?Memorial Stones?
Stand & Read: Joshua 4:20-24
?And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. [21] And he said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ’What are these stones?’ [22] then you shall inform your children, saying, ’Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ [23] "For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; [24] that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever."
What makes Memorial Day memorable for you?
v For some, Memorial Day is a day off from work, a time to finally be with your family, picnics, burgers & hot dogs, and some fun in the sun!
v But for many others it is a painful day to remember friends, and family who have gone on. To decorate graves, and read the epitaphs one more time that tell of a story of one?s life, who is now gone.
Oh yes, we would much more like to have the first than the second?however, memorial day is a day for all of us, and one that even God would have for you and I, to remember what was, so we can be thankful for what is and is to come!
Remember?Deut. 6:5-12
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] "And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; [7] and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. [8] "And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. [9] "And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
[10] "Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, [11] and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, [12] then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.?
It is here that the Lord begins to advise the Israelites to impress the ways of the Lord upon their children. Not impression, such as brain washing like today?s world would say you are doing, but rather to describe, show, and recall what the Lord has accomplish in and with His people so that the children will know and be a part of it as well, and live their lives in respect and confidence from the past and what was accomplished.
For it has been said that, ?to those who do not know history, are doomed to repeat it??and church, if we do not study, remember, and know history, it will repeat itself. Both in the physical realm, as well as the Spiritual!
So why repeat when you can learn and benefit from what has already been accomplished???
1 Cor. 10:6
?Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved.?
1 Cor. 10:11
?Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.?
Church, we don?t need to repeat history! Let?s learn from the past and build upon it, rather than reinvent the wheel, AGAIN!
This is why History is taught in the school, or at least should be taught in it?s truth to our children so that they know what REALLY has taken place for their freedoms today, and the sacrifices of men and women so that it could be!!!
This is a key way to express your love for God à by how you teach and train up your children in the ways in which they must go?that is a reflection of your love and desire for God.
v For the Godly training of a child should be the foremost of concern for parents?
v This spiritual instruction must be centered in the home, with MOM & DAD taking part, however, if this isn?t a cooperative effort, then faithful ONE, keep up the Good Work! Also, devotion expressed in the home is no option, but a command!!!
v This is done to build a Godly Fear of the Lord in children, that they would walk in all His ways, to love, and serve Him with all their hearts.
v And the parent MUST give the child a God-centered view and direction in every-day life, so that when they do grow old, they will know how to respond, and what to expect. Thus knowing the workings of God!
And this is where we catch up with the Israelites in Joshua 4?
?being told to take stones from the MIDDLE of the river in order to build a monument, or altar to remember?one for each tribe of Israel?12 of them?
?therefore, they were carrying out what the Lord told them to do in order for them to see Godly instruction in the generations ahead concerning what has been accomplished for and in them?
To dig a bit deeper, give me a few moments to bring up a few points?
POINT ONE: Stones To Remember Those Who Gave Their Lives
Joshua 4:1-3
?Now it came about when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, [2] "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, [3] and command them, saying, ’Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’ "
In order for Israel to get to the Promised Land, they HAD TO cross the Jordan River?
However, the Jordan was at its flood stage??they say, when it rains, it pours?, and haven?t I felt that this week?J
Have you ever felt as though, when the trouble comes, IT COMES, it never just trickles in at a reasonable rate, but it crashes in on us!!! But it is at those times that God can & will prove Himself to be even stronger and more mightier!!! Remember Gideon? Job? Shadrack, Meshack, & Abendigo? Daniel? Jesus? Paul?
It always seemed Darkest before the dawn! But God was there, and there was NO DOUBT!!!
Just when it seems impossible, God made it a possibility.
Ever sing ?Ah Lord God?? I mean really sing it??? ?Nothing is to difficult for Thee!
Luke 1:37
"For nothing will be impossible with God."
Luke 18:27
But He said, "The things impossible with men are possible with God."
God?s instructions to Joshua were strange?Joshua 3:13-16
"And it shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry 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, and the waters which are flowing down from above shall stand in one heap."
[14] So it came about when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, [15] and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), [16] that the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.?
The priest, first had to walk into the water, and then, the waters would divide. Not before, but after, so that faith could be exercised. God always wants us to exercise our faith, and then He will respond.
Here is faith and works together in action?Oh that we too would find our in this fashion!
You may ask, why did you say that these stones are
to remember those who gave of their lives???
Well, because it is the Priest who, in principle, gave their lives?
Their first step into that flooded river, could have been their last?it could have lead to their drowning, and forever being lost, but God always will follow through in His plan, he does not lead you to death, but to life and victory!
Think of the flood ways in LA, they could suddenly fill up, and people?s lives are lost, we see it on TV?
The same is for these Priests...
It was at that point that they gave their lives?
