Leaving Behind Stones of Remembrance

We're going to be in Joshua chapter 4. We're

Joshua 4 · chapter mention

going to start in verse 1. Joshua, that's in

the Old Testament, kind of closer toward the

front of your Bible. Joshua chapter 4. We were

Joshua 4 · chapter mention

going to be in there last week, and the Lord

changed my mind at the last minute. But this

week we're going to get it, I think. Unless the

Lord changes my mind again, and He might. years

of preaching, and if the Lord puts something

on your heart, even if it's the last minute,

you better say whatever he tells you to say.

Because if you don't, the whole next week I'd

have just been doubting myself. So we shifted

gears last week, but we're going to be in Joshua

Joshua 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. We're going to read the first three

verses, and then we're going to jump down to

the very end of the chapter, and we're going

to read verses 20 through 24. Now, I would encourage

you to go back, and you can read the chapters

before this and read all of this chapter to get

all of the context of what's going on. I'll briefly

kind of hit on the story and what's taking place,

but for time purposes, we won't read all of Joshua

Joshua 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 today. We'll start at the beginning

and skip to the end. So let's read through these

verses, then we'll pray and get started. Joshua

Joshua 4:1

chapter 4, verse 1. After the entire nation had

finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke

to Joshua, Choose twelve men from the people,

one man for each tribe, and command them, Take

twelve stones from this place in the middle of

the Jordan, where the priests are standing. Carry

them with you and set them down at the place

where you spend the night. Verse 20 Then Joshua

set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken

from the Jordan. And he said to the Israelites,

In the future, when your children ask their fathers,

What is the meaning of these stones? You should

tell your children, Israel crossed the Jordan

on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up

the waters of the Jordan before you until you

had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did

to the Red Sea. which he dried up before us until

we had crossed over. This is so that all the

people of the earth may know that the Lord's

hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear

the Lord your God. Let's pray. God, we come to

you. We thank you for these beautiful words.

We thank you for all the stories we see in Scripture

that are reminders to us as to who you are, dear

Lord. God, help us not to be those who forget

you and forget your words and forget your commands.

God, help us to not only recall the mighty works

you did in Scripture, but the mighty works you

do in our lives, dear Lord. Help us to see how

you're working, God. Help us to give you the

praise and help us to remember you, dear Lord,

and to pass on to future generations who you

are and what your commands are. I pray, God,

that your Holy Spirit would be among us today.

I pray that you would help me to preach and teach

in a way that brings glory and honor to you.

I pray that you would help us to be free of the

worries and distractions. God, let us grow in

you today. And I ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. Now, God had delivered his people from

Egypt, and maybe you've heard the story of how

God... parted the Red Sea, and his people crossed

on dry land, a large number of people, and they

made their way into the wilderness, and they

wandered for 40 years. But eventually, Joshua

was going to take over for Moses, and it was

going to be Joshua who was going to lead God's

people into the promised land. Now, they were

over on the east side of the Jordan River. And

they needed to cross the Jordan River and God

was going to work miraculously similarly to what

he had done when they crossed the Red Sea. And

so the priests who were carrying the Ark of the

Covenant, they were to walk toward the Jordan

River, and when their feet stepped into the water,

the scripture says that the waters began to back

up. Now, I don't know what that looks like. In

my mind, I just imagine like an invisible dam

just forming there, and the waters just piling

up on one side from which the Jordan River was

flowing. And God's people were then to walk across

the Jordan River and make their way into the

land that he had promised. And upon this miraculous

event that was taking place, we see here in Joshua

Joshua 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 that God tells Joshua, you need to

take one representative from each of the 12 tribes

of Israel and get you a stone from the middle

of where this dry ground is in the Jordan River

where you've crossed and take them with you.

And then at the end of the chapter, we see why.

God says, I want you to take these 12 stones

and I want you to set them up as a place of remembrance

so that you will remember what I've done, that

I've led you out of Egypt and that I've led you

across the Jordan. But the reason God says is

not just for you. God says so that when your

children see these stones, you will be able to

tell them of the mighty works of God. God said,

I want you to set up these stones so that you

will remember me and the generations that come

after me will see these and know that they symbolize

something special, something important, the very

power of God. Now we see kind of the same type

of thing in our world today. We see stones that

are erected in some way that may... recall us

of days past just this past week for instance

michelle and i went to philadelphia beautiful

city far more beautiful than i expected it to

be and right in the middle of center city sat

the philadelphia city hall now this is a fantastic

building this thing is beautiful it was constructed

started back in the 1870s And it sits on a whole

acre of land. It's a massive building, and it's

symmetrical. Every side looks the same. And there's

a huge tower that stretches over 500 foot in

the middle. And it's one of the largest masonry

buildings, one of the largest stone buildings

still in the world today. Now the people of Philadelphia

will tell you it is the biggest, but you kind

of have to twist some numbers a different way.

