Sermon: Step Into The Water

Sermon Date: 7/27/2025

Bible Verses:

• Joshua 3

Speaker: Rev. Timothy "Tim" Shapley

Theme: https://uppbeat.io/t/northwestern/a-new-

Main Theme: God calls us to step forward in faith—even when the way ahead seems uncertain. Like Israel at the Jordan, we are called to trust that God will go before us and make a way where there is no way.

Devotional Reflection: “Go and Trust”

The people of Israel had come to the edge of the Promised Land. After 40 years of wandering, failing, and learning in the wilderness, the moment had finally arrived. They could see the promise. It was real. Tangible. Just beyond the horizon.

But between them and that promise flowed a flooded Jordan River.

This wasn’t a trickling stream or ankle-deep wade. As Joshua 3:15 tells us, it was harvest season—when the Jordan overflowed all its banks. It surged with fast-moving, dangerous water. There were no bridges. No boats. No natural crossing point. From a human standpoint, the way forward was impossible.

And yet, in the face of that impossible barrier, Joshua issued a call not to panic, but to prepare:

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5)

Joshua didn’t know the mechanics of what God would do. He just knew that God would act. That’s faith: trusting in God's character before you see His plan.

Then came the instruction—one that defies common sense and safety protocols:

“When the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark… rest in the waters… the waters shall be cut off…” (Joshua 3:13)

In other words: Step in first. Before the waters part. Before you see the miracle. Before the “safe way” appears.

God wasn’t asking them to stand on dry ground and then follow. He was asking them to trust Him in motion. To take a risk on His Word. To get their feet wet.

 

Spiritual Truth:

God doesn’t always show us the whole path. Often, He waits for us to step out before He reveals what’s next. Just as the priests had to trust God with their first step into the river, we too must trust Him with our next step—even if it looks risky, even if we’re afraid.

God’s presence, represented by the ark of the covenant, went ahead of them (v. 3). He wasn’t asking them to go alone. He was going before them—to lead, to part the waters, to prove He is faithful.

This moment redefines faith for us. Faith isn’t just waiting for God to act—it’s moving in obedience even when the outcome is unclear.

Too often we stand at the edge of our own “flooded Jordan,” saying:

• “Lord, show me the dry ground first.”
• “Open the door, then I’ll walk through.”
• “Make it safe, and then I’ll trust.”

But God says: “Step in. Trust Me to meet you there.”

The miracle didn’t happen until they moved. It wasn’t their strength or cleverness that brought the breakthrough—it was their obedience. God was already prepared to act; He was just waiting for their faith to activate the process.

 

Application Questions:

What river stands in your way today?

• A decision you’ve been putting off until you “feel more certain”?
• A step of faith—into ministry, forgiveness, generosity, or healing—that looks too risky?
• A calling from God that demands movement before clarity?

Don’t wait for the river to part. Step in. God doesn’t ask for perfection—He asks for trust. He calls you to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), to lean not on your understanding (Proverbs 3:5), and to obey without full visibility.

Encouragement:

God is still the One who makes a way through impossible waters.

• Isaiah 43:2 – “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”
• Proverbs 3:5–6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall [a]direct your paths.”
• Hebrews 11:29 – 29 “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”

The priests weren’t stepping into the river alone. They were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence and power. They weren’t moving forward on their own strength—they were following God’s leading.

And so are you.

If God has called you forward, He will go before you. If He has asked you to step in, He will hold the waters back.

Bu