WHAT DO THESE STONES MEAN?
JOSHUA 4:4-7
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. WEIGHT-LOSS TIP. An elderly woman was the winner of her weight-loss club for losing the most weight in the six weeks. All the rest of the weight-watchers gathered around her to ask how she had done it. “Simple!” she said, “I just pull out my teeth at six o’clock every night!”
2. THE GOOD NEWS. Dr. Smith asks his patient, "Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?" The patient replies, "Give me the good news." Dr. Smith says, "You're about to have a disease named after you."
B. CELEBRATION OF MEMORIAL DAY
1. In April 1863, in Columbus, Mississippi after decorating graves of her two sons who served during the Civil War as Confederate soldiers, an elderly woman also decorated two mounds at the corner of the cemetery. An observer asked, "What are you doing? Those are the graves of two Union soldiers." The reply, "I know. I also know that somewhere in the North, a mother or a young wife mourns for them as we do for ours."
2. That incident set in motion what became Memorial Day, when we remember those who gave their lives in the military. Many men & women died on far-away battle fields to keep America safe and to bring freedom and democracy to oppressed peoples. We honor them by remembering their sacrifice.
3. Thomas Paine, said about freedom, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” Freedom isn’t cheap; it's been bought with the blood of about 1.5 million soldiers. May God bless them, their families, and may God bless America!
TEXT
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men...one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them...“Each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder... 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off [backed up] before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, when it crossed over the Jordan.... And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Josh. 4:4-7
I. THE NEED FOR MEMORIALS
When Israel crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land for the first time, God commanded Joshua to pile up a mound of stones at the place. These stones came from the river bottom (which was dry because God made the river back up) declaring the miraculous deliverance and power of God.
A. FOR US: Deut. 6:12 “beware, LEST YOU FORGET the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” WHY WOULD GOD SAY THIS?
1. We have SHORT MEMORIES. I usually have to write down everything that I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what I wrote down, I spend the time trying to remember where I put the paper I wrote it down on.
2. When the DANGER IS PASSED, we forget the God who helped us.
3. As a REFERENCE POINT. In Christ, we can move out of our past into a meaningful present and a breathtaking future. But we should never forget what we were and where we were headed before Christ redeemed us
B. FOR OUR CHILDREN
1. The whole purpose of the Memorial Stones was to give them a basis of sharing their faith with their children! Will this Gospel be transmitted to the next generation? Only if we exercise vision, and establish memorials in the hearts of our children!
2. Our country’s founders put their faith on our money, on school walls, in courtrooms, in national anthems and mottos, & monuments. Shall we do less? Shouldn’t we make it difficult for our children to forget God?
3. We’re always only ONE GENERATION FROM EXTINCTION! “Oh Pastor, that can’t happen here!” “Yes it can.” Europe used to be the stronghold of Christianity for thousands of years. It is no more!
II. SEVEN MEMORIAL STONES TO REMEMBER
The word “remember” (and its forms) is used 267 times in the KJV (and that’s not counting the places we’re told not to forget). There are no doubt far more than twelve things we’re told to remember, but narrowing them down to areas of our spiritual walk, I would like to recognize seven stones that each of us Christians should go to great lengths to help our kids remember.
A. 1st STONE: ALL THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD
1. SCRIPTURES: “…so you will REMEMBER all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes” Num. 15:39.
2. OUR TENDENCIES TOWARD THE WORD OF GOD?
a. “They MADE LIGHT OF IT” Mt. 22:5. We have so many things to do & so much information, we don’t take God’s Word seriously!
b. “They will TURN their ears away FROM TRUTH...TO MYTHS” [fantasies] 2 Tm. 4:4. Most of the movies we watch (& books) are based on fantasies. Almost everything on TV is based on fantasy. If we’re more interested in TV than God’s Word, that verse is about us!
c. God told Jeremiah that the WORD WOULD BECOME OFFENSIVE to people (6:10) so they would distort it (23:36)! That is happening! All the moral positions of the Bible are out of vogue in our society. Beware that you don’t adopt the world’s perspective!
3. Somebody asked Billy Graham, “How many of the Ten Commandments does God expect us to keep today?” He wisely answered, “All Ten!” Just because we lower the standard doesn’t mean God has!
4. THE BIBLE IS:
a. FOOD FOR THE SOUL, Man shall not live by bread alone
b. A LAMP UNTO OUR FEET/ LIGHT FOR OUR PATH
c. THE WORD IS A LIVING POWER – life-giving
d. PURIFIES OUR LIVES, “How shall young man keep pure?”
e. GIVES HOPE, “so that we might have hope” Rom. 15:4
5. We MUST get the Word into our children’s hearts and minds. It will save them, keep them from sinning, and guide their lives for good.
B. 2ND STONE: REMEMBER YOUR FORMER LIFE
1. “REMEMBER that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” Eph. 2:12. “And that is what some of you were (“sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers”). But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
2. We’re never to forget from what we were saved. Have you wished you could go back to your former lifestyle again? To Bar-hopping? Dancing? Tobacco? Liquor? Drugs? Gambling? Wild Life?
3. How could Israel forget how terrible their slavery was? Their children were murdered; their daughters taken! Hard labor, dawn to dusk! Beaten with whips! The Egyptians constantly tried to kill them! How could they consider going back to Egypt? How could we?
4. Have you forgotten your former misery? Don’t just remember the good times of your lost life; remember the rejection, the shame, the fear, the jails, the vomiting, the danger, the horrible moments you would never want to relive. Going back - isn’t even an option!
C. 3RD STONE: REMEMBER GOD’S DELIVERANCE
1. “REMEMBER [how]...the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” Deut. 5:15. “Remember...His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth” Ps. 105:5. How awesome our deliverance was!
