Chapter 3, Joshua Chapter 3. The name of the message is Christ
Magnified, Joshua Chapter 3, Joshua Chapter 3. 1 to 17 to get the context of the
verse that we're going to look at tonight. Two verses which
we'll look at tonight. Which will be verses 7 and 8.
But I'd like to read the full context of the verses. Let's read verses 1 to 17. And
Joshua rose early in the morning and they removed from Shittim
and came to Jordan. He and all the children of Israel
and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass,
after three days, that the officers went through the host, and they
commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant
of the Lord your God, and the priests and the Levites bearing
it, then ye shall remove from your place and go after it. Yet
there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand
cubits by measure. Come not near unto it, that you
may know the way by which you must go. For ye have not passed
this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people,
Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among
you. And Joshua spake unto the priests,
saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before
the people. And they took up the ark of the
covenant and went before the people. And the Lord said unto
Joshua, this day, verses seven and eight is our text, and the
Lord said unto Joshua, this day will I begin to magnify thee
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with
Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests
that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, when ye are come to the
brink of the water of Jordan, ye stand still in the Jordan.
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, come hither and hear
the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, hereby ye 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 Persuites, and the Gergites, and the Amorites,
and the Jesuites. Behold, the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve
men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And
it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the
earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of
Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from
above, and they shall stand upon in heat. And it came to pass,
when the people were moved from their tents to pass over the
Jordan, and the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before
the people, and as they that bear the Ark were come unto Jordan,
and the feet of the priests that bear the Ark were dipped in the
brim of the water, for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all
the time of harvest, that the waters which came down from above
stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city. very
far from the city of Adam, that is beside Zaretan. And those that came down toward
the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed and were cut
off. And the people passed over right against Jericho. And the
priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood
firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all these rites
passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean
over Jordan. Now tonight I'd like us to look
at verses 7 and 8, where we will see the gospel brought forth.
Now remember, we're always to have our eyes to Christ. We're
always to have our eyes to Christ. Let's read those two verses again. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with
thee. In doubt shall command the priests
that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, when ye are come to the
brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
Now the reference to the magnifying Joshua instead of Moses being
magnified was specific at that time. The people of God's chosen
Israel will, with the parting of the waters of Jordan, which
we saw in our text, they will pass through on dry land. And
in this miracle being performed, they will know that the mantle
of leadership has passed from Moses to Joshua. And the result
will be the same as when the Lord parted the Red Sea and they
walked upon dry land. And we saw that in our text,
didn't we? The Israelites walked on dry land. Turn, if you would, to Exodus
chapter 14. And let's read this. We'll read the portion that talks
about the parting of the Red Sea in light of what we saw there
in Joshua chapter 3. And this is all coming to pass
by the power of our great God, by our great sovereign God. And
it all comes to pass according to his purpose, too. Always remember
that. Exodus chapter 14, verses 21
to 31. And Moses stressed out his hand
over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong
east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the
waters were divided." Now, it doesn't say that the Lord parted
the Red Sea because of Moses' great faith, does it? It doesn't
say that, no. Or because of anything to do
with Moses. Look at that. And Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind. This is the mighty power of God
at work. This is a miracle of God. By
a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and
the waters were divided. This isn't just the river. This
is the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went
into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters
were a wall unto them on the right hand and on their left.
And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them, to the midst
of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses and his chariots and his
horsemen. Now, our Almighty God and His
sovereignty allowed those Egyptians to come flying right in after
them. And this is all according to God's purpose. Now remember
this too. Egypt is a mighty ancient power. And so, He would have
cast His best soldiers at them. He wanted those slaves back.
He had to cast his best soldiers. And Israel was a mighty army.