But regardless of whether it's the biggest or

not, it is a massive building that's made out

of stone and out of marble and out of granite.

The lot of it comes right there in that area.

And you stand in front of this magnificent building,

and you can see these stones, and they are stacked,

and you just look up for hundreds of feet, and

you see these beautiful stones. And when you

see these old buildings, You can't help but think

about the past. Now, we don't make buildings

like that anymore. I don't know why. Our buildings

today are made out of glass and metal, and that's

all well and good. But there's a certain beauty

of these buildings in the past that these stones

were quarried somewhere and were carved out with

all these ornate features. And when I looked

at that building, when I looked at City Hall

and so many other historic buildings there, the

stones that I could see, one stacked on top of

another, made me think about the past, made me

think about the founding of our country. It's

hard not to think about that when you're in a

place like Philadelphia, where so much historical

things happened, to go visit Independence Hall,

and you see these structures that still stand

today, and they remind you of something in the

past. Perhaps of better days, maybe not. That's

debatable. I think they were better days, but

some people would disagree. But that's what God's

desire is here with these stones. He says, look,

I want you to take these stones and I want you

just to set them up. Now, I don't know how they

set them up. Maybe they set them up in a structure.

Maybe they stacked them in some way. I don't

know. It doesn't matter how these stones were

erected or how they were laid out. What matters

is that God says these stones that you leave

behind are to point people to me. Now, let's

fast forward a little bit into our day and time.

Now, I suspect that there probably is no one

in here that, as we've approached a river, that

God has dried it up or backed it up so that we

could cross on dry land. Perhaps we haven't experienced

a miracle like that in our life, but I suspect

that most everybody in here, if not everybody,

could be able to praise the Lord for something

that He's done in their life. There are miracles

that we have experienced. There are times in

our life that God has been with us and delivered

us and given us grace and given us forgiveness

and he has shown us his mighty power and his

love and has changed our life and has protected

us and provided us in just the same way that

he did for the Israelites. And I believe that

when God blesses us in those ways and when He

works in those miracles, that we need to leave

some stones behind for the next generation. I'm

not talking about physical rocks. I'm talking

about the things that God has taught us and showed

us that we need to pass these things on to another

generation. Because any people who walk according

to the commands of God and seek Him and live

in obedience to Him are going to be a blessed

people. And when people forget about God, then

societies go downhill really fast. Listen to

some of these scriptures in the Old Testament

about God's people forgetting about God, commands

not to, and scriptures that talk about the fact

that Israel did. In Deuteronomy 8, verse 11,

Deuteronomy 8:11

listen to this. Be careful that you don't forget

the Lord your God, failing to keep his command

and ordinance and statutes I am giving you today.

Now this is good advice for us, not just the

Israelites. Don't forget God. Don't forget who

God is. Don't forget what God calls us to. Don't

forget the love that God says you need to love

people. You need to love your enemy. Don't forget

that God says we need to show grace. Don't forget

that God says we need to help the poor and needy.

Don't forget the commands of God. When God says

do not commit adultery, do not steal, all these

commands that God says we need not to forget

the word of God. Because when we forget the word

of God, we find ourselves in trouble. And so

God brings his people through the Red Sea, across

the Jordan River, and he says, I want you to

take these stones, and I want you to set them

up so that you don't forget. And when your kids

ask, you can tell them so they don't forget,

so that everybody will know the mighty works

of the Lord, and they will fear God. The fear

of God is the beginning of wisdom, the scripture

says. God commands his people in Deuteronomy,

do not forget me. Judges chapter 3 verse 7. The

Judges 3:7

Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight.

