MERE STONES/Reminders-VI—Joshua 4:1-24
Reminder/Recall/Memorial/Symbol/Post-it notes/String on finger
Attention:
Local 5-7-day weather forecasts—They have animations of rain, thunderstorms, wind, waves, sun, etc.
On Valentine’s Day there is a beating heart &/or cupids to remind watchers that Valentine’s Day is approaching. We are reminded to pay special attention to those we love the most.
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. COMPLETION/End(:10-11)
8—Mere Stones/Reminders can transport us To a Position of...
OPPORTUNITY(:10b)
Explanation:(:10b)Trust
:10b—“And the people hurried & crossed;...”
God’s people, Israel, had open opportunity to be His people in the land He had promised & is now giving them.
The people “hurried” to cross the Jordan. Were they afraid of being the last ones in the path of the returning water? They may have been anxious to enter the next phase of their journey with God.
Whether they were eager to serve God or themselves is not stated. My suspicion is that it was a little of both, given that at the end of the Conquest(24:14-15), Joshua called the people to choose whom they would serve—either gods(foreign/empty/powerless) or YHWH(known/overflowing/powerful).
Christians are Positive Opportunists...To share as they are given opportunity.
Anxiety can come with Completion(:10-11) of any task. It means that another anticipated but sometimes unanticipated phase is about to be entered. And that next phase requires change! It requires your looking at that change as an Opportunity.
We must go where & when God wants us...courageously & gladly....Bearing the Good News in Jesus both in the church & to every place on the planet.
We have to trust the One holding the water back. Yet NOT trust that He will ‘hold the water back’ specifically FOR US(our desire—that we might want it held back for our agenda)!
Ps. 31:15—“My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.”
Rev. 19:4-5—“And the twenty-four elders & the four living creatures fell down & worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants & those who fear Him, both small & great!”
Revelation details the 7-yr. period of man’s final rule.
We can follow the crowd who is trusting...
...the crowd ‘can’ be an example of ‘rightly placed’ trust, BUT they can also be examples of ‘misplaced’ trust. Therefore ‘following the crowd’ is always secondary to personal trust.
We must always individually follow the Holy Spirit’s leading!
We must take advantage of opportunities God affords us.
“Hurried”—rhm maw-har’—Piel Imperfect—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).
Argumentation:
Lk. 4:13—“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him[Jesus] until an opportune time-(kairov--suitable time/season)-.”
As with the devil, so it CAN be for you & me(but doesn’t have to be). I can silently or verbally bide my time. While taking on the countenance/manner of a concerned Christian(speaking the words of & outwardly behaving like Christ & Christians) your heart can seethe & churn in bitterness, & hatred, & in plotting the demise of your brother or sister in Christ! Waiting for the time...your time.
Lk. 22:2-6—“And the chief priests & the scribes sought how they might kill Him[Jesus], for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way & conferred with the chief priests & captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, & agreed to give him money. So he promised & sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.”
Rom. 7:7-9, 11—“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity-(aformh)- by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived & I died.”.....“For sin, taking occasion-(aformh)- by the commandment, deceived me, & by it killed me.”
**Mat. 21:18-19—“Now in the morning, as He-(Jesus)- returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it & found nothing on it but leaves, & said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.”
A picture of lost opportunity, due to unpreparedness.
**Lk. 21:10-13—“Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, & famines & pestilences; & there will be fearful sights & great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you & persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues & prisons. You will be brought before kings & rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.”
**Gal. 5:13-16—“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite & devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, & you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
**Gen. 50:18-20—“Then his-(Joseph’s)- brothers also went & fell down before his face, & they said, “Behold, we are your servants.” Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Eph. 4:26-27—“Be angry, & do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”
What happens when we do NOT take advantage of an opportunity in Christ?—
...Failure!—Satan gains opportunity!
...In fact, we can receive God-ordered opportunity, but approach & act on that opportunity afforded us, thru/in/with the flesh!
Example:
The Lord’s Day(Sunday)—You & I must choose how we respond to that day. Do we respond in love or in discontent? As if it conflicts with your time?...Of course it does!
*Corporate worship is entered for the purpose of properly aligning your fleshly leanings & temptations.
**Gal. 6:10—“Therefore, as we have opportunity-(kairov)-, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Bring blessing upon yourself & upon all others...Run to God!(Js. 4:7-10)
Js. 4:7-10—“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament & mourn & weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning & your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, & He will lift you up.”...NOW!
Illustration:
People crossing the street while a car is waiting/Some are respectful & apologetic & make an extra effort to hurry across/Some are arrogant—taking their own sweet time getting across, like you owe them something or glare at you as if you are at fault for causing them a great deal of distress/OPPORTUNITY
A young shoe salesman was sent to a new territory, which no one would take/It was located overseas in central Africa/All his colleagues laughed at him/They half-heartedly tried to convince him that he couldn’t sell shoes there & would have no commission to live on/When he got off the plane he was thrilled!/He excitedly called the boss to let him know the shoe market was wide open & ripe for the picking!/Why?...Nobody here has shoes!/OPPORTUNITY
A man approached me one day about his impending divorce(which was destroying him)/He realized his part in the failure but also wanted to do all he could to repair & restore the marriage/His wife had been wooed by someone half her age that she had met via the internet/He admitted that he had always had a temper/He & his wife still live in the same house with their two children/He did not want to be anywhere near the ‘young punk’ for fear of what he might do to ‘the boy’ in anger!/In that whole scenario rests an OPPORTUNITY to either serve God or serve self/An OPPORTUNITY to give God His proper place in all the mucked-up, chaotic, horror that characterizes divorce, & especially when there are children involved.
We must recognize opportunity & act on it!
Application:
?Do God’s ‘Reminders’ transport you to a position of Christian OPPORTUNITY?
?Where do God’s reminders transport you?
Its little reminders that can make all the difference in a person’s life...
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
On Valentine’s Day the local 5-7-day weather forecast has animation of a beating heart &/or cupids to remind us that Valentine’s Day is approaching.
Action:
Mere Stones/Reminders, little things, can transport us to a Position of...
8. OPPORTUNITY(:10b)
1. UNIQUE ACCOMPLISHMENT(:3, 5)
2. BLESSING(:3)
3. IMMINENT DANGER(:5)
4. RESPONSIBILITY(:5)
5. INFLUENCE(:6)
6. REFLECTION(:7-9)
7. COMPLETION/End(:10-11)
Pt. 8 Presented 02/12/2017am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Presented 02/13/2000am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Rd.
Whigham, GA 31797
