“How not to forget!” Joshua 4:1-23 - Pastor Bob Hunter
Last month we began a series of messages in the book of Joshua. Joshua was a great leader. He is the successor of a great leader named Moses. Under His leadership the people of Israel had great success. They have just crossed a raging river. God miraculously apprehended the waters of the river of Jordan so they could enter into the land. Everyone made it across. Now in Ch.4 we read about the final instructions given to Joshua and His army as soon as they arrive at their destination. God wanted them to do something very important in order to remember the occasion. And here’s what happen, here’s what God instructed them to do. (Read Joshua Ch. 4)
This was a big day for Israel! God miraculously called back the raging waters so that everybody could cross. The are now safely on the other side. At last, the right side of the river. This is their home! They are right where God wants them to be: in the promised land. As the last person crossed, applause erupted and a great celebration ensued. There were High fives everywhere. Amid the cheers, God whispers in Joshua’s ear, He said, “wait a minute before I allow the water to flow again, there is something I want you to do to remember the occasion.” And this is what God requested, He said “Have the priest go out into the river bed and gather up 12 stones 1 for each tribe, the stones will serve as proof, they will remind you of what happen, so that you don‘t forget!”
Joshua immediately ordered the priests to take action. He sent the biggest and strongest right back into the passage to gather up a collection of 12 stones They each pried loose a stone and rush back up the river bank. In the meantime, the Ark was sitting idle in the middle of the river so that everybody could safely pass. Joshua commanded that it too, be brought back up on shore. And as soon the ark was high up on the bank, God relaxed His grip on the water, and the river again flooded.
So what now? Do the stones mean anything? God commanded the gathering of the stones; the question among the priests and the people is, “What are we going to do with them?” “Where are they supposed to go?“ Since Joshua took His cues from God, then surely He would have the answer. God let Joshua in on a plan. The stones had a meaningful purpose. And here is what they did with them... When they made their first stop to camp for the night, they established a memorial. At Joshua’s command, the took the stones, stacked them up and created a landmark. And then He said to the Israelites in verse 21 & 24, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, what do these stones mean?” Tell them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground,...(then you tell them) He did this so that all the peoples of the earth will know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
The stones taken from the river bed had a clear purpose. God said they were to be used as a reminder, to serve as a memorial. God wanted to remind everybody of how awesome the occasion was, and how powerful He is. You see, God wants us to have a good memory when it comes to miraculous things, but there is also a sense in which God knows our human weaknesses. He knows that we have a tendency to forget. We’re living so much in the now, that we sometimes look over the past, and forget the progress we’ve made. Forgetfulness is a part of our human condition. God knows that.
Now there are several things that cause us to forget, there are some logical reasons for the failed memories we have. I want to name off a few of them... There are roughly 3 things that skew our memories and cause us to forget...
We tend to forget when:
1.) We get in a Hurry! I know about this intimately, in fact I could write a book about getting in a hurry and forgetting things. When we are in a hurry, when we are caught up in the madness, when we are consumed with craziness; we tend to forget things that are really important to us. Isn’t that true? When we are running out ahead of ourselves, and running out ahead of God, we start losing our grip on reality. When your in a big hurry you just can’t think clearly! And that’s a fact. This can happen in your Christian walk... You get in a hurry to make spiritual progress, and rush off to a spiritual battle. And sooner than you think your making compromises. Need I remind you of Abraham’s lesson? Abraham got in a hurry to produce offspring, and instead of appropriately waiting for his barren wife Sarah to conceive, he ran to the maidservant Hagar and conceive a child in a way that didn’t please God. The hurried up life produces nothing but bad fruit! It’s typically when we get in a hurry that we make mistakes, we forget everything we’ve learned, we neglect all of our past success and set ourselves up for failure. Being in hurry causes us to forget. We also tend to forget important things when we are feeling helpless...
2.) We feel Helpless... There is a popular notion that I want to challenge tis morning, and it’s called the daily miracle syndrome. Let me tell ya what thats about. There’s an assumption about life often promoted by televangelists, and it’s this: Miracles frequent us daily. That if you don’t see miracles often enough, you don’t have enough faith! And I want to tell you right now that’s a false notion. Miracles are miracles because they only happen occasionally. Once in a while heaven comes to earth, every so often God intervenes in our earthly affairs. Occasionally God suspends the laws of nature and performs a natural wonder. But more often than not, we live in the natural order of things. God has put things into motion for a reason. You’re probably not going to see a miracle everyday. I believe miracles occur everyday, but not daily in the life of one individual person. This is a fact of life, God doesn’t part the Red Sea every time you have a problem. Much of life is lived in the ordinary. More or less in the natural order of things.
In other words, it is normal to have problems and occasionally feel helpless. And it’s when we feel helpless, that we say things like, “God are you really able, are you really who you said you are? Are you ever going to intervene.” Feelings of helplessness cloud our memory. And as a result we forget just how many times God has intervened on our behalf. When we feel helpless and neglected, we start rationalizing God’s power and might. So in a manner of speaking, feeling helpless and sorry for ourselves causes forgetfulness. 3rdly, we tend to forget when we are hurt...
3. We are hurt. When we are hurt and disappointed we begin to lose perspective in life and our memory of good things gets a little foggy. When people like you and me get hurt or offended we forget about really important things like salvation, sanctification, kindness, gentleness. When we are hurt we tend to throw all the virtue God has given us right out the window. The bottom line is this: Hurting people- hurt people. That’s a fact of life. The hurts we have in life cause us to do the dumbest things. And sometimes when we are really hurt because of someone or something; we forget we are saved or married or that we have children we should honor. A lot of important things are sacrificed when we’re dealing with a hurt feelings or emotions of some kind. The hurts we have in life, if they are not dealt with appropriately, are eventually going to hurt someone else. It’s true and predictable, we lose our perspective when we are hurting inside. And as result, we forget that ‘vengence is mine sayeth the Lord.’ Our recollections of who God is and how He acts, get a little foggy when we are hurt.
