Joshua 4:1-24, Memorial Stones

turn in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 4 we've been looking at the book of Joshua and of course the great theme of this book is victorious Christian living an abundant life tonight as we look at chapter 4 we're going to see Joshua and the children of Israel set up two memorials if you will one on the inside of the Jordan River and one on the outside of the Jordan River so I'm calling the message tonight memorial stones things that we commemorate as we think about the power of God and the presence of God in our life Joshua chapter 4 verses 1 through 24 let's pray Heavenly Father we know that sometimes it's easy to forget all that you've done in our life the love that you've given us the Savior that you've provided for us Redemption and reconciliation to you and Heavenly Father we know that in this time and in this season for many people they find themselves drawing close to you but others Lord sadly find themselves in retreat they look for happy memories of when things were very very good and they want to forget the difficulties or the obstacles or the pain Lord it makes perfect sense to us that there's things that we want to forget and Lord there's things that we would do well to remember and so Heavenly Father again I pray that by your holy spirit Lord you would speak to our hearts about your goodness and about your power and about our savior in Jesus name Amen Joshua chapter 4 beginning in verse 1 we're gonna read - at first to verse 9 and it says and it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan that the Lord spoke to Joshua saying take for yourselves twelve men from the people one man from every tribe 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 then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel one man from every tribe 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 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come saying what do these stones mean to you 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 for ever and the children of Israel did so just as Joshua commanded and took up the twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan as the Lord had spoken to Joshua according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and they laid them down there remember what's happening in the text the children of Israel have come to the River Jordan the River Jordan has parted and the end the Ark of the Covenant has been in the midst of the Jordan River the waters have been held back and the children of Israel stand poised to enter the promised land and Joshua wants them to remember this event throughout the ages men of built monuments to things that they thought were important at the time what you'll notice about human monuments however is that almost invariably they are monuments to themself I think of some of the great monuments that I've seen in my life like the Great Pyramid of Giza which was built to commemorate one man's death or the Taj Mahal in India it is a massive ed Isetta ffice that was never meant to be occupied except by one Moghuls wife it was a crypt or a temple if you will when we think about other monuments this year I went to Rome and for the very first time I saw the Ark of Titus and I saw the arch if you will or the arch of Titus and the arch of Constantine what both of those arches have in common is they were to memorialize events that took place in human history but what Joshua wants to do is to memorialize what God has done in the life of the children of Israel here in Littleton we have a small but precious memorial to the children who were slain at Columbine High School it was interesting that during that time of great difficulty for our church and for this community men and women made a promise that they would never forget and of course part of the memorial was meant to keep that promise that there would be in this community a place in its heart to remember the pain and to make a conscientious effort to make sure that that would never happen again and so Joshua receives instructions from the Lord I have a note in my Bible it says that the erection of these memorials was probably done in a beep obedience to a direct command of God but only the commandment concerning the Memorial on the far side of the Jordan is actually recorded but there are really two memorials in the chapter now before we get into this I want to ask you a question have you ever been somewhere and you're walking along a beach or a meadow or a place and you saw a stone and you picked it up and you put it in your pocket giver done that why would you do such a thing why would anyone do such a thing typically if you're like me and you love rocks it has some sort of geological or mineralogical significance but most people aren't like me most people pick up the rock because they want to remember something about that place something that happened there or something that happened to them in this chapter God is going to direct Joshua and the tribes to remember how God acted on their behalf in creating and performing this great miracle now remember in chapter 3 we learned that in order to enter the land promised it would require that they hear a message of faith and that they would have to understand the message of faith but remember there was a problem the Jordan River had swollen and it couldn't be crossed but God in His grace and His mercy demonstrated this great miracle the waters of the Jordan were supernaturally held back and the tribes of Israel were able to cross over after the Ark of the Covenant itself entered the water they witnessed the power of God and then they experienced the power of God the message of faith was to lead to a walk of faith which was - which was going to cause the Lord to lead Joshua to remind the children of Israel what the walk of faith is all about