They forgot the Lord their God and worshipped

the Baals and the Asherahs. Well, they didn't

heed that command very good, did they? God said,

don't forget me. Well, not long after they get

into the promised land, the scripture says that

they forgot it. Now, if you've never read the

book of Judges, you need to read the book of

Judges. It is just on repeat. I'll tell you the

story. I'm going to sum it up for you. God's

people get into the promised land. God's people

are supposed to serve him, but they don't serve

him. They serve false gods. They forget about

God. And then they find themselves in trouble

with the other people in the land. And then God

appoints a judge. And the judge comes and leads

God's people to victory and frees them from their

troubles and takes care of them. And then guess

what they do? They forget about God. And that

cycle repeats itself through the whole book of

Judges. That's a pattern that is true in our

life. And we don't want to sit here and say,

boy, look at those foolish Israelites and how

much trouble they got their self into. It happens

to us too. When we forget about God, we get ourselves

into trouble. Psalms, chapter 106, verse 7. Our

Psalms 106:7

fathers in Egypt did not grasp. The significance

of your wonderful works are remember your many

acts of faithful love. Instead, they rebelled

by the sea, by the Red Sea. Another example.

God's people, even before they crossed the Red

Sea, had seen the power of God. And yet they

didn't listen to God. They didn't acknowledge

God. They didn't trust in God. Hosea chapter

Hosea 8:14

8 verse 14. Israel has forgotten his maker and

built palaces. Judah has also multiplied fortified

cities. I will send fire on their cities and

it will consume their citadels. Israel forgot

their maker and they just started living for

themselves. We're just going to build palaces

for ourselves. We don't need God. That's how

Israel got in trouble. And that's how you and

I get in trouble too. We read the Word of God.

We hear the Word of God. We sit here today and

we say, I'm going to do the Word of God. I'm

going to live for the Lord. And then we walk

out those doors and then we just forget everything

that we've ever read. Because it's not convenient.

God's Word is not convenient. Because our flesh

wants to do stuff. And what our flesh wants is

often against what the word of God says. And

so more times than we care to admit, our flesh

wins out and we forget about the words of God.

And then we're no different than the Israelites

and judges. And then we say, oh God, I've really

blown it this time. God, if you just deliver

me, we'll follow you and listen to you and do

everything you say from here on out. Has anybody

ever said that before? Yeah, probably so. We

ain't done good at keeping that promise, have

we? Because we're humans and we fail. And it's

not okay. I'm not justifying it and saying, oh,

it's okay. What I'm saying is we need to make

an effort to seek God and follow His commands

so that we don't forget about Him. So we need

to seek the Lord. Has God done anything in your

life? Maybe He has. I bet He has. What's God

shown you in your life? Is it love? Is it grace?

Is it mercy? Is it how to work hard? Is it how

to help other people? Well, these are the types

of stones that I think we need to leave behind.

These are the types of lessons that we need to

leave behind to the generation that's coming

up now. Because I'm going to tell you, this is

my opinion, but I'm going to tell you, I think

that there are a lot of people in our world that

do not know about Jesus Christ, that do not know

about God's commands, that do not know the Word

of God. And why is that? Because at some point

in time, there have been some generations years

ago that have failed to pass on the important

things of God so that the next generation would

remember the Lord and fear Him. And every generation

that passes by, it gets worse and worse and worse.

And you say, well, it's too far gone now. We

can't change anything. Well, hold up just a second.

God's pretty good. God can do a lot with a little.

And who's not to say that if we don't begin to

live for the Lord in our lives, and if we don't

begin to impart the wisdom of God into the lives

of the generation that's coming up, Who's not

to say that God can't change this world? I won't

dare say it. God can change this world quicker

than you probably ever would imagine He could

change this world. But we have to take what we've

learned from God and we have to pass it on to

another generation so that it's not forgotten.

Our world is in a bad shape because we have forgotten

God. Our country, I think, used to be in a lot

better place than it is now. And there's only

one reason why it's as bad as it is, and I can

tell you that reason. It's not because of politicians.

It's not because of any of this other junk we

see in our world. It's not because of race and

discrimination. It's because we have forgotten

God. And the moment that we remember God and

live for Him, and the moment that we pass the

things of God to another generation, the better

our country is going to be. The better our world

is going to be. And so we've got some stones

in our life. That is, we've walked through some

tough times in our life. We've walked through

some amazing things that God has done in our

life. And we've picked up, so to speak, a spiritual

stone that helps us to recall what God has done.

And that's what you need to share with your children

and your grandchildren. These are the lessons

that you need to pass down. You need every chance

you get. You need to do what God calls you to

do. And you need to tell your children why you're

doing it. God says, you set up these stones,

and when your children ask, you tell them what

these stones are for. You need to stop and help

that person that is poor and needy. You need

to stop, and you need to help them, and you need

to love on them, and you need to give them food,

and you need to tell them God loves them. And

when your kid says, why did you do that? Or your

grandkids say, why did you do that? You say,

because that's what God calls us to do. Because

God says we need to help the poor and needy.