They had chariots and everything. They were a well-equipped fighting
force. And remember, just like in our
days, who usually serves in the military? The young, the youth. Now we know that a generation
had already been wiped out, right? The first born. What's going
to happen to Egypt now? We'll see what happens. Those
Egyptians, they're hot on the tail. Now, they can't catch them,
of course. They can't catch them. Look at
this. And it came to pass that in the
morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of Egyptians through
the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host
of the Egyptians. Look at this. And took off their chariot wheels
that drive them heavily. So the Egyptians said, Let us
flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them
against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come
again upon the Egyptians, upon the chariots, and upon the horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea. Now remember,
these Egyptians, they had followed the Israelites in, but they couldn't
get to them, right? Because there's a pillar of fire
between them and the Israelites. Okay, but in they come flying
in. Try to chase them. Now imagine, Their wheels start
falling off. These are chariot men. They'd
start running the other way, wouldn't they? They'd start running
the other way. But you can't outrun God. You
can't outrun the judgment of God. Look at this. And the Lord said
unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters
may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon
their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his
hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength. When
the morning appeared, and the Egyptians fled against it, and
the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. So they'd
already lost a generation of firstborn. Now again, you take
out an army of a nation, and they're never going to be the
same. They're never going to be the same. They've now lost
the might of their forces. My. And it come crashing down
on them. Look what it says. And the waters
returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the
host of Pharaoh. All of them. There wasn't one
that escaped. They came into the sea after them. There remained
not so much as one of them. They're all wiped out. They were
all wiped out. But look at this. But the children
of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea. Oh my
goodness. So the mercy of God and the grace
of God is leading the Israelites through that on dry ground. And
what happened? The wrath of God fell upon those
Egyptians. My goodness. So that not one
of them, not one of them was left alive. But the children
of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and
the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their
left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord
and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. Now we see in
our text there, it says, And the Lord said unto Joshua, This
day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that
they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
So for Joshua, the same sign that God was with him was brought
forth when he walked on dry land. But now in this declaration we
have here, In this declaration we have here,
and the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify
thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I
was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command
the priests that bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, When
ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand
still in the Jordan. This declaration before us, in
this declaration before us, there's much more than just the declaration
and the magnification of Joshua. before the people, as verse 7
brings forth. Again, let's keep our eyes to
our heavenly Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how he has
been magnified among true Israel, true Israel, the elect, the sheep
of God, the sheep of God's pasture, and the church of the living
God. Now let's, with our eyes to Christ, let's read this, and
the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was
with Moses, so I will be with thee." Now note that the Lord
said to Joshua, this day. The singularity of this declaration
makes us know that God has placed a particular emphasis upon this,
on this day. As to what will happen on this
day, it will be like no other. It'll be like no other. Listen
to this. In Psalm 2, verse 7, it says,
I will declare the decree the Lord has sent unto me. Thou art
my son, this day have I begotten thee. Speaking of the Lord and
his incarnation. Then in Hebrews 1, 5, the scripture
says this. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, thou art my son, this day, same phrase,
this day have I begotten thee. And again, I will be unto him
a father, and he shall be to me a son. So, same phrase in
Psalm 2.7 and Hebrews 1.5, and we know that's speaking of Christ.
So we can be assured that this was in reference to an earthly
time and place when our great, sovereign, majestic God would
bring to pass that which He has purposed in eternity. This is
not something new. This is not something new. No, it's something old in purpose,
newly revealed in time. Newly revealed in time. This
is the beginning of the beginning of the Lord's earthly ministry.
Look at that again. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel.
This speaks of the beginning of our Lord's incarnation. When
he will be manifested, before the people of God. Turn, if you
would, to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. And it will
end on the cross of Calvary where God glorified his Son. And we
know from this morning's message that the Son glorified the Father.