Give vs. Give - Vietnam?Mom?s Fiance? and my Dad
Both gave their lives, but only one was required of him and one came back?
Think of you as a Christian and the Persecuted Church?.
However, their leap of Faith delivered them and all of Israel! And your actions in faith will not only benefit you, but also others around you, as well as your children!
As I mentioned a moment ago, in reference to our past Physical War/Conflicts?Many have given their lives for freedom, a freedom which we all know and exercise so freely today!
And that fact is true even if they have survived the war?they gave just as much?
And we must remember them as well?for their sacrifices?
These Priests, although, not required of them, gave their lives?
POINT TWO: Stones To Remember A Great Miracle
Joshua 4:4-8
?So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; [5] and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. [6] "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ’What do these stones mean to you?’ [7] then you shall say to them, ’Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever."
[8] And thus the sons of Israel did, as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place, and put them down there.?
As the Priests stepped into the waters, the Flooded Jordan began to open up before the people?
Joshua 3:16, tells us that the waters stopped flowing from upstream, and began to pile up high?
Reminiscent of the opening of the Red Sea?again proving that the Lord, the True and Living God was among them! Just as He is the same God with You today!!!
Talk of Great Miracles?The Greatest Miracles, and Memorial Services we will ever see is?
Communion & Water Baptism
The Memorial services of the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Greatest Miracle of All Ages, to reach all ages?
The Israelites took these twelve stones to carry with them to their lodging place, and to set them down there?
They had a mission to their journey, and were thus reminded of it from these stones?
Likewise, we have a mission, and something to carry as well. We carry the message of Jesus Christ to the Nations, the story of the Old Rugged Cross, His Death, and finally, His Resurrection!
Matthew 16:24
?Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.?
2 Cor. 4:7
?But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves??
This is our mission, to take this Gospel message to the very ends of the earth, that the Whole World would know Jesus as Lord, and Savior!!!
Lastly?
POINT THREE: Stones To Remember Crossing The Jordan Safely
Joshua 4:9-24
?Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. [10] For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; [11] and it came about when all the people had finished crossing, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people. [12] And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; [13] about 40,000, equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho. [14] On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
[15] Now the Lord said to Joshua, [16] "Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan." [17] So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." [18] And it came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
[19] Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. [20] And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. [21] And he said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ’What are these stones?’ [22] then you shall inform your children, saying, ’Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ [23] "For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; [24] that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever."
We know from this illustration, and chapter 3, and verse 17?that ALL of Israel crossed over on DRY land, not mud, or wet land?talk about a Miracle, and one done right!!!
And these stones which were taken from the middle of the Jordan River?
Notice it was specified the Middle, for anyone can grab one from the edge, but only a Miracle could happen for one to come from the middle?
These stones were used and placed as a Memorial of this great miracle for all of Israel!
This Jordan, at its flood stage was a symbol of Death. Overwhelming, strong, and more than could be bore?
We face a flooded Jordan each day, do we not?
Burdens, cares, concerns, sickness, sudden deaths even?.However?GOD IS THERE in your darkest times, and deepest of all sorrows?He is an ever-present help in the time of need!
Isaiah 42:3
"A bruised reed He will not break,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.?
This Jordan, we also hear of in songs about heaven??crossing the Jordan River?, ie, dying, and going home to be with the Lord.
Death, must come to all people, it is inevitable, along with taxes J
Hebrews 9:27
?And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment??
Even we believers, must cross the Jordan?HOWEVER, we do not have to cross it alone?
Psalm 23:4
?Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.?
Even in Christ?s Resurrection, we can know that we will cross it with Him, and safely?
1 Cor. 15:20
?But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.?
In other words, since we know that Jesus has been raised from the Dead, we can know with confidence that those who are asleep in Christ will also be raised one day and take part in the resurrection of Jesus. He is the Down-Payment, and Assurance!
In knowing all this, there is no wonder that we can take confidence when a loved one dies in Christ, for that is not their end, there is coming a day for better things. A Blessed day of Hope!!!
1 Thes. 4:13-18
?But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. [15] For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with these words.?
Church, there are better days ahead, and we can be comforted in our losses?
In Conclusion?
Memorial stones remind us that life is short?
Faith in Christ will prepare us for Heaven?
And we must pass what we know down to those who are our children for the benefit of future generations?
ALTAR CALL:
1) Have you had difficulty in giving your life? Like the Priests, we must all give our lives?What will your memory be?
2) How about a miracle? Do you need one? Are you bruised and broken, and need a mending today? Come to the Miracle worker!
3) How about Crossing the Jordan safely? Are you ready to? Salvation!
Pray again a prayer of thanks for those who have given their lives for our freedoms?and for Jesus who gave His so that we would have freedom and liberty in God!