So in quick summary there are three things that goof up our spiritual memory. We tend to forget when we are in a hurry, when we are helpless and when we are hurt.
Now, I want to tell you what to do about it. I want to spend some time describing to you some ways to remember the mighty acts of God. Lets talk about how to hold on to those dear things for a lifetime. We need do everything we can to prevent these bad spells of spiritual amnesia. So I have a few thoughts that I want to share.
Here’s what you do when God has done a work in your life:
1. Write it down.
You know, God has commanded that a lot of things be written down. In the Bible you will find many references to the recorded works of God. For example, all of our names the Bible says are written down in the Lambs book of life, they are recorded on a scroll in heaven. The book of Malachi speaks of a scroll of remembrance that was written for those who feared the Lord, (Mal. 3:16). God himself wrote things down, he wrote the ten commandments on stone tablets. You see, writing things down is important to God and it should be important to us too! Folks if God has done a work in your life, then take some time to digest it and detail it on paper so that you don’t forget!
God has always commanded that His mighty acts be recorded for the next generation. That’s how we got the Bible. God inspired ordinary people that heard revelation and saw divine acts performed to sit down and record it. Thus, we have the written Word. So write down what God is doing, record it so it won‘t be forgotten, secondly, once you’ve written it down tell it to others.
2.) Tell it to others.
It’s not enough to just write it down, you need to publicly share it. Sharing it with others makes it live all over again. You have to verbalize it and be a public witness of God’s work in your life. Telling the story will inspire other people to experience God. Not only that, you will be a lot less likely to personally forget what God has done.
Jesus was adamant about this, He called all of His disciples to follow Him publicly. He said to them, “If you acknowledge me before men, I’ll acknowledge you before my Father in Heaven.” (Matt. 10:32). Speaking up on God’s behalf is pretty important. It drives the stake in the ground and makes a permanent impression in our memory.
So here’s what you do. Tell the story of God of how God saved you. Tell it to your friends, tell it to your family, remind yourself. Then tell of the victories that God has brought you through since that time. I love to tell the story of how God healed my marriage to Cambria, in fact, I’ve got every facet of it memorized the good, bad and ugly. I’ve shared it with you, I’ve shared with others, every time I go over it, I’m reminded of the power of God to heal a marriage.
There’s another story I like to tell about my life, and it’s the story of how God called me to ministry. I was a student at Kent State University in Kent, OH when God called me to lay down my career aspirations in business and pursue a call to fulltime ministry. And I did just that, I transferred all my credits to Mount Vernon Nazarene College the very next fall and began to study for the ministry.
There’s yet another story of more recent time that I think you will appreciate. It’s the story of how God called me to Springwater. A little over a year ago, I came here to fill the pulpit for a Sunday. I didn’t know anything about this Church or anybody, all I know is that when I walked through the door I got the tap on the shoulder. And God said, “this is where I want you to serve!” That call was confirmed by my wife and later by the congregation. In fact, Cambria and I were so sure that God was calling us here, that we even gave our employers notice before the vote was taken. I love to tell the stories of how God has called me and lead me.
So what about you, do you have a story to tell? Have you told others about the victories that God has brought you through? Folks, this is what Joshua Ch. 4 is about, Joshua says, when people ask, “What do these stones mean? You tell them the story, and all future generations should know about the victory that was won when the children of Israelites crossed the flooded river of Jordan on dry land.”
3. Use it as a guide.
Folks, God uses the past. He uses the past as a foundation for the future. What God has done throughout the course of History, He will do again. There’s a continuity of divine activity that we should be aware of. Put simply, God wants us to remember past. We are not the only generation to have ever lived. Many have gone before us, and many will follow. God wants us to value the past and respect it. You know what that can do? It can build our faith. Knowing what God is capable of builds and fortifies our faith. We treasure these things as continued reminders of what God’s faithfulness to all generations.
The past can be really helpful to us in our walk with God. When I look back on all the victories God has brought me through, I can say with confidence, “Lord you helped me back there, I know you can help me now.” Knowing the past fortifies our faith, it builds our confidence so we can face the future. I believe God wants us to use the past a guide to the future.
So when your facing a difficulty, when your standing in front of a raging river. Remind yourself of the mighty acts of God. Review the works of God in your life. Remember the power. Say with confidence, “God you brought me through before and you will bring me through again.” God says, “Look at these stones, I delivered you then, I’ll deliver you now, just don’t forget.” God has pulled some stones out the river for each one of us. They are reminders. They are benchmarks of faith. And we need to use them as building blocks for a great future. Use what God has done as a guide to all future challenges!
I want to close by reading Ps. 78.. (read scripture)
Closing challenge: What about YOU? Do you have some living stones in your life? Do you have some spiritual landmarks you can point to? Duet. 4:23 says, “Be careful not to forget” Forgetfulness leads to lostness. Therefore, let us NOT forget. Remember today and forever the mighty acts of God. Lets pray..
Prayer: God of heaven, you put everything in it’s place. In a purposeful way you brought about all that we have that is dear. And you have brought us through so many times. We have passed through the desert and crossed the raging river, we have entered the land. None of it has happened on accident, you made it all possible. Let us not forget. You are so mighty and powerful, we would be so lost without a good record of everything you’ve done. Remind us today, how you brought this Church through. May we never forget all the times you intervened on our behalf. Our needs have been met. The building is open. People keep coming. Thank you God. You have done it before and you will do it again. Our future is yours. Amen.