Listen to the words of John 12, 28. Look at this. Father, glorify thy name. There
came, or then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both
glorified it and will glorify it again. Now turn over to John
chapter 17. John chapter 17, verses 4 and
5. So this day is the day when the
Lord is magnified in God's sight. Magnified in the sight of all
Israel. Look at John 17, verses 4 and 5, I have glorified thee
on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me
to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self,
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Let's
go back to our text again, in Joshua 3, verse 7. And the Lord
said unto Joshua this day, specific, will I begin to magnify thee
in the sight of all Israel. that they may know that as I
was with Moses, so I will be with thee. Now take note in this
text before us that the magnification, and looking at this with eyes
to Christ, the magnification of Christ is not to all the world,
is it? Joshua wasn't magnified to all the world, was he? Just Israel. And we know Israel
is a picture of the elect of God. We know that. We know that. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with
thee. So, with an eye to Christ, take
note that this magnification of Christ is not with all the
world. No. And we know Christ is not revealed
to all man. No. No. But we know He's revealed
to whom the Father is pleased to reveal Him to. And we know that they are all
whom the Father hath given him from eternity. Because in John
17, verse 6, it says this, listen to this, this is wonderful. I
have manifest thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out
of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me, and they have kept thy word. So the Master in John 17,
verse 6, makes it clear that He is manifest to those whom
the Father gave Him. I have manifested Thy name unto
the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine they
were, and Thou gavest them Me. Very clear. Beloved of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ is manifested to those to whom the Father has
given to Christ. The world cannot know Christ.
It has no care for him. Therefore. He is magnified to
those whom the father, the father gave him. First, John three, one, the scripture
declares, behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed
upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore, the
world knoweth us not because it knew him not. It doesn't know
us. It. It did not know Christ. It thinks we're strange and odd. No, we're born again. We're saved by the grace of God
in Christ. We're sinners and we know we're
sinners. And we tell people we're saved sinners. All by the grace
of God. All by the grace of God. His
people, let's go back to our text again, look at that again.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify
thee in the sight of all Israel. Who is Christ magnified to? Who
is Christ manifested to? Who is Christ revealed to? Well,
His people. His elect. His sheep. We know Him, don't we? We know
Him because He's revealed Himself to us. We hear the Shepherd's
voice through the preaching of the Word of God. through the
preaching of the gospel? And what do we do? We follow
him. Turn, if you would, to John chapter 10. We follow him. Now remember what I brought up
today. In our natural state, we're a corpse, spiritually.
Physically alive, but a corpse spiritually, right? We know that
from Ephesians chapter 2. You had the quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sin. That just means that we had no
life spiritually. And we looked at this morning,
a corpse can't come to, a corpse can't get up and walk somewhere.
It can't hear anything, it can't speak. So that's our natural
state before God. Look at this verse, John chapter
10. And this is why the Lord said
those wonderful words, ye must be born again. And we know that's
a miracle of God. We know that's the power of the
Holy Spirit of God. Look at this in John chapter 10, verses 14
and 15. This is amazing. And this is
only because we've been given here in years. Look at this,
I am the good shepherd. Singular, the good shepherd. and know my sheep, that's Ganowsky,
he knows us intimately, and am knowing of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And then look a little bit further
down in verse 27 to 30, look at this, and look at the marvel
at these words, because there was a time when we didn't hear
the shepherd's voice. We may have heard about Christ. We may have fumbled through the
Bible a little bit and looked at certain things, but there
was no understanding. And some of us didn't even look
at the Bible. I didn't look at the Bible. Didn't have a care for it. Lost as a white goose in a snowstorm.
Had no clue. No clue at all. No concern for
my soul. No concern for the things of
God. As a matter of fact, I wanted to be as far away as I could
from God's people. Didn't even want to be around them. That's how it was. Had some people who lived across
the road. We called them Bible thumpers. Because they were always
talking about the Bible. We thought it was real strange.
