What About the Stones?

Welcome to the Rheem Sound Church of God podcast.

Wherever you're listening from, we hope you are blessed by

today's message. I want to preach to you today

out of the book of Joshua and before I read the Scripture, let

me give you just a little set up for this this message so it'll

make it briefer for you when we get into the meat of it.

As we get into Joshua, the book of Joshua, Moses has has died.

Moses was actually, he died and was buried by God himself and no

one knew where the grave was. But Joshua was the new and

anointed leader that was going to take Moses place, take the

people into the promised land. And in the book of Joshua they

come to the last hurdle, which is the Jordan River.

And it would not have been as big a hurdle as the Jordan River

sometimes doesn't have to be. But this particular season was

the flood season. The snow Mount Hermon would melt

and the waters would come down. And so at this point, Jordan is

overflowing its banks and they're swirling waters and

they've got to get across that Jordan River.

They don't know how they're going to do it, but God speaks

and gives a plan to Joshua. And that plan, of course, is for

him to take the priest with the ark of the covenant born on

their shoulders and step into the Jordan River.

And the Bible says, and God said as soon as their feet touch the

water, it will it will be parted or rolled back, actually rolled

back. Let me let me say something

about that because unlike the Red Sea that divided like this,

the Bible says in this case the river actually it rolled back

actually rolled back to a town called Adam.

So it actually rolled back and this side of it continued to

make its journey down to the Dead Sea.

So what happened was there is really only one wall, and it's

that wall that kept the water back.

The rest of it went to the Dead Sea, leaving a dry riverbed,

totally dry riverbed, and the people were able to walk through

on dry ground. And then the Bible says that God

gave gave Joshua an instruction and told him to go back or have

12 men go back into the Jordan River and take out 12 Stones,

one for each tribe of Israel, put that stone on their shoulder

and walk out with it and take it to the place you're lodging,

which is Gilgal and and pile those stones up as a memorial.

Thinking about Memorial Day, that was a memorial.

And the Bible says they did that.

And not only that, but it also that Joshua then told the men,

we don't even know if God told him this or not, but to take 12

additional stones and put them in the river and leave them

there. And so with the waters would

cover them when the waters came back over and they walked

through on dry ground. The Bible says the priest stayed

in the midst of the Jordan River till the last person pass

through and they were they were brought to safety on the other

side. Today I want us to look at that

pilot of stones that are talked about in this chapter 4 and

chapter 5 of the book of Joshua. So if you stand with me, I want

to read from Joshua chapter 4 verse 19, where it says Now the

Joshua 4:19

people came up from the Jordan on the 10th day of the first

month and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho,

and those 12 Stones which they took out of the Jordan Joshua

set up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of

Israel, saying, when your children ask their fathers in

time to come, saying what are these stones?

Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed

over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up

the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over,

as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up

before us until we had crossed over.

Now that was 40 years earlier that miracle happened, that all

the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that

it is mighty and that you may fear the Lord your God forever.

My message comes out of that verse that the children are

going to ask you a question in the future.

And that question is, what about the stones?

While all these stones piled up here?

What's it all about? What's with the stones?

What are they saying to us? If they're saying anything?

Let's pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, as we look at the word

of God today. And Lord, we look at this

message on these stones that were taken out of the Jordan

River and stacked up in a place called Gilgal.

We want to see God, what Your Word said for them and what it

speaks to today. So I pray for the anointing of

Your Holy Spirit in this time and ask for every heart and life

God to be engaged in Your Word today.

In Jesus name, Amen. You may be seated.

What about the stones? There are 12 Stones that are

piled up at Gilgal and they had a lot of significance for the

people of Israel. According to the word of the

Lord. They were placed there as an

instrument for teaching the next generations, people that would

come along later. They carried a message and we

know that many times there are messages in stones.

When we think about it, we speak of things like milestones and we

talk about cornerstones and the Word of God even talks about

millstones, which you don't want around your neck.

And of course, we all know about gravestones when we go to the

cemetery and they have messages on them and they tell us about

people's life, when they were born, when they died, and

sometimes even comments made about them.

And oftentimes significant markers are, are are made of

stone. In fact, I was thinking about

this and I thought about on this Memorial Day, the Tomb of the

Unknown Soldier. How many of you have ever been

to Arlington and seen the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

Let me see your hand. Quite a number of you.

I'll tell you what, it's a moving experience, especially

when you realize the guard that is there and the if you've ever

been to the changing of the guard ceremony.

The one time my wife and I and I believe Tara was still in

school, Tom was married and children or whatever, but we

were, we went down 1 Memorial Day.

I think we took a friend from School of Terrors and I remember

that we we were there that day and it was actually President

Clinton came in the limo and came by and he actually waved at

us and and there was only us standing right there.

So we claim that as our wave from a president never happened

before. It never happened since because

I never seen one before. But anyway, we went on there and

we saw it. And of course, if you don't know

this, that Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is made primarily a

white Yule marble, and it was quarried in Colorado.

It's the same marble that was used in the Lincoln Memorial.