remember this is a book about victorious living this is a book about abundant life this is a book about the faith filled life and because it's a life where you experience his love you experience His grace you experience his mercy you experience his power in other words the Christian life isn't just about getting more information about God and about Jesus although that is wonderful we all want to have information that the Bible provides us about the beginning we've talked about creation and the fall and redemption and Reconciliation the great big story that God presents to us in this great big book but we've also learned something else that this isn't again just simply knowing the facts and the figures and the information knowledge is helpful but it's supposed to be knowledge that combines with obedience and then the courage to live the life that God has called thus 2w grams scruggy wrote quote there is no victory without struggle there is no perfection without perseverance if we should triumph we must try if we would win we must fight unquote some people will say let go and you know the rest and let God but the real Christian life isn't just a passive willingness to allow whatever will happen will happen it's an opportunity for Christians to partner with God in the plan of God being led and guided and filled with the Holy Spirit and so it begins with a witness of faith we Christians have something to do and we have something to believe we have both and so look again in verse 1 it says and it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan that the Lord spoke to Joshua saying take for yourselves 12 men from the people one from every tribe and command them saying take up for yourself 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're going to lodge tonight the Lord orders that a memorial be built josh was directed by the Lord to command that the twelve previous men you'll remember in chapter 3 verse 12 if you just turn your page or look at the page opposite in chapter 3 verse 12 where it says now therefore take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel one man from every tribe you begin to understand what happened in chapter three that there were going to be representatives of the entire group of people who were going to participate in the memorial that they were to carry twelve stone from the bed of the dry river in other words the place where the river had dried they were going to go and the the stones that had made their way along the river they were going to carry on their shoulder to the encampment now depending on where exactly this is and we have a very good sense that the Acacia Grove and the place where they're going to be is a place called Gilgal it's anywhere from about a mile and a half to two miles away so these 12 guys are gonna get a rock they're gonna put it on their shoulder and they're gonna march throughout the day to the encampment of Gilgal then Joshua verse 4 called the 12 men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel one man from every tribe sit 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 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time saying what do these stones mean to you and verse 7 it says 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 a memorial to the children of Israel forever and the children of Israel did so just as Joshua commanded and took up the twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan as the Lord had spoken to Joshua according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there one set of stones would be set on the west side of the of the river as a perpetual reminder of the miraculous passage through the river now again we are given permission in the Bible to remember what God has done in our life and to remember great acts of faith they serve as reminders of God's grace and God's power today I was rereading the story of John Newton you guys know him he was the person who wrote the very the most famous hymn in all of Christendom Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me he wrote the song in part to remember what God had done in his life because he was a notorious sinner he was shanghaied if you will and was put aboard a ship and was forced to be a sailor and then he rebelled and he was whipped and he was sold into another slave ship and then he was literally sold into slavery in West Africa and himself was the slave of an African princess he managed to escape and then joined yet another slave ship and bought and sold human beings and then of course a miraculous thing happened there was a huge storm and he prayed he said for the first time in his life and the storm was so profound and so severe that it literally cast him overboard and he was saved how somebody took a harpoon and literally speared him through his side and drugged him back into the ship and safety talk about a hard way of being saved going through a difficult time can you imagine saving that harpoon as a constant reminder of the life that you used to have in verse 9 it says then Joshua set up 12 stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priest who bore the Ark of the Covenant stood and they are there to this day now I want you to think about what you just read the Lord tells Joshua to pick twelve guys to take 12 stones to march into the place of the promised land that they're going to occupy and now Joshua himself sets up twelve stones in the middle of the river we're not told if he put him in a circle or if he put him in a pile I'm gonna suggest to you that he probably put them in a pile but as soon as the Ark of the Covenant of Israel have now left the Ark of the Covenant is the last thing to leave the Jordan River once the Ark of the Covenant and the priests lead the Jordan River the waters are going to REE emerge if you will and devour the what that the