When somebody does something evil to you and

attacks you and is mean to you and you stop and

you pray for them and your child says, why are

you praying for that person? Mama, daddy, that

person was so mean to you. They said ugly stuff

to you. And you said, because Jesus said we need

to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute

us. These are the lessons that we learn through

Scripture. These are the stones that God has

used to change our life. And these are the things

that we need to pass on to the next generation.

What are you leaving behind? What lesson are

you teaching your children? What kind of example

are you being for those who are around you? Are

you leaving a stone that can be built upon? The

Scripture says that we who are in Christ are

living stones. Our lives should be an example

to those who see us, especially to our spouses

and to our children and to our grandchildren.

And if you're not teaching your children and

grandchildren the words of God and the ways of

God, then who will? The world will not. The world

will teach your children a lot of things, but

it will not teach your children the Word of God.

That is your responsibility. And so how the next

generation turns out will depend on you. Because

you are the ones that are influencing the next

generation. The kids that are coming up now,

you are the ones who are influencing them. And

is there anything in your life that they can

look at, that they can ask you, why did you do

this? And you can say it's because of the Lord.

And maybe if we're honest, as parents and grandparents

and aunts and uncles, we hadn't done a good job.

And maybe the stones that we've left behind ain't

worth leaving behind. Maybe they need to be toppled

down. So what kind of example are we leaving

for the next generation? If the only stone you

leave behind in your life reads, here lies, then

you ain't done much. Because one day you're going

to be dead and gone, and everything you've worked

for is going to be gone. It's a news alert. I'm

going to break it to you. Everything that you've

ever worked for is going to be gone and forgotten.

And a hundred years from now, nobody will know

how much land you own. They won't know that it's

your land. Your house won't be there. They won't

know your name. Nobody's going to remember you

100 years from now. You know something that was

kind of sad, but not really. A couple of weeks

ago, I was driving down Judge Road. Some of y

'all know where Judge Road is. And I passed by

this property. And 20 years ago, this property

was well -kept and beautiful and a nice house

sitting there and a nice couple that lived there.

And if you drove down Judge Road today and you

didn't know that couple and where that house

was, you'd never know that it existed. You'd

never know that they existed. The house got blew

over by a tornado. It's not even there anymore.

The driveway's grown up. You can't even tell

it's there. It just looks like an old, rotten

pasture. And for those of you who didn't know

O .D. and Joyce Judge, you would never know that

they existed. And the same will be true for you

and I. One day somebody's going to pass by your

place and you've spent thousands of hours, boy,

making it pretty and getting your house beautiful,

fresh coats of paint, and a hundred years from

now it won't even exist. Now their house doesn't

exist, but I remember them. I remember their

heart. I remember their service for the Lord.

I remember Brother O .D. helping my little nephew

when he wasn't this tall, helping him turn to

the pages in the songbook to find what page he

was on. Probably couldn't even read the words,

he was so small. But Brother O .D., boy, he took

that time. What kind of things are we leaving

to the next generation? We're leaving anything

that's worth being remembered. Are we having

any positive impact in our world today? In the

Psalms, in Psalm 90, the Psalm of Moses, it says

this. Our lives last 70 years, or if we are strong,

80 years. Even the best of them are struggling

sorrow. Indeed, they pass quickly, and we fly

away. Uh -oh. Anybody in here 70 years old? Raise

your hand. Uh -oh. What did Moses say? He says

our lives last 70 years, and if you're lucky,

it's going to last 80 years. That's scary to

think about. For some of you, it's going to last

97. But that's few and far between. You look

around you and you look at people that pass,

and most of the time they make it to 70 or 80.

That's reality. You're not going to live forever.

You might not make it to 30. You might not make

it to 50. Our life is going to end, and it's

going to be full. What does he say? He says it's

going to be full of struggle and sorrow. And

that's the truth right there. Some of you keep

thinking, all right, my life's going to get better.

Well, no, it's not. Life is going to be hard.

I'm not telling you you're not going to have

good days. You are going to have good days. Today

is a good day. I see people in here smiling.

Praise the Lord. We get to come together. We're

going to have this wedding shower. It's a good

day. I just came back from vacation. It was good.