But see, I didn't know anything. I was a corpse, spiritually.
with no life. Look at this, though. This is a miracle of grace. My
sheep hear my voice. Those who were dead are made
alive, born again by the Holy Spirit of God, given ears to
hear and eyes to see Christ. Look at this. My sheep hear my
voice. And how do we hear the shepherd's
voice? I love what A.W. Pink said, through the preaching
of the gospel, through the reading of his words. Oh, the shepherd
speaks to us only through his word. No other way. No other way. Look at this. My
sheep hear my voice. They hear it. And I know them. Gnoska, again, intimate knowledge. Intimate knowledge. And they
follow me. It doesn't say, well, they might
if they make a decision, you know. It doesn't say that, does
it? We're made willin' in the day
of God's birth. Aren't you thankful, you who are the sheep of God,
aren't you thankful that God made you willin'? I'm sure thankful.
Oh, I'm sure thankful. Lookit, it just gets better.
And I give unto them, God gives, see? We don't choose it, do we? Because there's none that seek
it after God. Now, when we're made willin', this is where I
get with some folks that think that we don't believe we flee
to Christ. We do. But we're made willing. Look
at this. And I give unto them. God gives
us. The Lord Jesus Christ gives this to his sheep. Eternal life. Hallelujah. Eternal life. And they shall, let this sink
deep into your soul, beloved of God, and they shall never,
never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Oh, what security. Christ himself
says, they'll never perish and no one will pluck them out of
my hand. And then look what he says, my father which gave them me is
greater than all. He's the sovereign father. And no man, now think of that,
no man, not even ourselves. That includes ourselves, doesn't
it? That includes ourselves. No man.
No man. No man is able to pluck them
out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. And
again, when you say that, no man, and you emphasize no man,
people right away, oh, you believe you can do whatever you want.
I didn't say that, did I? Never said that. Never heard
a grace preacher say that. Never heard it. No, the love
of Christ constrains us. Look at that, look at this, look
at this double security, security in the son and security in the
father. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Now who is this speaking
of? Those, those who, those whom
Christ has magnified. Remember where our text says,
this day will I begin to magnify thee, and we know that's Christ,
in the sight of all Israel. Who's all Israel? Who's true
Israel? Who's true Israel? The elect of God, right? The ones who hear the shepherd's
voice, the ones who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God,
the ones who follow Christ, because they're made willing, The ones
who have eternal life. The ones who will never perish.
This is good news for sinners. The ones who will never be plucked
out of Christ's hands and never be plucked out of the Father's
hands. Never. Let's go back to our text in
Joshua 3, verse 7. And there's a very evident distinction
made here between Moses and Joshua. And between the magnification
of Joshua. Joshua chapter 3 verse 7. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with
thee. Now the Lord in this text proclaims
that he was with Moses and he will be with Joshua. And remember,
who did Moses represent? The law. The law. He represented the law. And Joshua, Joshua represents
Christ. My! Moses represented the law. And
Christ was the end and fulfillment of the law of Moses. Turn if
you would to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And then put your finger in Romans
chapter 10. I'm going to read Hebrews 10.9
which says this, Then said he, speaking of Christ, Lo, I come
to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. And of course this is speaking
of the covenants. In Acts chapter 13, look at this. Look at this. Verses 38 to 39. So Moses represents the law. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, being Christ, is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. Every time the gospel is preached
and proclaimed, preached unto whoever's listening, is the forgiveness
of sins. Only through Christ and Him alone.
And by him being Christ again, all that believe, look at this,
are justified. The question is, do you believe? All that believe, and by him
all that believe, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are what?
Justified from all things. That is wonderful news. That's
good news for sinners. Look at this, look at this. From
which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Oh my. Now go to Romans 10, 4. This is good news. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. No more condemnation
for the believer from the law. It's satisfying. Look at those
words for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone that believe it. And we just read over there and
in Acts 13 and by him being Christ all that believe are justified
from all things from our sins justified before God from all
things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.