streambed and the waters are going to cover the rocks so why in the world would someone put a pile of rocks in the middle of a river that no one can see what do you think the answer is it's not interesting to you I'm gonna suggest to you it's wrong to think that no one can see it there is a God who sees everything does he see the rocks that are in the river that used to be dry the answer is yes and this becomes a little hint to us as we're reading this particular passage the Lord sees these these are the hidden stones that would only be seen by God and it's interesting to me that Joshua is going to have a memorial that is going to be meaningful to him that only the Lord can see the stones in the river I'm gonna suggest you become a type and a picture if you will of what God is going to do in the death and the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ the visible stones at Gilgal become a type and a picture of the resurrection of Jesus there are stones that aren't seen and there are the stones that will be seen and there are going to be memories and memorials in your own heart that only you know about what God has done in your life unless of course you have the great privilege or opportunity to share what God has done in your life each and every one of you who have entered into a right relationship with God in Christ you have a testimony you have a story to tell about what God did in your heart and in your life Warren wears be rights quote at the same time they illustrate the believers spiritual union with Christ when he died we died with him we were buried with him we arose with him in victory this is talked about in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 10 Galatians 2:20 Colossians 2:13 Romans 6 verses 4 and 5 the entire book of Romans and most notably chapters 6 7 & 8 cover all of this information warn where's be rights today the church has two memorials of this great truth number one baptism reminds us that the Spirit of God has baptized us into Christ and then there's a second memorial that's the Lord's Supper which points us back to the death of Jesus and then his coming again see we see we as Christians have memorials that serve to remind us for those of you who have been baptized you weren't baptized just to simply express some sort of religious sentiment you were baptized as a public demonstration of an inward change an opportunity to testify to a watching world that Jesus has changed your life and of course once or twice a month on the first Wednesday and the first Sunday typically normally we have communion it serves as a memorial a constant reminder of what Jesus is done for us Paul the Apostle wrote in Colossians chapter 3 verse 3 you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God these stones hidden by the waters known only to Joshua seen only by God than perhaps in your life there are little memorials that you've set up inside of your heart seen only by God known only by you little reminders to encourage you about what God has done in your life again Williams Croce contrasts the crossing of the Red Sea with the crossing of the Jordan he writes if the Red Sea passage typifies God's judgment on sin the Jordan passage typifies his judgment on self the Christian isn't is not an old self renovated but crucified one who has a new South imparted and implanted perhaps the last truth which which we are willing to believe in act upon is that our natural self was put to death on the cross and must continuously be regarded as the place of death and so the Jordan River unlike the Red Sea isn't just simply a picture of passing from death into life it becomes a picture of the death of self and then the full identified identification with our captain with the new Joshua we identify ourselves with Jesus remember in Baptism we identify with his burial death and his resurrection and so again I believe Joshua places the stones in the river as a personal testimony and witness of God's presence and power and you'll note something else in the passage just that I find interesting the stones were still there when Joshua wrote this book the stones were still there when Joshua wrote this book how how would he know that go ahead pretend it's a Pentecostal Church and you can talk to me how would he know that he would have had to have gone back at some point in his life and waded in the river and somehow found the place where the stones were still piled high just like sometimes you go back in your mind to that place of emptiness and darkness and wickedness and then you remember how God showed up how you accepted Christ as your Savior how he alleviated the guilt and brought a flood of forgiveness into your life and so we see again the walk of faith but also the example the witness of faith and the example of faith now we're going to continue reading look what it says in verse 10 so the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people remember remember remember the Ark is a type and a picture of the presence of God the Ark is also a type and a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ the the the power and the presence of the God of God is the first thing in the river and the last thing to leave salvation is by Jesus he's the beginning isn't he and he's the end he's everything in between so it says according to all that moses had commanded joshua and the people hurried and crossed over in verse 11 then it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over that the ark of the lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people jesus is the first one in jesus is the first to die and come back to life and never to die ever again this is why the Bible calls him the Alpha and the Omega Jesus the beginning of salvation and the end of salvation Jesus is the leader who brings our salvation to full fruition and again we see that typify