MERE STONES/Reminders-V—Joshua 4:1-24
Reminder/Recall/Memorial/Symbol/Post-it notes/String on finger
*The Spirit absolutely moved in this sermon to FBCC. He took my focus to His level in the pulpit!
Attention:
I am constantly typing things into the calendar on my smartphone. I’m not being rude, I’m just making sure that I have made myself a reminder. And I tell people constantly, “If I its not on my calendar, then it probably won’t happen.” But what’s really bad is when I go to the trouble to mark my calendar—an event or a prayer request—but forget to look at it!
Seemingly insignificant Reminders can make all the difference in a person’s life!
And those reminders can make all the difference & bring about grand things in your Christian life too!
Joshua had twelve stones removed from the Jordan River as a memorial to the crossing.
Memorials or Spiritual Reminders hold a great deal of significance to God’s people.
What are some things that are significant about spiritual reminders?
The potential of spiritual reminders.
We’ve found previously that Mere Stones/Reminders can transport us to a Position of...
1. UNIQUE ACCOMPLISHMENT(:1-3a, 5b)
2. BLESSING(:3)
3. IMMINENT DANGER(:4-5)
4. RESPONSIBILITY(:5)
5. INFLUENCE(:6)
6. REFLECTION(:7-9)
7—Mere Stones/Reminders can transport us To a Position of...
COMPLETION/End(:10-11)
Explanation:(10-11)Complete/Achieve/End
:10—“So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; & the people hurried & crossed over.”
The priests(& ark) stood in the middle of the Jordan until ‘all’ the aforementioned things took place...“until everything was finished.”
All these things were commanded of Joshua by the LORD.
These things were also what Moses had commanded Joshua to do.
Did Moses & Joshua have prior knowledge of the coming miracle?
I believe both Moses & Joshua were just being faithful, trusting God’s ability to fulfill His word in whatever way He chose. They believed & trusted & knew God would use them in some way to regardless of the impossibility of the task at hand! They KNEW the LORD would do something spectacular thru their faithfulness.
As the saying goes...‘Let go & let God.’
Anxiety can come with Completion of any task. It means that another sometimes unanticipated phase is about to be entered. And the next phase requires change.
“Everything”—rbd daw-bar'—Noun Masc.—1) Speech, word, speaking, thing—1a) Speech, 1b) Saying, utterance, 1c) Word, words, 1d) Business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner--by extension. Strong—from rbd[To arrange, speak, subdue]; A word; by implication--A matter(as spoken of) or thing; adverbially--A cause.
“Finished”—Mmt taw-mam'—Qal Infinitive—1) To be complete, be finished, be at an end. Strong—a primitive root; To complete, in a good or a bad sense, literal, or figurative, transitive or intransitive.
“Commanded”—hwu tsaw-vaw’—Piel(intensive/intentional/repeated/extended) Perfect—1) To command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order—1a) (Piel)--1a1) To lay charge upon, 1a2) To give charge to, give command to, 1a3) To give charge unto, 1a4) To give charge over, appoint, 1a5) To give charge, command, 1a6) To charge, command, 1a7) To charge, commission, 1a8) To command, appoint, ordain(of divine act), 1b) (Pual)--To be commanded. Strong—a primitive root; intensively--To constitute, enjoin.
“Hurried”—rhm maw-har’—Verb—1) (Qal)--To hasten—1a) (Niphal)--To be hurried, be anxious—1a) hasty, precipitate, impetuous, 1b) (Piel)--1b1) To hasten, make haste, 1b2) Hasten(used as adverb with another verb), 1b3) To hasten, prepare quickly, do quickly, bring quickly. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To be liquid or flow easily, i.e. (by implication); To hurry(in a good or a bad sense); often used (with another verb)adverbially--Promptly.
“Crossed over/Passed over”[See :5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23]—rbe `aw-bar'—Qal Infinitive—1) To pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress. Strong—a primitive root; To cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically--To cover (in copulation).
:11—“Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD & the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.”
The entire nation crossed over to further intimacy & revelation with God.
To go beyond the limitations of human possibility! But keep in mind that this crossing is merely the beginning of their call to conquer the land of Canaan & transform it into the land of the children of Israel.
God takes away the human dread/fear of the crossing...to approach the crossing with new excitement & vigor...Where we are no longer hesitant, no longer waver.
After the people had “completely crossed over,”(along with the collecting of the rocks & the placing of the other 12 stones by Joshua), then the priests carrying the ark crossed over. The ark was conspicuously the first to go in & the last to come out. YHWH is the One who brought about the miracle & is bringing about Israel’s existence as a nation.
The entirety of Israel, now gathered on the western edge of the Jordan, witnessed the ark of the LORD being carried by the priests, just as they had witnessed the same scenario upon entering the bed of the Jordan River. God had taken them into, thru, & out of an impossible situation.
“Completely/Clean”[See :1]—Mmt taw-mam'—Qal Perfect—1) To be complete, be finished, be at an end. Strong—a primitive root; To complete, in a good or a bad sense.