No one can be justified by the law of Moses. No one. The only
way to be justified before God is in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Because He is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. To everyone that believeth. Oh, our Lord Jesus Christ completely
fulfilled the redemptive will of God. He put away all sacrifices,
all offerings, the priesthood and all that was associated with
the covenant. And He stands in place of them
all, beloved of God. When we have Christ, we have
everything. We have everything. He is the
end of the law for righteousness. Now look at verse 8. Let's go
to Joshua chapter 3, verse 8. And thou shalt command the priests
that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the
brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church. He's the
head of the church. He's Lord over all. And note
in our text that God commands Joshua, who's a pitcher of Christ,
that he shall command the priest, which is the church, that bear
the Ark of the Covenant, which is Christ in his gospel. He's
given the authority. And that authority that this
pitcher is the authority given to our great Redeemer, our great
Redeemer. He's the head of the church.
He's the head of the church. Listen to Ephesians 1.20-23 where
the scriptures declare, Which he wrought in Christ when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand
in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and
might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only
in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put
all things under his feet, So all things are under the feet
of Christ. Everything is subject to him.
Everything. There's not a molecule place.
There's nothing that's not subject to him. Visible and invisible. Everything is subject to him.
It's all under his feet. All under his feet. And has put
all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all
things to the church. He's the head. We serve Christ. He's the head of the church.
We're all servants. He's the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. Which is His body, the church
is His body, the elect of God is His body, the fullness of
Him that filleth all in all. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 20
to 23. Now note in verse 8 again, the command is given very clear
and instructive as the priests were to come to the brink of
the Jordan. Brother Tim James says this is symbolic of death
in Christ. And they're to stand still. They're
to stand still. Look at Joshua 3.8. And thou
shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant,
saying, when ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan,
ye shall stand still in Jordan. Stand still. What are we commanded? Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. Be still and know that I am God.
There are a lot of commands for us to stand still. You know why?
Because we like to do things. We do. It's wired in us. And
we battle this flesh all the time, don't we? We're to stand
still, beloved. We're to stand still. Stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. And this is the wonder of the
salvation of the elect. Brother Tim brings out that they're
ordained to good works, but all these works flow from standing
still. We know in Ephesians 2 that God's
people are ordained to good works. Which He rots in us. But we are
commanded just to stand still, beloved. Just to stand still. Everything that the believer
does, he does while standing still. Just like the priests
who bear the ark. We are determined to know nothing
among you but Christ and Him crucified. Listen to the words
of Paul on preaching the gospel. Listen to the words of Paul on
preaching the gospel. He says this. And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech, of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. He didn't come using fancy words,
did he? Not at all. Now Paul could have
talked in fancy words. He was very highly educated,
but he didn't do that. He came to the Corinthians and
he spoke to them in normal language. He says, I came to you not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony
of God, for I am determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words. He didn't use gimmicks. Come,
we're going to have a bounce house this week. He didn't do
these things. He didn't do these things. Oh, you see, don't you
see that down the road? You drive down the road and there's a church
there. Oh, we have a bounce house this week. We're giving away
this to that. That's just awful. That's awful. Absolutely awful. He says, he
says, he says, I didn't come to you with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. How
are we saved? By a demonstration of the spirit
with power. The Lord takes the preaching
of the word of God and he regenerates dead sinners
and gives them life. And he says, listen, I love this.
I love this. This is marvelous. And this is
found in 1 Corinthians 2, if you want to read it, verses 1
to 5. He finishes it with this, though. That your faith, that
your faith, yours and mine, should not stand in the wisdom of man,
not by the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. But look,
I'll read that portion again, verse two. Let's read all the
way, let's read one to five again. And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And
I was with you in weakness. Paul wasn't, well, I'm never
weak. Paul wasn't like that. No, Paul
was the one who bared one another's burdens. And in fear and in much trembling.
In my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words.