2. ILLUSTRATION: THE HUMAN TIGER
a. A French explorer was crossing Africa from the Zambezi, and came into the region of the Barotsi people. He heard stories about the native king Lewanika, whose greatest delight was to put people to death by newly invented tortures, especially if they’d offended him. He was known as “the Human Tiger.” The French officer came to the station where Pastor Coillard was in charge, and the pastor, himself a Frenchman, entertained him kindly.
b. Then came Sunday. The French officer, as a matter of politeness, went to church and sat through the service. When he came out he said, “Pastor Coillard, who was that remarkable looking man sitting next to me who listened so carefully?” “That was King Lewanika, the Human Tiger.” “Was it?” “Yes.” “Then, if that’s what Christ can do, I mean to be His!” [Paul Lee Tan, 7,700 Illus., #849]
3. Think what a great miracle it was for God to deliver you! Wow! He took you from darkness & despair, and brought you into the Kingdom of His Son. Then He didn’t leave you, but has strengthened you “ALL THE WAY!” What a Great Redeemer!
D. 4TH STONE: REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE
1. “REMEMBER those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground….Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution…and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property” Heb. 10:32-34. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. REMEMBER the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” Rev. 2:4-5.
2. ILLUS. In Yellowstone National Park, in the Norris Geyser Basin, you can take a tour through the Chambers of an Extinct Geyser.
a. The Guide explains, “This chamber was once full of boiling water & steam from an underground stream. The pressure would build and it and it would burst through the small opening.”
b. “But the stream of hot water shifted and now this geyser is cold and empty.” YOU SEE, THAT’S JUST WHAT YOUR HEART LOOKS LIKE IF YOU’VE LOST YOUR FIRST LOVE! You were Hot, now you're cold. You were inhabited, now empty! You were explosive with excitement; now you’re dead!
c. Dear God! Don’t take the stream of Your Holy Spirit from my life! Never let my heart grow cold and empty like that geyser!
E. 5TH STONE: JESUS’ SUFFERING ON THE CROSS
1. “The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in REMEMBRANCE of Me" 1 Cor. 11:23-25.
2. Patrick Conaty, a Hair-stylist in Leeds, Alabama, splattered fake blood on his body and climbed onto a 14-foot cross to demonstrate what Jesus had done for us sinners. Responses of weren’t sympathetic: "That's sacrilegious;" "He needs some clothes on;" "It’s terrifying!" Yes, it was shocking – that God loved us so much He allowed His own Son to die that way!
3. May we never forget the “love that poured from His head, His hands, His feet.” May His loving suffering never get old!
F. 6TH STONE: REMEMBER ALL GOD’S BENEFITS
1. “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, AND FORGET NOT all His benefits” Ps. 103:1-2. Can you say Praise the Lord?
2. What a joyful thing to remember all the blessings God has poured out on us! What a joy to recount each kindness and thoughtful expression of God for us. How many are His thoughts toward us? It’s more than we could number! Don’t forget!
G. 7TH STONE: REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE
1. “On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. REMEMBER Lot's wife! I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left” Luke 17:31-32, 34-35.
2. This last stone is to remember to keep looking for Jesus’ soon coming and not to become entangled in the world. Lot’s Wife was attached to Sodom in her heart, so that when they were fleeing, she looked back with longing.
3. We’re reminded of the Nearness of the Rapture. Not all who talk about Christianity will be taken, but only those that are devoted to Him. He’s “coming for them that are looking for Him.” We’re told to purify our lives, to be ready, and to pray we’re counted worthy to escape all that is coming on the world.
4. None of us will want to be there during the Great Tribulation. Plagues will blanket the world, demon-possession will become routine, and almost 60% of the world’s population will die violent deaths. The Anti-Christ will rule and deceive most of the people on the earth and they’ll oppose Christ when He comes back in glory.
5. My point? You don’t want to miss the Rapture: It’s something we should remember and use as motivation, to get closer to the Lord.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Robby Robins was an Air Force pilot during the first Iraq war. After his 300th mission, he was surprised to be given permission to immediately fly his plane home. They flew across the ocean to Massachusetts and then had a long drive to western Pennsylvania. They drove all night, and when his buddies dropped him off at his driveway just after sun-up, there was a big banner across the garage—”Welcome Home Dad!”
2. How did they know? No one had called, and the crew themselves hadn’t expected to leave so quickly. Robins relates, “When I walked into the house, the kids, about half dressed for school, screamed, ‘Daddy!’ Susan came running down the hall—she looked terrific—hair fixed, make-up on, and a crisp yellow dress. ‘How did you know?’ I asked.
3. ‘I didn’t,’ she answered through tears of joy. ‘Once we knew the war was over, we knew you’d be home one of these days. We knew you’d try to surprise us, so we were ready every day.’” May we be ready for Jesus!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. So today, we want to SET UP THESE SEVEN STONES:
A. Remember...All the COMMANDS of the Lord;
b. “ ...Your FORMER LIFE/PAST;
c. “ ... GOD’S DELIVERANCE in your life;
d. “ ...YOUR FIRST LOVE;
e. “ ...JESUS’ SUFFERING ON THE CROSS;
f. “ ...ALL GOD’S BENEFITS; and
g. “ ...REMEMBER, JESUS IS COMING – BE EXPECTING HIM!
2. Have you lost your vision? Grown weary? Have you adopted the world’s thinking? Forgotten the Cross of Jesus? Forgotten that He’s coming back? Lost your excitement?
3. Today is the day to repent and renew your first love and begin looking for His coming again. How many of you want to recommit your life to Jesus today? How many want God to give you back your first love?
4. Let’s pray together and renew our faith and our seven stones of dedication. PRAYER.