“Crossed over”2X[See :1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 23]—rbe `aw-bar'—Qal Infinitive—1) To pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress. Strong—a primitive root; To cross over; used very widely of any transition(literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative).
“Presence”—Mynp paw-neeym' pl. (but always as sing.) pl. (but always as sing.) of an unused noun hnp paw-neh'—Noun Masc.—1) Face—1f) as adverb of locative/temporal—1f1) Before & behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before, 1g) with preposition—1g1) In front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of. Strong—The face(as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications(literally & figuratively); also(with prepositional prefix) as a preposition--Before, etc..
Argumentation:
**Php. 4:13—“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
*1Kgs. 18:21—“And Elijah came to all the people, & said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”
**Jn. 15:4-8—“Abide in Me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned. If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
**2Cor. 3:2-8—“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known & read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written & engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?”
Isa. 44:2-4—“Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.’”
**Joel 2:25-29[Acts 2:17-18]—“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty & be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons & your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants & on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
**Jn. 7:37-39—“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood & cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me & drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
**1Cor. 3:10-17—“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, & another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; & the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God & that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
1Cor. 12:4-7—“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”
Gal. 3:1-7—“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you & works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?-- just as Abraham “believed God, & it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”
Isa. 40:27-31—“Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint & be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run & not be weary, They shall walk & not faint.”
How can these things be? Thru Christ Jesus, trusting the Lord God, we shall be so given to the Lord gifted for our purpose by Him, & thus so given to His work, that we have all the potential to never run dry or lose strength. The only way the Christian faces a truly losing situation in life is when we are ‘in the flesh’ trust ourselves above God.
Prov. 13:19—“A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.”
Eccl. 12:13-14—“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God & keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”
Isa. 55:7-13—“Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, & the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth & bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains & the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
cf.—Rom. 8:18-22—“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans & labors with birth pangs together until now.
Jn. 16:32, 33—“Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, & will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
1Jn. 5:2-4—“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God & keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.”
It is easy to angrily say, ‘I give up!’ or ‘I’m thru with this church stuff!’—Discouragement can definitely set in. Frustration & Discouragement keep us from completing the task(s) God has for us.
SO we are warned...
Gal. 6:9-10—“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
**Php. 1:6—“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
**Js. 1:4—“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing.”
**Col. 2:10; 4:12—“& you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality & power.”.....“Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect & complete in all the will of God.”
**2Cor. 13:7-14—“Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak & you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification & not for destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; & the God of love & peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, & the love of God, & the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
**Heb. 13:20-21—“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever & ever. Amen.”
Illustration:
I can remember a vacation we took when I was a kid/We went with my Momma & Daddy & My Aunt(one of Momma’s sisters, AKA—Aint Neeowm or Nowmy) & Uncle(Dump) &/We went to Snowbird Mountain Lodge in the mountains of NC—~10 mi. west of Robbinsville, NC(as the crow flies ~ 3miles)/We took a dirt road off the main road, & as we got closer to the entrance of the lodge, the dirt road stopped on one side of a shallow, clear, mountain stream(~30-40 ft. across) & continued on the other side/There was a one-lane bridge over the creek which we were supposed to drive across/BUT the bridge was not stationary!—it was a very low(1 1/2-2ft. above water!) ‘swinging bridge’(for lack of a better term)/It was made of wood planks joined to flexible steel(?) cables anchored on each bank of the creek/Both Daddy & Uncle Dump got out & walked across the bridge because they didn’t trust it would hold the Buick Electra 225 that my we were driving/I can remember Uncle Dump on the bridge in front of the car directing my Daddy as he very slowly inched the car onto the bridge/As Daddy got into the middle of the bridge(the lowest part of the fulcrum) the downstream side of the bridge dipped into the water ever so slightly!/To make a long story short we all made it across though a little unnerved & disheveled & laughing at our circumstances/We enjoyed our time at Snowbird Lodge but I think we all were all relieved that the challenge was over!/COMPLETION--End
Having set a challenging goal for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering/The goal being met & exceeded, bringing about the salvation of lost souls/COMPLETION--End
Like Nike shoes, ‘Just do It!’
Application:
?Do God’s ‘Reminders’ transport you to a position of Christian COMPLETION/End?
?Where do God’s reminders transport you?
?What one obstacle is it that you must cross but cannot?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
My calendar is a constant companion, But the reminders are of no use unless I act on it!
Action:
Mere Stones/Reminders, little things, can transport us to a Position of...
7. COMPLETION/End(:10-11)
1. UNIQUE ACCOMPLISHMENT(:3, 5)
2. BLESSING(:3)
3. IMMINENT DANGER(:5)
4. RESPONSIBILITY(:5)
5. INFLUENCE(:6)
6. REFLECTION(:7-9)
Pt. 7 only! Presented 01/15/2017am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
*The Spirit absolutely moved in this sermon. He took my focus to His level!
Pts. 7-10 Presented 02/13/2000am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Rd.
Whigham, GA 31797