Some of the rest of you may have stuff going

on in your life that's good. Some of you may

be in the midst of the worst struggles and sorrows

you've ever been in in your life. We have good

days and we have bad days, but the fact of the

matter is this. This life ain't really going

to get any better. It's going to be 70, 80 years,

if you're lucky, of struggle and sorrow, Moses

says. So what does he say in verse 12? Psalm

Psalms 90:12

90 verse 12 says this. Teach us to number our

days carefully so that we may develop wisdom

in our hearts. Number your days. Know that your

days are numbered. You will not live forever.

God's wisdom on your children and your grandchildren

forever. Your days are numbered. You've got to

make the most of them. And there is nothing more

important in our lives than that we know Jesus

Christ and that we trust in Him and are obedient

to His commands and that we pass what we have

learned and the love that we have felt on to

those around us, on to the next generation. That

our life and all that God has done in it can

be a stone that somebody else can look at and

see the work of God. What kind of stones are

you leaving behind in your life today? Are you

doing anything for the Lord? Are you doing anything

that's worth remembering? Your days are numbered.

God tells Joshua and the people, look, you set

up these stones so that the people, so that the

children who come after will be able to know

the mighty works of God. We need to be those

who are sharing the mighty works of God with

those who are around us. That everything people

see us do in our life, we can use to point them

back to God. We can say, yeah, this is by the

grace of God that I am where I am. It's by the

love of God that I am where I am. It's by the

forgiveness of God that I am where I am. It's

by the power of God that I was able to get through

what I got through. It's by the strength of God

that I keep going every day. It's by the Word

of God that I love those who hate me and I pray

for those who persecute me. It's by the command

of Scripture that I help the poor and needy.

And everything in our life needs to be driven

by the Word of God to live in obedience to Him.

And we need to take what we've experienced and

we need to tell others, just as those who are

going to look at these stones, let me tell you

what God has done in my life. Let me tell you

of the mighty works of the Lord. There is no

mightier work that the Lord has done today than

sending Jesus Christ to die on a cross so that

our sins could be forgiven. That is the most

perfect example of grace and love and mercy.

Do you know Jesus Christ today? Have you trusted

in Jesus Christ today? It's the mightiest work

that we will ever see in all of Scripture. If

you don't know Jesus today, you need to trust

in that mighty work. And if you have trusted

in the mighty work of Jesus Christ, then your

life needs to show that. Let's pray. God, we

come to you. We thank you for your good word.

Dear Lord, I pray that you would help us to recall

Mighty works that we have seen in our lives dear

Lord. The way that you have worked in us. I pray

that you would help us one to seek you and to

rejoice in those mighty works. I pray that we

would be able to share those mighty works with

others dear Lord. That our life would be a good

example of who Jesus is dear Lord. That we would

know that there's... Nothing that we have in

this world that we're going to take with us,

one day we're going to be gone and forgotten,

dear Lord. But your word will remain forever.

You will remain forever, dear Lord. Your mighty

acts will remain forever. And the only way our

world can change, dear Lord, whether it's now

or 5 ,000 years in the future or 5 ,000 years

in the past, dear Lord, the only way that our

world changes is when we are a people who will

seek you. When we are a people who don't forget

you, dear Lord. So let us not forget you. And

God, let us help the generations that come after

us to know who you are, that you are not forgotten,

dear Lord. That we here today would be a people

who would seek you. Maybe there are some of us

in this room, God, and we have forgotten you.

And we just hadn't been listening to you. We

hadn't been living for you. We just hadn't been

doing right, dear Lord. I pray that today in

these moments that we would remember you. that

we would remember Jesus Christ, that we would

repent of our sins, God. Maybe there are some

in this room that do not know Jesus Christ. They've

never trusted in Him. They've never seen Your

mighty works. But maybe today, God, Your Holy

Spirit is convicting them. And maybe today they're

ready to trust in the mighty work of Jesus Christ

on the cross. Maybe through this story of this

Jordan River being stopped, dear Lord, it's helped

someone to see Your power today. God, just as

you delivered those people into the promised

land, so you will deliver us, God. Just as you

provided for them along the way, so you will

provide for us, God, even if our days are full

of sorrow and struggle. God, we know that you're

with us. I pray for those today who are in that

sorrow and struggle, that you would just strengthen

them and comfort them, God. And I pray that you

would help us to leave a legacy that's worth

leaving when we leave this old world. And I ask

these things in Jesus' name. Amen.