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Window of Opportunity

Words of Faith Final

Window of Opportunity

Words of Faith 8-25-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Joshua 4

    [10] Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, [11] and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. [12] The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. [13] About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

    [14] That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.

    [15] Then the Lord said to Joshua, [16] "Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."

    [17] So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."

    [18] And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.

    [19] On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. [20] And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. [21] He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' [22] tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' [23] For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. [24] He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."

 

     This second great miracle of the Exodus was almost history!  Much like the Red Sea crossing to get out of Egypt, the people now hurried across a dry riverbed.  About 40 thousand armed men crossed ahead, ready for war.  Representatives from the twelve tribes pried up stones from the riverbed that would serve as a monument on the other side.

     Finally, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped out of the riverbed, and immediately the waters came rushing behind them, returning the Jordan to "flood stage."  Wow!  Just in the nick of time.

      The crossing of the Jordan was a powerful event to be remembered forever!  This would never happen again.  It was a concrete event that occurred at a specific time.  It was not a “program” that would be repeated next year.  It was a one-time event that required the obedience of the people at a specific moment. 

       Today we call such a period a "window of opportunity."  At the Kennedy Space Center, they call it a “launch window.”  On that day, the Lord God opened the way to Canaan for a relatively short time.  This was not a time to “think” about going in or to “pray about it.”  This was not a time to “study the situation” or seek a “peace” about whether to go into the land.  Rather, the people “hurried” across.

       These days people seem to hurry for everyone but God.  Many people practice a form of faith that I call "Comfortable Christianity."  Comfortable Christianity is orthodox in doctrine, happy in demeanor, and saved by grace.  Comfortable Christianity is happy to receive the blessings of Jesus and claim the cultural trappings of faith.  But Comfortable Christianity is often slow to respond. 

       Comfortable Christianity does not want to be bothered by too much fuss.  Comfortable Christianity does not want to be hurried, rushed, or made to feel uncomfortable.  Comfortable Christianity is lethargic.  It “stands back” a good deal of the time and prefers not to get involved.  Comfortable Christianity prefers anonymity rather than service and entertainment rather than serious reflection.  It is an immature faith that would not have worked very well at the Jordan River.

         At the edge of the Jordan, there was no time to be a Comfortable Israelite for sure.  The people did not "pray about" whether the timing was right.  The people did not wait until they "had a peace" about whether to cross.  They did not promise "to go next time."  They did not offer to send financial and prayer support instead of making the trip.  It was time to go.  The call of God was upon them.  The land of God was before them.  The waters were parted.  This one unique time in history would never occur again.

        The truth is that today, this very day, is no less unique than that day!  The events of this day may not appear as dramatic to us, but the opportunities will never occur again.  Comfortable Christianity is a sad place because one could very well miss a window of opportunity that will never occur again. 

        Yes.  God is sovereign.  Yes, His purposes will be fulfilled because He is God.  But for the Comfortable Christian, there will never be the trembling joy of walking through the riverbed, the ache of prying up river rocks to remember, or the exhilaration of watching the waters rush back into place.

 

          O God, deliver me from Comfortable Christianity.  Teach me to seize the day in the power and leading of Your Spirit.  Show me the windows of opportunity.  Show me the exhilaration of stepping out in faith.  In Jesus’ name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.