Bootcamp Series #6 Declare

Sermon – Bootcamp- Preparing to Possess the Promise “Declare”
Nov. 21st, 2021
Impact Church London 

Recap: God is taking us through the impassable, impossible crossing, into what he has promised.

Joshua 3:11, 14-16
“Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan… 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, 15 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), 16 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. 

1 Corinthians 10:11
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Jesus went before us as the ARK went before them. He entered into our Jordan, our impossible and impassable. He went down into death, into sickness, into poverty, into the curse, into the depths of human sin and degradation.  He stepped down into those things for us, so that we could cross over from death to life without being harmed or swept away by their currents. 

Intro &  Text:

Joshua 4:1-7
And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

This monument was meant to DECLARE something to the Israelites who crossed over, to their children, and the generation after them. Yet, they forgot. 

Judges 2:10-12
10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. 11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.  

Sermon : DECLARE 

Just like the Ark went into the Jordan first and rolled back all the water, Jesus did that for us. Our job is to remember that, to declare it, to speak it out, tell it and declare it to the generations.

1 Corinthians 11:25-26
“…This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Joshua 4:3
You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.

The remembering was supposed to be real, tangible and close to home. We are going to remember his works – in large part by declaration: 

Psalms 145:4
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

Psalms 9:11
Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

By declaration we keep alive the memory of what he has done in our lives.

Declaring and Remembering is:

1. Personal 
2. Intentional 
3. Generational 

1. Declaration is Personal 

 Joshua 4:2, 5
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe…and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel…”

Everyone one needs to see themselves as included in the finished work of Jesus and declare that over themselves.

Psalms 73:28
But [it is] good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Hebrews 2:9
“…by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

He tasted death for us, entering into the waters of that river ahead of us, so now in his resurrection we too have crossed over already. 

John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Whatever impassible, impossible situation you believe you are facing, be it poverty, be it sickness, be it a demonic issue, be it a personal challenge or issue, this is how you do it: you remember, you declare that the Ark already went in the water, you are already on the other side. How does this work? 

Poverty?

Galatians 3:13
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Sickness? 

1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Matthew 8:16-17
“…many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

What about demonic issues?

John 12:31
“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.”

John 16:11
“…the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

Colossians 2:15
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

What about personal issues? 

Romans 6:11-14
“…offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

2 Peter 1:8-9
“… But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

All issues stem from forgetting that you have been cleansed. 

2.    Declaration is Intentional 

Joshua 3:3
and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge…”

Judges 2:10
When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

I don’t think that happened on purpose. The ability we have for our memories to stay at the forefront of our consciousness and affect our day is limited in scope. If we just let our minds, memories,  and our hearts be passively filled with whatever, we will find that there is no conscious room to remember God. 

2 Corinthians 4:13
 “It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak…” 

3.    Declaring is Generational

Joshua 4:6-7
“that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

This remembrance and declaration was to be done in a way that brought others in.

Psalms 22:31
They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done [this].

I Corinthians 11:25 talks about remembrance, buts a special kind of remembering; 

Anámnēsis — It’s all about deliberately remembering in such a way that the effect of what is remembered is active and present in that moment.

God has met us and done remarkable things, but throughout history, and even in the history of movements, we have a tragic past of one generation “crossing over” and experiencing the blessing, only for the ones after to lose it. I would argue it’s because we failed to declare and remember. Not that we forget the stories, but we didn’t find a way to declare and remember in a way that helps the next generation find their place in that story. We remember facts and details, but don’t know how to share the story of God’s power in a way that helps others find their own experience with Him.  

Let’s not let this not be true of us. We will remember. We will help the next generation find their place in God’s story. We will be intentional about learning how to do so in a way that invites others in. 

Summary
We are on the precipice of something big in our corporate life together, but let’s remember that it is built on a foundation of remembering and declaring what God has already done for us in Christ Jesus. Let declaration and remembrance of what he has done have a  personal, intentional, and generational spot in out lives. We have crossed over in Christ, let’s never forget, and let’s commit to helping other find their place in his story as we declare it with skill, with wisdom, and openness. 

Sermon Notes – Declare pdf

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