season.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:25] - Celebrating Twenty-Nine Years
• [48:46] - The Endurance to Stay
• [51:18] - God Changes Everything
• [54:20] - Hupomone: Do Not Quit
• [56:43] - Joshua 3: Take the Big Step
• [57:57] - Leaving Comfort and Ease
• [60:35] - A Venture of Faith
• [64:05] - Go After the Ark
• [67:25] - You Have Not Passed This Way Before
• [71:16] - God Establishes Joshua’s Leadership
• [73:46] - Trusting God Above Circumstances
• [78:35] - Returning to the Place of Failure
• [83:47] - Get Your Feet Wet
• [87:10] - The Reward of Faith Is God
• [94:39] - No Big Decisions on Bad Days
• [97:22] - The Call to Follow Jesus

Bible Reading

Joshua 3
“Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, '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 and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.' Then Joshua said to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.' And Joshua said to the priests, 'Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.' So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The LORD said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, 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.'' And Joshua said to the people of Israel, 'Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.' And Joshua said, 'Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 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, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.' So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

Observation questions

1. What instructions did Joshua give Israel about watching the ark, keeping their distance, and moving when it moved? [01:04:05]
2. What reasons does Joshua give for Israel to consecrate themselves before crossing the Jordan?
3. What does God promise Joshua about His presence with him and His work among Israel’s enemies? [01:11:00]
4. What happens first when the priests carrying the ark reach the Jordan, and what happens afterward for the rest of the nation? [01:23:47]

Interpretation questions

1. Why did Israel need to follow the ark rather than simply choose their own path across the Jordan? What does this show about the place of God’s presence and direction in faith?
2. What does “you have not passed this way before” reveal about the danger of leaning too heavily on past experience or personal understanding? [01:08:31]
3. Why does God require the priests to step into the overflowing Jordan before He stops the water? What does this teach about the difference between faith and waiting for perfect conditions? [01:26:40]
4. Joshua 3 includes both clear leadership and the people’s willing response. What might good, godly following look like in a church without making people follow personalities rather than the Lord? [01:15:36]

Application questions

1. What “Jordan River” is in front of you right now—a place where you sense God calling you to obey, serve, forgive, give, speak up, or move forward even though you cannot see the full outcome?
2. Where are you most tempted to lean on your own understanding because a situation feels familiar? What would it look like to pause and seek the Lord’s direction for this specific day and situation? [01:08:56]
3. God’s guardrails are meant to help His people hit the mark, not to shrink their lives. Is there an instruction from Scripture that you have viewed mainly as restrictive? How might it be protecting and directing you toward a fuller life with Christ? [01:05:52]
4. Is there a past season—whether a success, failure, loss, or old way of doing things—that you may be tempted to live in? How can you appreciate what God has done in the past while trusting Him for what is ahead? [01:10:13]
5. When circumstances become overwhelming, what helps you keep your eyes on the Lord instead of reacting out of fear? Who is a trusted believer who can help strengthen your faith when you are tempted to retreat? [01:29:44]
6. “No big decisions on bad days” is wise counsel for seasons of grief, pain, fear, and exhaustion. Is there a decision or conclusion you need to hold before the Lord in prayer rather than rushing to act on it? [01:34:39]