What do these stones mean?
Joshua 4:1-8
Intro:
1. Let’s go back in time 800 yrs before Christ.
a. Father and Son traveling in Israel
b. Son sees a pile of stones near the Jordan River
c. He looks up to his father and says, "What do these stones mean?"
d. The Father and son stop find a place to sit down and the father tells story of Israel’s crossing the Jordan
e. Hear is a father and son now, Let us listen in on their converstation.
(Tell in detail) Joshua 4:1-7
2. Now come back to the present
a. Father and son sitting in worship
b. Son sees a baptism..."What does it mean?"
c. Then sees the Lord’s Supper"..."What does that mean?"
d. Then sees a lady get up and tell of how the Lords been with her… “What does it mean?”
e. Then notices that Old Red always smiles and shakes hands with people … “What does it mean?”
3. Memorials are important to us.
(Remembrance Day in Canada)
(Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving)
a. We have a Veterans’ Day (we have other holidays to remember).
b. We have monuments in cemeteries
c. We have a flag day
I. Memorials Tell of God’s Past Activity, 4:21-23
1. God saw the importance of memorials
Exo 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
Exo 13:14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
a. In one sense they bound the people together; God in essence was saying their history is my history
b. They helped in the communication of the history of Israel,
c. This was especially true in this time when the people needed visible reminders of God’s activity.
d. How many of you know that we sometimes need visible reminders of Gods activity
(Share common memories)
Dad – Saved around 1973 in Coffeyville Kansas under the pastor John Lockaby I Called him – a memorial for him was the pounding that the church gave him after he came from the hospital He was not saved yet and did not have a clue why someone would do something like that.
father-in-law – I called him a memorial for him was catching his dad in the barn praying.
For me – Wasn’t saved long maybe a month or so and my wife and I had a tape we listened to all the time that had a song on it titled “The anchor holds”
Memorials are important
2. The 12-Stone Memorial
a. stones were often used as memorials, Gen 28:18 Jacob used a stone for a memorial where he seen angels going up and coming down from heaven
Josh 24:25-27
Josh 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Josh 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
Josh 24:27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
I Sam 7:12 Samuel used a stone after God helped them in a battle with the philistines.
b. 12 - for the unifying of the tribes
c. From the very place the priests stood, 4:3-5
d. Movie of a guy that carried a bag of stones around picked up one to remind him of certain things
3. We need to be constantly reminded of God’s past activity.
a. it gives meaning to our history
b. it gives hope for the present and future activity of God.
c. Reminder: their history is OUR history.
d. What we leave behind us is their history
II. Memorials Tell of the Mighty Power of God, 4:24
1. God was not working in a vacuum
a. His power and activity was known throughout the area, (Rahab) 2:9-11
b. Other peoples would see this stone memorial and be told of God’s power
c. "All the people of the earth" 4:24
Josh 4:24 (KJV) That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
2. Baptism and Lord’s Supper do the same today.
a. they tell of the power of God over sin
b. they are a witness to all people that God is working today, 1 Cor 11:26
1 Cor 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.
c. He still has the power over sin and death.
d. These are not mere religious rites, but a powerful witness of God.
III. Memorials Tell That God Is To Be Feared Forever, 4:24
1. This is the whole point of this memorial
a. To share common memories is great
b. To learn of the power of God is important
c. But if it does not lead to a fear (reverence) of God, what’s the real value?
2. Too many people have a knowledge of God, but no fear of Him.
a. Rahab feared Him, and became a woman of great exaltation, 2:10,11
b. we need to fear God, Eccl 12:13
Eccl 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
c. the same God who dried the Red Sea and the Jordan River is active today...he has not changed.
d. The same God who struck down Ananias, Sapphira,
e. The same God who delivered judgement on Sodom, and Gomorrah,
f. The same God who in Matthew 10:28
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
3. Baptism and Lord’s Supper are great reminders of God’s activity, but should also be a means of instilling fear for His power.
Conclusion:
1. "What do these stones mean?"
2. They tell us of
a. God’s past activity
b. God’s power and might
c. the need to fear God.
Dad’s what are we teaching our children? Are we leaving them spiritual markers that they can be proud of?
pastorwest@westfam.net