He didn't use language to ensnare people. He didn't say, well,
bow your head, repeat this prayer, now you're saved, and declare
people saved. He didn't do that. He didn't use formulas. He didn't
use things to entice people to come. No, he preached the gospel. And look at this, not with enticing
words of man's wisdom. Man thinks, well, we'll do all
these things, and man. No, but in demonstration of the
spirit and the power that your face should not stand in the
wisdom of man, but in the power of God. For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it's the power of God unto salvation.
to the Jew first and also to the Jew. Paul wrote that in Romans
chapter one. It's the power of God to salvation. So we stand in Christ and Christ
alone, don't we? The armor of God that Paul writes
about in Ephesians chapter six, that's Christ. That's Christ,
beloved, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith. Who's our
salvation in Christ? The shield of faith. Who's our
faith in? Christ, the breastplate of righteousness. Who's our righteousness? The
Lord, our righteousness. The belt of truth. Who's the
way, the truth, and the lie? The sword of the spirit, the
word of God, which testifies of Christ. Your feet shod with
the preparation of the gospel. Who's the gospel all about, beloved?
It's all about Christ. So we stand in Him, don't we?
We stand in Christ. Listen to this. Wherefore, take
unto you the whole armor of God, that being Christ. We stand in
Him that you may well do. We stand in the evil day and
haven't done all to stand just to stand. Now, left to ourselves,
we wouldn't stand. But in Christ, we stand. Stand,
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and heaven
on the breastplate of righteousness. Oh, it speaks all about Christ. We're to stand. God's preachers bear the precious
message of the Gospel. Not the dead weight of religion
that heaps things on you that you have to do and keep doing
to be saved. No. God's preachers bear the
precious message of the Gospel. That salvation is in Christ and
Him alone. Neither is there salvation in
any other. Only in Christ. Only in Christ. God's preachers bear the precious
message of the Gospel, and they praise the name of God for His
loving kindness, and for His truth, and for the fact that
He has magnified His Word above all by name. He has magnified
Christ. It's He who's done this. And
we see that. We see that over here in our
text. Look at that again. This day will I begin to magnify
Thee, speaking of Christ in the sight of all Israel. Christ is
magnified by God to all of Israel. To all the elect. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3. And the beginning
of this magnification of Joshua in the sight of Israel
takes place at the Jordan. But it's fully realized, beloved,
in the picture that it represents with the heavenly Joshua, the
Lord Jesus Christ, entering the Jordan, which we see in Matthew
3, verses 13-17. Look at this. Then cometh Jesus
from Galilee to Jordan unto John. to be baptized of him. But John
forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest
thou to me? And Jesus, answering, said unto
him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. And he suffered him. And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straight away out of the water,
and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, He saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove, enlightened upon him, and lo, a voice from
heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now John had been preaching Christ,
speaking of Him who was to come, and he's been baptizing believers
in the Jordan, and now the very one whom he's been speaking of,
comes to Him, stands before Him, and wants to be baptized. We see that in verse 13. Our
Lord Jesus Christ does this because it's the beginning. Now here
we go. Back to our text, right? It says, And the Lord said unto
Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify thee in the sight
of all Israel. Now look at this right there, back where we are.
Look at that. back in verse 13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan to be baptized of Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ does this
because it's the beginning of His magnification to the elect
of God. This is, I like what Brother
Tim James says, this is the coronation of our great King. This is the
coronation of our great king, as Jesus begins his earthly ministry.
And we see that the nature of Christ's ministry is brought
forth here before us, and it's that of substitution. Notice
how John is reluctant to baptize our Lord. He knows his unworthiness,
but what does our Lord tell him? Suffer to be so now, for thus
it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. to fulfill all
righteousness. It becometh us to fulfill all
righteous, beloved of God, our Lord being baptized in the Jordan,
the symbolic of of the death that he would die and the death
that all his people would die in him. Let's read verse eight again
in Joshua, chapter three, and also command the priests that
bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, when you come to the
brink of the water, Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.
Now note the priests who are bearing the ark. When they come
to the brink of the water, they are to stand still. They are
to stand still. Stand still in the Jordan. Beloved,
when we're baptized, we declare that Christ our Lord has fulfilled
all righteousness. We are declaring to everyone
that He's our Savior and He's our Lord, and He fulfilled all
righteousness for us in His death and in His life. And we stand
in Him, who alone is our substitute. Christ and Him alone. And then what happens after that?