in the passage and then in verse 12 look what it says in the men of Reuben the men of GAD the half tribe of manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had spoken to them verse 13 about forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle to the plains of Jericho now Reuben GAD and the half tribe of Manasseh these are the tribes that received their inheritance on the east side of the river the combined strength of the two-and-a-half tribes appear to be about one hundred thousand fighting men according to numbers chapter 26 but only forty thousand crossed the Jordan again as you do a little detective work in the passage you discover something that there are men who are going forward in order to fight and occupy the land but there are also men who have been left behind to protect the women to protect the children and to protect the resources and so there are functions if you will of fighting but also protection and security at home and in verse 14 it says on that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they feared him as they had feared Moses all the days of his life now remember for those of you who've been following along in our study of the book of Joshua before we ever opened the book remember I showed you the passages from Exodus Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy remember it was in those sections that we discovered that Joshua was Moses servant before he was Moses successor there was a time of service in his life and now there's a time of elevation in his life just like us just like you and me there are times in our life when we're called to serve the Bible says humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up and for the Christian for the person who knows and loves the Lord Jesus there are times of service but also there's times of reward and ultimately for the Christian there's an ultimate reward that awaits us now a person who really believes God will obey God remember Jesus himself said if you love me you will keep my Commandments again I want to firmly root in your brain does Joshua believe God you can say yes yes will Joshua obey God yes will the priests who are carrying the Ark leave God and obey God will the tribes believe God and obey God this is one of those rare times this is if you are a Bible student and you read the Bible your typical reading is going to read and they heard what God said and they disobeyed the Lord this was most of the life of the children of Israel it wasn't spent in belief submission and obedience it was lived in a half-hearted belief half-hearted submission half-hearted obedience but remember what this book is all about it's about abundant life and victorious Christian living and over and over again we revisit the theme for us as Christians it isn't enough that we just simply believe we have to believe in such a way that we're willing to actually walk in the direction that God is calling us and so that's the idea and I want to bring this to your attention this is why the text is stressing their obedience in verse 10 we read and the people hurried and crossed over verse 11 the priests crossed over verse 12 the tribes crossed over verse 13 forty-thousand prepared for war crossed over crossed over verse 10 crossed over verse 11 crossed over verse 12 crossed over verse 13 are you are you seeing a repetition here tell me something are you an example of faith not just a person who believes the truth about Jesus or believes the gospel are you an example of faith to your family to your children to the people who know you have you crossed over have you read what the Bible says about darkness and light about death and life and then crossed over so now we move to this issue of the results of faith from verse 15 through verse 19 keep your hand here just for a moment but continue to read just for a moment concerning the results of faith look what it says then the Lord spoke to Joshua saying command the priests who bear the Ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan in other words now it's time to leave and then they do verse 17 Josh would therefore commanded the priests saying come up from the Jordan and it came to pass when the priest who board the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan and the souls of the priests feet touched the dry land that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all of its banks as before remember the supernatural flood of waters had been heaped up some twenty miles north of them now the waters return and flood the banks verse 19 now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho pause for a moment and let's ask a question about what's happening what were the results of the people's faith I want you to just really think about this they are spending their first day in the promised land they're standing on the ground of their inheritance they have realized what was promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and then to Moses and then to Joshua that they would one day stand in the place of their inheritance the Lord orders Joshua to command the priests to come up out of the water the waters were released when the priests feet touched the dry ground that's the result when faith is realized remember it isn't just simply the word is believed it's acted upon just like when you become a Christian you hear the gospel you hear me preach all the time and others on the radio or perhaps on TV people constantly telling you did you know that God loves you do you know that Jesus came and that he died on the cross for your sin and he rose from the dead do you understand that there's a provision of mercy and grace and forgiveness of sin for you if you will simply believe him and trust him with your life and you see for for most of you there was a day when you heard the gospel and then you believed the gospel and you prayed