When You See the Ark: PrayTV PGM September 30, 2019

When you see the Ark:

Today’s scripture is Joshua Chapter 3 and verses 3-5 .... “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits (1/2 mile) between you and the Ark; do not go near it. Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you’” (New International Version).

Today, let’s simply follow this text as it unfolds for us, in regard to the directions that God gave to Joshua and the Children of Israel .... “When you see the Ark....” Although in Joshua’s time, the Israelites experienced the physical Ark of the Covenant in their midst, for millennia now, Christians and Jews have looked at the “Ark” in a metaphorical sense, as a symbol of the presence of God. Ask yourself, “Who sees the Ark, the manifest presence of God, today?”

Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 13 and verse 17 .... “For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (NKJV, New King James Version). Seeing and hearing is to have our awareness peaked and our vision tweaked. God and the “Ark of His presence” are available for those of us who have “eyes to see and ears to hear.” God is always desirous of manifesting His presence to His people. We enjoy amazing access through Jesus, who opened up the way for us to live in the presence of God.

.... You’re to move out ... and... follow it....” Hebrews Chapter 11 and verse 13 and I Peter Chapter 2, verse 11, remind us that we are “pilgrims and strangers” here on this earth, which means that we are always in a state of transition and must be willing to move whenever we see the “Ark,” specifically His presence, moving forward. We must ask God to help us discern that we are truly being led by His presence and not just a nomadic urge to move. God gives us this promise.... “You will know which way to go,” when we have our eyes fastened upon Him and are yearning for His presence, the “Ark” as it were.

Even though the “veil of the Temple was rent (torn in two pieces), giving us access into the presence of God through Christ’s death on the cross, we must never become casual in our approach to following God.... “Keep a distance ... do not go near it.” Lest we forget, the same John who put his head upon the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper, trembled with fear and awe, when he encountered the fully glorified Christ in the book of Revelation, Chapter 1 and verse 17. The proper posture between “intimacy and awe” is the secret to balancing the necessities of “love and respect.” This picture is not unlike Queen Esther approaching the throne of King Ahasuerus in his palace in Shushan. Esther must have been trembling inside, knowing that her arrival, uninvited before the King, could have resulted in her death, but she trusted that God was leading her, and God honored her courage.

Finally, God says ... “Consecrate yourselves ... the Lord will do amazing things” ... What are we to do with this invitation and command from God? We are not to ignore God’s invitation and continue in our willful wayward ways. In order to see His wonders, we must follow Him into and through the waters of cleansing and consecration.

I believe that this is the word of the Lord for us as we enter into these 10 Days of Prayer.

Blessings, Brandt