Getting Through The
Roadblocks!
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Definition (s)
• Roadblocks - a hindrance or
obstacle to something. Something
that blocks progress or prevents
accomplishment of an objective.
“Something that stops you from
going where you’re trying to go
(T. Coleman).”
Introduction
Since the book of Genesis we can see that
man has had to face roadblocks in his life
to achieve his objective. Some roadblocks
are there to protect us from harm, such as
the roadblock of strict instructions that was
given to Adam and Eve. God told them
which trees were safe to eat from and what
tree wasn’t, yet they ignored that road
block and thus the nature of disobedience
and sin was born. From this point
roadblocks of hindrance meant to stop our
progress in life were established.
Intro. Continued
These roadblocks come in many forms,
such as sin, depression, loneliness,
discouragement, etc. In general, anything
that keeps us from moving forward in life
can be considered a roadblock.
As believers in Christ, Christians have
hope for overcoming or getting through
these roadblocks. As we will see in the
following message, God has plans for the
believers to get through all roadblocks that
lay ahead of them.
Scripture: Joshua 3
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Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from
Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before
crossing over.
After three days the officers went throughout the camp,
Giving orders to the people: “When you see the Ark of the
Covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are
Levites, 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 a thousand yards
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.”
Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and
pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead
of them.
And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in
the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I
was with Moses.
Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you
reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”
Scripture Continued: Joshua 3
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Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the
words of the LORD your God.
This is how you will know that the living God is among you
and that he will certainly drive out before you the
Cananites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites,
Amorites and Jebusites.
See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will
go into the Jordan ahead of you.
Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one
from each tribe,
And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the
LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its
waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in
a heap.”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the
priest carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of
them.
Scripture Continued: Joshua 3
15. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during the
harvest. Yet as soon as the priest who carried
the ark reached the Jordan and their feet
touched the water’s edge,
16. The water from upstream stopped flowing. It
piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a
town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,
while the water flowing down to the Sea of the
Arabah was completely cut off. So the people
crossed over opposite Jericho.
17. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant
of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the
middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by
until the whole nation had completed the
crossing on dry ground.
Supporting Scripture
Matthew 16:21-23
21. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he
must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the
elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and the he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he
said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23. Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! Your are a
stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of
God, but the things of men.”
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die
to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been
healed.
Isaiah 53:6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own
way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [Jesus
used as scapegoat, bearing the sins of man. He is the final
atonement for those who believe in him.]
Message
While it is inevitable that we will experience roadblocks along our journey
in this life, we can have joy in knowing that through Christ approach these
roadblocks with confidence. In our main scriptural text (Joshua 3) we see
God’s people preparing to approach a roadblock that is stopping them from
their forward progress and eventual blessing. This roadblock is the Jordan
River. In addition to them having a major roadblock to clear, they were faced
with the challenge of this being a new route to travel.
In this life we will find ourselves in similar situations time and time again.
We will have roadblocks that are intended to hinder us from our forward
progress, but just as the Israelites, God will provide us with spiritual
leadership to see us through. Our roadblock may not be the Jordan River; it
may be alcoholism, drugs, adultery, lying, depression, loneliness, envy, or
sinning in general. We may be facing some of these roadblocks for the first
time and have no earthly idea of how to overcome or get through them.
There is Good News! That news is that God wants us to be successful on
our journey through life and therefore he enables us to just as the Israelites,
be patient and follow the leadership that he puts before us. We may not
know how to overcome loneliness on our own, but through our Christian
contacts in leadership we can find our way. We may not know how to get
through a drug or alcohol problem, but with the help of Christian leaders, we
can find help to get us through. What ever the situation or roadblock, there
is hope and there is help.
Just like the Israelites crossing the Jordan, we have to have faith
in God and those leaders he places in our lives. It would have done
the Israelites little good to follow the priest to the edge of the river if
they had no intention to cross, likewise, we should not simply listen
to our Christian leadership without having intentions on follow the
lead before us.