a prayer and then all of a sudden you began to possess the promises of God you understand that the Bible says that there would be freedom but you would be given this wonderful opportunity to no longer have to experience the penalty of sin but the presence of sin remained in your life and the power of sin continued to dominate your life but why does Joshua mention this exact date why this exact date I'm gonna suggest to you they were just five days short of being in the wilderness for the full 40 years in other words this date that Joshua mentions at this moment in the text it's been 40 years - five days since their departure from Egypt and by the way why five days short I'm gonna suggest to you that they're going to need this amount of time in the Promised Land as they make their way to Gilgal to prepare for another memorial it's the Passover it's the Passover Feast that's a going to take place that remember began in Exodus chapter 12 verses two and three a Beebe was the term that was used by the Jews prior to the Babylonian exile Nissen or Nisan is the word that they would use after the return of the captives from from Babylon this is the first month of the Jewish calendar the first month of the Jewish calendar isn't like January in February for our calendar the first month of the Jewish calendar marked what you and I would call March and April it was the spring now again this is the first month of the sacred Jewish calendar it's the first month in a new land it's a new year it's a new beginning just like again when you accept Christ when you receive him it's a new place it's a new time it's going to mark a new beginning now again I want you to just picture this just for a moment these people have been waiting so long think of the prayers and the tears and the trials and all of the problems and the issues and then the miracles and then this this moment this is the moment when faith bears fruit this is the moment that belief has been acted upon and they're now occupying the place where they've always belonged and again I want you to begin to connect the dots in your life because this is what the Bible has always intended for you there's going to be trials and there's gonna be difficulties and there's gonna be temptations but God has always called you to experience abundant life fruitful life victorious life God honors faith God will not honor unbelief so when you hear people whine and complain and moan and groan lies got doing this to me why is this happening to me why does God hate me so much are you reading your Bible no are you praying no are you experiencing fellowship no so you want all of the benefits of faith and you want all of the abundance and the victory that comes from a lifestyle of submission and humility and obedience but you don't want that to be a part of your life let me ask you a question I was reminded this morning as I was reading this passage and going over these notes and thinking about what I would say to you my granny would say to me Gina you're not the center of the universe this world does not revolve around you was my grandma right did your mom or your grandma tell you the same thing did they say to you oh by the way the whole world doesn't revolve around you but there are immature undisciplined Christians who believe that all of redemptive history revolves around them that everything that God does or doesn't do has something to do with them now clearly God has called you to participate in the story of redemption but every horrible and terrible thing that happens to you isn't because God hates you remember the Bible says he whom the Lord loves he chastens everyone God made promises to Israel the promises came true right at this passage God made promises through Jesus to you that came true the moment that you placed your faith and trust in Christ there were conditions trust belief and then cross over but the key is to remember to take the cross with you when you cross over until I ask you again have you crossed over did you make the journey from death to life from darkness to light have you received Christ as your Savior so now again we think of the purpose of faith liquid it says in verse 20 and these twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan Joshua set up at Gilgal so what's the purpose well one of the purpose is to pass it on those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan Josh was set up in Gilgal in other words the miracle and the message wasn't just simply meant to be enjoyed by you and remembered by you but for you to pass it on to your husband to your wife to your children to your grandchildren we do this so our children will come to know the Lord and love the Lord you see church doesn't just simply exist to worship the Lord although it does exist to worship the Lord or to disciple the Saints it exists for that reason - or to reach out to the Lost it includes that but there's a reason why we have church and it's to give you an opportunity to bring your children to bring your family to bring your loved ones now again this doesn't exonerate you or relieve you from the obligation of believing the message of faith and then modeling the message of faith but this is one of the things that we do with faith we pass it on once Joshua sets up the stones in Gilgal you know what he does he's calling for a memorial service he's saying we're here God's promises are true we are here you know what we're going to do we're gonna have a party we're gonna have a celebration we're going to have a Thanksgiving and praise service he challenges the people to be a witness to their children and to all future generations and even to the world now I want you to think about this this is the first encampment in the promised land there's some mile and a half from where they left or I should say they're probably about a mile and a quarter from