“Glory to the Precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Revelation 22: 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Hallelujah 

The pattern of the harvest of our soul, the bride, the church is the crossing of Jordan.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the portion of the Bible that we meditated upon in the past days, we meditated regarding that we, the bride, the church should submit our whole soul only to God and that we must safeguard our soul and not give place to the spirit of harlotry and we meditated regarding this also. 

Also, the spies whom Joshua sent went to him and said that truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us and after he told him thus, the next thing that we are meditating upon is Joshua 3: 1 – 17 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 

So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 

and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 

Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 

Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day 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. 

You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’”

So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 

And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 

Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”

So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 

and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 

that the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 

Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

When we meditate upon the above-mentioned verses, we meditated before few days that as a pattern of possessing the good land, which is the heavenly land, which is Christ; because he has promised the children of Israel that I will give you the land of Canaan where milk and honey flows, only after crossing Jordan we can possess that land. Therefore, before God uses Joshua and crosses Jordan, Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over for three days. 

Then the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Then the word of the Lord is that there shall be a space between you and the ark of the covenant, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before and he said this and commanded them.

Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day 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. 

Then Joshua commanded to the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, when you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan and standing there you shall listen to the words of the Lord and also by this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 

Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. 

So it was, the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people. For the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, that the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

My dear people, God is showing this for a pattern. To possess Christ, which is our heavenly land there is a big temptation time that is coming and to overcome that temptation time, the portion that we meditated upon few days back regarding the experience of the twelve tribes, everything is Christ only but for immersion baptism when God is calling and bringing us, against us those whom we consider as greater than us from them strong temptation comes as Jordan comes with force. 

But the priests who are standing carrying the word of God, that all of them are twelve people and that in all places Christ is only seen as our priest and as soon as their feet touches the water that came from upstream stood as a heap means if God is in our midst however big the temptation may be it will not touch us and that the place where their feet stood was as dry ground and in the same way if we also follow him and listen to his words and obey them then no temptation will touch us also and for that as soon as the people come near the edge of the water they are told to stand and the word of God is preached and then making them get down into Jordan means we must also change ourselves in this manner, sanctify ourselves and when we receive baptism God is chasing the seven kinds of tribes that are within our soul so that we can possess Christ in freedom. 

Let us submit ourselves in this manner.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless you all abundantly. 

To be continued