Joshua told the people to Consecrate themselves (Jos. 3.5) before
they cross there roadblock, likewise we must prepare ourselves. If
we want God to bless us and help us get through our roadblocks we
have to dedicate ourselves to following his guidance and the
leadership provided to us, only then can we successfully get over the
hump and overcome our roadblocks.
Let us not forget that the priest were carrying the Ark of the
Covenant which contained the ten commandments. They took the
lead on the journey, but it is evident that God’s word being with them
gave them power beyond measure; enough power to stop a river that
is at flood level from flowing and dry land to appear. There is Good
News! This display of power is still present for the faithful Christian
leaders and believers today and because this is so, we can still get
through the greatest roadblocks life throw at us.
God want to exalt us just as he did for the Israelites. He wants to
raise us in rank, position, or esteem. He wants all unbelievers to see
his power and mercy at work. If we can show our genuine
commitment to his word and adhere to the leadership he places before
us, he want to show the world that he has to power to help us get
through any and all roadblocks no matter how big, strong, wide, or tall
it may be. If we have a subconscious problem, he want to see us
through; if we have a problem with our faith, he wants to see us
through; if we have a problem with our personal appearance, he wants
to see us through, whatever the roadblock he wants to see us through.
Glory be to God!
We see in one of our supporting scriptures (Matt. 16:21-23) even
Jesus himself had to overcome a roadblock placed in front of him which
came in the form of one of his disciples, Peter. Yes, one of his close
followers! Let us be aware that even those close to us can become
hindrances to our forward progress in life. It is our job, however to
know what God has up the road for you; his plans for you. When we
know this, we can identify those people or distractions that are not in
his plans and that seek to change our course on the map to success
and spiritual bliss.
Reflecting on Jesus in that scripture nevertheless, it is
because of him and his willingness to die on the cross that we
can stand confident as believers that no roadblock placed before
us can stop our progress. He is the priest, Ark of the Covenant,
and sacrificial lamb all in one that prepared the way for us to get
through our roadblocks. Because he died and was raised from
the dead on the third day, we can be confident that our
roadblocks are destructible and that we can get through them.
Peter says “He [Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by
his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet. 2.24).” He carried all
the sins of this world on his shoulder to his death so that they
may not be indestructible roadblocks to us in life. He has atoned
for them already and we can enjoy that benefit as believers.
Each time we recognize our sins and repent (working to avoid
them again) we go through a roadblock.
Many times we get directions from leaders in our lives as to
what to do in life, but being independent at times, we find
ourselves wanting to do it our way because we know what’s best
for us. We don’t want to listen. Be it a parent, priest, teacher, or
friend that may have traveled a road before us and wishes to
save us from even having to go through that roadblock, we chose
to go anyhow and learn for ourselves, that is human nature and
it is also human nature for us to be wrong at times.
Glory be to God that he was prepared for that and that he is still
willing to get us through the roadblocks in life, even when we don’t
listen to the leadership before us the first time (although it can save a
lot of heartache and pain). Our supporting scripture, Isaiah 53:6 tells
us that all of us mess up and don’t listen at times, nevertheless, we can
be thankful that because of Christ bearing our sins, we have hope and
an opportunity to move forward with successful progress.
In closing let us remember, that though we do not have to cross the
Jordan River, we still have many roadblocks ahead of us. Let us also
remember that because Jesus Christ died for our sins, overcoming all
possible roadblocks that may be placed before us in advance, we can
have confidence as believers that we can get through any and all
roadblocks in our paths and success is ours.
Glory be to God!
Steps Needed to Get Through Roadblocks
1. Prepare – you will encounter roadblocks in life, prepare for
them.
2. Follow Directions – God has given us directions in the Holy
Bible which we receive through reading, studying, ministers,
and other believers.
3. Understand Your Purpose – recognize and understand the
reason you are moving forward in life.
4. Recognize – recognize and identify the roadblocks that stand
before you.
5. Maintain faith – remain confident, believing and trusting that
God will carry you through the roadblocks.
6. Move – proceed through the roadblock with confidence.
Message Prepared and Delivered By:
Timmy L. Westley
www.shepherdsvineyard.com