where they entered the land they are about two miles from Jericho by the way it says in those 12 stones which they took out of the Jordan Joshua set up in Gilgal do you think he piled them in a pile some of you might think so you might think if I had 12 stones I just make a little rock pile but the word Gilgal in the Hebrew language means circle isn't that interesting now the text doesn't say did he put him in a pile did he put him in a circle I'm gonna suggest to you that whatever he did whether he put it in a pile or whether he put it in a circle whatever he didn't however he did it it was to serve as a reminder for the generations to come how the Lord had brought them first through the bread see and then through the Jordan in other words it becomes a type and a picture of what they were supposed to remember about that particular date I have a tendency to think that they probably put the stones in a circle and that around that circle were the twelve people who carried the stones and around that circle were the tribes now again we're talking about a circle that begins very very small and then it becomes very very large because we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people but the was to remind them about the miracle and then in verse 21 look what it says then he spoke to the children of Israel saying when your children ask their fathers and times to come saying what are these stones now again I'm gonna say the obvious I don't mean to be in any way condescending or demeaning but I'm going to say what is obvious in the text the moment that Joshua says when your children ask their fathers in the time to come what are these stones does he believe that they have a future yes we can't miss the obvious the moment that Joshua speaks to them he anticipates a future living an abundant life and a victorious life where in honor and obedience they marry and they have children and those children ask questions and so I want to tell you what's most obvious about this text it isn't just simply what the children are gonna ask about the stones it is that and so much more he anticipates a future and in the New Testament Jesus anticipates you with the future now we know in the physical reality in which we live no one's guaranteed the future but we have every reason to believe that God is going to take your children and your children's children and as they ask questions about the memorial that you've set up in your life that you should have an answer is there something in your life that your children can point to and say why do you have that cross or why do you why do you do this or why do you do that or why do you go to church well why is it so important for you to get up early in the morning and read your Bible tell me again what it is and how it is that God changed your life in verse 22 it says then you shall let your children know saying Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land for the Lord your God dried up the water for the Jordan before you until you had crossed over as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea which he dried up before us until we had crossed over I want you to think about it the generation that went through the Red Sea were already dead and gone only Joshua and Caleb remain of the previous generation this is a new generation who are occupying the land and who have experienced the fulfillment of the promise in other words what Joshua is saying that to them your father saw God do a miracle in delivering them and God's delivered you and your children are gonna ask questions about that deliverance the stones were supposed to serve as a sign for everyone to see a visible reminder of God's faithfulness and power the stones aren't restricted to the tribes of Israel but also included all the peoples of the earth look what it says that the Lord your God did to the Red Sea which he dried up before until we crossed over verse 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty that you may fear the Lord your God forever parents are tasked with the job of teaching their children that's what it says in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 through 9 the primary task doesn't belong to the church or even me or the children's church the primary responsibility to impart not just wisdom and not just information and not just knowledge but the witness of the power and the Pres of God in your life belongs to you Alexander McLaren wrote quote this is a long time ago he said quote the Jewish father was not to send his child to some Levite or other to get his question answered but was to answer it himself he was from Scotland Alexander McLaren wrote I'm afraid that a good many English parents who called themselves Christians are apt to say ask your Sunday school teacher when such questions are put to them the decay of parental religious teaching is working enormous mischief in christian households and the happiest results would follow at Joshua's homely advice were attended to ye shall let your children know you're the one who need to let your children know there's a powerful God a loving God a forgiving God because you've experienced his power in your life you've experienced his presence in your life were to teach our children and our grandchildren about the power of God and about the faithfulness of God look at the text in verse 24 that all the people of the earth may know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty and that you may fear the Lord your God forever do note it saying because what God has done for you you should be able to testify to a watching world about his power about his presence we live in a culture we live in a culture that's doing every thing that it can to distance itself from what the Bible says about creation what the Bible says about the fall what the Bible says about redemption what the Bible