We live a life of resting and trusting in our Lord as we pilgrimage
through this world. And this is a world of woe, where
many ups and downs and sorrows and tears and laughter and joy,
it'll be, it's like this, our lives. But He is ever constant with
us. And we only find our rest in Christ. We only find our rest
in Christ. And remember, we're but passing
through this world, beloved. We who are God's people, we're
just passing through this world. We're passing through this world,
journeying to the land of eternal bliss. And you know why it'll
be a land of eternal bliss? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is there. That's why we'll get to see our
Redeemer face to face. And all the cares and all the
troubles and all the sorrow of this world will pass. Oh my. Makes you homesick for
heaven, doesn't it? Now when our Lord Jesus Christ
comes up out of the water which He was baptized, it symbolizes
His resurrection and our justification by it. And the magnifying of
His name begins. The magnifying of His name begins.
Go back to Matthew chapter 3. Oh, look at this. Our great God
begins to magnify Christ in His earthly ministry by fulfilling
prophecy by Him and the Holy Spirit of God we saw descended
upon Him as a dove and the magnification of the Lord Jesus Christ continues
with the voice from God. Look at this. Declaring that
the person and the work of Christ is the only way that God is pleased. Look at this. Matthew 3.17. And
lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased." Note how God sets aside any notion that
He can be pleased by anything man does. Do you notice that? With this statement, He sets
aside that He can be pleased by anything that man does. He
proclaims that he is only well pleased with Christ. What a statement
here before us. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. The perfect, sinless, spotless
Lamb of God. Beloved, great is the mystery
of godliness. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
the Lord Jesus Christ. justified in the Spirit, seen
of angels and preached unto the Gentiles. And He's still being
preached and proclaimed, isn't He? Believed on in the world
and received up into glory. And as the Son of God, He is
the mystery of godliness. God manifest in the flesh. In
verse 17 there of Matthew chapter 3, our great God proclaims the
majesty of His Son. Look at that. He proclaims the
majesty of the Son of God and the fact that He is pleased with
His Son and nothing and no one else. This is my beloved Son. Remember, sent by God to be the
propitiation for the sins of His people. His only beloved
Son, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, sent by
God the Father, to redeem His people from their
sins, to glorify Him on this earth. And He says this, this
is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The Father, God the Father is
pleased with His Son and nothing and no one else. And the Lord
Jesus Christ alone is the only sacrifice for sin that God will
accept. The perfect, sinless, spotless
Lamb of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is magnified
above all else by his born-again blood-washed people. And we say glory to his name.
And now, let this bless your heart. God is pleased with us
in Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Only in Christ. Only in Christ. What a Savior. What a gospel. Glory to his name. Praise his
mighty name. What a Savior. Heavenly Father,
we thank you. Lord, we thank you for the text
we looked at tonight, oh Lord. And we see that Christ alone
is magnified among Israel. And we know that that points
to the elect of God, oh Lord. And oh Lord, how he's magnified
amongst your people. Glory to him, Lord. Give us lips to praise him in
lips to sing praises and songs of the mercy and grace which
we have received undeservedly, but oh my, what a salvation,
what a savior is Jesus Christ our Lord. And the scriptures
declare, look unto him and be ye saved. Look unto Christ and
be ye saved. Praise your mighty name, Lord.
Glory to you. We love you. We pray that you
would be, you would, that this week that we would think of these
wonderful things that we've looked at in the scripture tonight,
these wonderful truths that we've looked at this day and how you
are ever with your people, protecting us, guiding us, directing us,
and how you are pleased only with Christ. And how we are clothed
in the righteousness of Christ as your people. And you see Christ
when you look upon us. Oh, my. What a great God. What a savior. We thank the Holy
Spirit for regenerating us and revealing Christ to us in Jesus
name. Amen.