‘GET YOUR FEET WET’

Key Text: Joshua 3:14–17

“So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF A THRESHOLD MOMENT

Joshua 1:1–2

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

Before God talks about the future, He acknowledges the past.

• Moses is dead

• A chapter has ended

No one crosses into a new year empty-handed.

Some of us carry joy.Some of us carry grief.Some carry hope.

But today, God is inviting us to cross over—not pretending we weren’t hurt, but trusting that He is not finished.

this past year:

• The diagnosis you didn’t expect

• The relationship that changed

• The prayer that wasn’t answered the way we hoped

• Disappointments

• Battles we didn’t expect

Still we are ready to cross over this Jordan.

1. GOD DOESN’T ASK YOU TO ERASE 2025—HE ASKS YOU NOT TO LIVE THERE

God says through Isaiah:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”(Isaiah 43:18–19)

You may have the scar to remind you what had happened, but do not dwell on the past.

Notice—God does not say, “Pretend it didn’t happen.”He says, “Don’t let it define your future.”

Israel crossed into the Promised Land with memories of slavery, wilderness, and failure.

We are not crossing into this new year because everything makes sense.We are crossing because God goes before us. He said I will be with you.

2. Consecration Before Celebration

Joshua 3:2-5

² At the end of three days the officers went through the camp ³ and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. ⁴ Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits^[a] in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” ⁵ Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

• Consecrate Means: to set apart, dedicate, or devote something for a sacred purpose. It's an intentional act of separation for divine use. Getting rid of unwanted stuff can be a crucial part of spiritual consecration.

• 1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 

3. THE JORDAN DIDN’T MOVE UNTIL THE FEET DID

The river did not part while they were waiting on the bank.It parted when their feet touched the water.

Joshua 3:13

¹³ And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.

YOU ARE NOT CROSSING ALONE, YOU ARE NOT WALKING INTO THE NEW YEAR ALONE  

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

“Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. ⁸ It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

•    God didn’t remove the river—He met them in it.

  •    The river is not your enemy—fear is.

Hebrews 13:8 says:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

The year changed—but God didn’t.The calendar turned—but God remained.

The same God who carried you through this year will walk with you into the next one.

CLOSING:

They crossed because God was faithful.

And today, God is saying to you:

“The past season has ended. The river is in front of you. My presence is with you. Now—step forward.”