says about the restoration of all things what the Bible says about the past what the Bible says about the present what the Bible says about the future what the Bible says about the problem that we face and the solution that can only be found in Christ remember where you are in the text it's the first night in the land of promise do any of you remember that first night the first day or that first night when you experienced what it meant to know the Lord to receive forgiveness to experience his power and his love think about the rejoicing think about the greatness of the fulfillment of the promise can you imagine as the people closest to the circle stared at the pile of stones that had just been freshly removed from the Jordan River and they were able to say God did a miracle to get me here do you have something like that in your life can you talk about the miraculous story that took place in your life as God got you from one Shore to the other they were reminded that God had done something great something marvelous something miraculous but I'm gonna just quickly suggest to you that there might have been maybe a little fear maybe a little apprehend maybe a little uncertainty about the future they were in a place where they had never been before going in a direction that they had never been before and for some of you that's what the Christian life is like it's uncharted territory I've never been this way so what reminders will you set up in your heart and in your home to remind you that you can trust God's promises that you can trust His grace that you can trust his power that you can trust his faithfulness Joshua teaches that one of the purposes of faith remember remember remember is to remind your children and your grandchildren and the world about the faithfulness of God but another purpose is in order to remind them of what kind of God he really is all-knowing all-seeing all capable whatever it means whatever the hand of the Lord means whatever it means at the last verse when it says that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty that you may fear the Lord your God forever it has to mean that whatever kind of God God is that he's just that he's pure that he's holy that he's omnipotent yet that means he has all power omniscient that means he has all knowledge that he has he's omnipresent that means he's everywhere at once that it must mean all of the attributes of God it must mean that he's holy it must mean that he's just it must mean that he's pure it must mean that he's right that must mean that he's self-existent it must mean that he's the creator it must mean that he's the sustainer of the universe it must mean that he possesses all power it must mean that if he has the ability to make the river stop he can make the river go later in the book of Joshua if he could make this the Sun stop he can make it go that means that if he can make a mount and he can remove a mountain it must mean that if he can make a lake he can dry that Lake forever we're to teach and to preach that this God who has all power and all authority can do what is necessary to bring you to a place of abundant life and victorious life do you recall the words of Jesus remember what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 all power is given to me in heaven and on earth in Romans chapter 16 when Paul was concluding that letter he wrote to them now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest by the prophetic scriptures and he has been made known to all the nations according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever there's a gospel and you can believe it by faith and you can receive it by faith and you can walk in it by faith what does Joshua chapter 4 tell us be a witness to your faith that means testify be willing to tell the truth about what the Bible says concerning the testimony of Jesus remember I've told you over and over and over again so that you're probably sick of me saying it in order to be a witness you have to have three things you have to have a knowledge of the facts you have to have a reputation for honesty and you have to be willing to tell the truth that's what a witness means knowledge of the facts reputation for honesty willing to tell the truth be an example of your faith you say that Jesus changes your life or changes people's life and forgives people who are sinners that's true does your life reflect that truth be obedient to your faith and then be prepared to pass it on to the people who are close to you and maybe one day to the people who are far away let's pray Heavenly Father thank you thank you for Joshua Lord we think all the way back before the children of Israel before the kingdom before David before Solomon before the major and the Minor Prophets as we peer deep deep into history and we see this marvelous picture of a group of people who get to finally be in the place that you promised for so long and lord I pray that by your Holy Spirit you would draw us to that place a victory that place of abundant living an abundant life that Lord we could finally fulfill what you've always asked us to do about being a witness about being an example about being obedient and then about making us faithful to tell the people closest to us the truth about Jesus and so again father we pray that as we take this journey with Joshua and the children of Israel that Lord we would make this journey our own that we would not be content to just simply know the information that's in the text but that Lord we would want it to change our lives in Jesus name Amen let's stand

Channel: Calvary South Denver

Views: 6,818

Rating: 4.5555553 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary Chapel, Gino Geraci, Christianity, Bible Study, Joshua

Id: Fl24UK_Inf0

Length: 64min 24sec (3864 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 22 2016