What Happened To The Other Half?
Pastor Erickson preaches from Joshua 1 and 3 about the two and a half tribes who chose to stay east of the Jordan, and he warns that living on the provision of manna can make believers settle short of God's promise. He points to the half tribe of Manasseh that crossed over and calls people to repent, be baptized in Jesus name and cross their Jordan by receiving the Holy Ghost.
The message in 6 points
The tribes that stayed behind
He reads from Joshua 1 and 3, where God tells Joshua to lead Israel over the Jordan and the waters stand up as the priests step in. Then he points back to the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, and asks his title question: what happened to the other half?
0:11Out of Egypt with a high hand
Israel left Egypt in victory, not with heads hanging down, and nobody is happier than a new convert who has been set free. He urges the church to keep looking back at their testimony, because you cannot tell where you are headed until you know where you have been.
6:55Spiritual amnesia in the wilderness
Only three weeks after singing at the Red Sea, Israel murmurs in the wilderness of Sin and longs for the food of Egypt. He warns that the wilderness causes short memories, that nothing in Egypt is truly free, and that strange things can trigger people to go back to the world.
12:23Provision is not the promise
God sent manna to keep them alive and prove them, but it was never his promise. A manna lifestyle makes people idle and content with plan B in their marriages, ministries and God-given skills, and he says he fears reaching his deathbed knowing he wasted his potential.
17:53The other half crossed over
Two and a half tribes asked to stay on the green side of the Jordan while the ark, the altar and the whole tabernacle crossed over. The other half of Manasseh chose the promise for their children, while those left in the wilderness without God's presence and covering were later conquered.
31:07Cross your Jordan
Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the promise, yet only 120 came to the upper room. Leaving Egypt is repentance, the Red Sea is baptism in Jesus name, and crossing the Jordan is receiving the Holy Ghost, so he calls people not to be content but to seek a breakthrough.
40:15
In his words
“God provided, but it was just simply provision. It was not the promise. If you get nothing else out of this message, we cannot settle too soon.”
“One of the things that I fear most in my life is to be on my deathbed and think to myself, how much potential did I waste?”
“Repentance is more than just being sorry for sin. Repentance is leaving behind sin.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Joshua 1:1-3
1Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
King James Version.
Joshua 1:5-6
5There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
King James Version.
Joshua 1:10-14
10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. 12And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
King James Version.
Joshua 3:13
13And 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 an heap.
King James Version.
Joshua 3:17
17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
King James Version.
Exodus 16:2-3
2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
King James Version.
Numbers 11:5
5We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
King James Version.
Exodus 16:4
4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
King James Version.
Acts 2:38
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
King James Version.
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