And the huge center block of that thing alone weighs over 50

tons, over 50 tons. It was completed in 1932.

And I believe my friend Anne over there was there for the

dedication of that, I believe back then.

And when they had the dedication, she doesn't get to

shoot me back. So I can do it now.

But anyway, I, I thought about that and how stones carry

messages and, and these 12 Stones carried quite a message

because the actually God said that these stones are going to

be a witness to people to come about what I have done.

And then Isaiah 43, God said to the whole nation of Israel,

you're my witnesses. And in Acts chapter one, it says

to the New Testament church, when you receive the Holy

Spirit, which this is Pentecost Sunday, when you receive the

baptism of the Holy Spirit, you're going to be my witnesses.

But in this particular case, it was stones and, and, and the

Bible said that your children are going to see these stones

and they're going to say, what is the deal?

What's up with these stones? What are they all about?

And, and I think about that because there are stones all

over this room here today. I'm looking at stone faces.

Well, that's not a bad thing because first Peter 25 says you

also as living stones. Thank God.

Living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy

priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained

in the scripture. So here's what I want you to

see. All of us are called to be

living stones. So I asked this question.

What about the stones? What's the message from the

stone? What's up with the stones?

We are witnesses of the glorious power of Jesus Christ through

salvation in the blood of the Lamb.

We're living stones. The Bible tells us Amen.

But in this case, these are natural stones.

But they have a message. First of all, they speak of

former bondage because those 12 Stones lay on the bottom of the

swirling, dark Jordan River. They were overflowed by the

floods of water. Now, was that not the case of

the nation of Israel? Because the people of Israel had

been in Egypt. They had been in bondage.

They had been in bondage for hundreds of years.

It didn't start out as bondage. But before that 400 years was

over, they were in tremendous bondage and they were not able

to get those stones were on the bottom of the Jordan River and

they were not able to be free. They were under the water.

Is that not the case of every unsaved person today?

Buried in sin, buried in disobedience, buried and unable

to do anything about it? In fact, these stones are quite

helpless because they're laying at the bottom of the river.

They didn't have any power to lift themselves themselves.

They had no way of getting out. In fact, you wouldn't have even

known they were there, but they were buried under it.

Let me tell you something. Jesus found us when we were

helpless. Jesus found us when we were

buried. Jesus found us when we were dead

in our trespasses and in our sins, and we could not help

ourselves. Ephesians 21 says in You hath he

quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins?

How many know a dead man can't help himself?

But thank God we serve a God that can even raise the dead for

the glory of God. We know that David, the great

singer of Israel in the 40th Psalm, he said I was in a deep

miry clay. I was in a horrible pit and I

couldn't get out. But he said I called on the name

of the Lord and he lifted me up and he set my feet on a rock and

put a new song in my mouth. Even praise to our God.

We have a God that knows how to get the stones out of out of the

muck and out of the mire and out of the bog and out of the sin.

He's able to get us out of it. None of us could save ourselves,

Romans 5-6 says, For when we were still without strength, in

due time Christ died for the ungodly.

So those stones on the bottom of the George River course, they're

not living stones, but he was going to use them.

God was to teach a people a lesson, and that lesson includes

the fact that the stones couldn't help themselves.

The stones would have never gotten out of that river had

somebody not taken them out, brought them out.

Are you not glad today that Jesus brought you out?

He brought you out, that old song says.

He brought me out of the miry clay.

He set my feet on a rock, the state.

He put a song of praise in my soul today.

A song of praise. Hallelujah.

Thank God that we've been brought out of sin, brought out

of bondage. Amen.

And the Bible says in Joshua 423 For the Lord your God dried up

the waters of the Jordan before you until you crossed over as

the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us

until we had crossed over. Those stones would have never

been discovered, would have never been found if God had not

rolled back the waters of the mighty Jordan.

And He wanted them to see and remember that's exactly what He

did for them. They would have never, never

gotten out from under Pharaoh. Pharaoh said, I will never let

them go. No matter what you do, I'll

never let them go. But God rolled back the bondage.

God rolled back the captivity. And folks, I want to tell you,

we still can see God who is able to dry up the power of the enemy

that's working in your life, allowing you to discover the

love of God that he has for you. You don't have to stay on the

bottom. You don't have to stay lifeless

and hopeless because somebody came after you, somebody rolled

back the waters of the Jordan River to get to you.

And so no matter where you are today, no matter how you're

living your life today, no matter how much bondage you

have, no matter how much corruption and captivity you

face, God is able to get you out of that mess that you're in.

Can somebody praise the Lord? And they speak of deliverance.

So the Bible says that these stones, again, unable to do

anything for themselves, were actually lifted up by an elder

or by one of the men, and they would put this stone on their

shoulder. So 12 men are chosen and they

carry these stones. They don't come out by

themselves. They're not The Rolling Stones,

they're the stuck stones, right? So they can't get out by

themselves. So somebody has to bring them

out. Thank God we have one called the

Good Shepherd. And the Good Shepherd can carry

anybody on his shoulders and take them out of their bondage

and out of their captivity. Thank God that He did not leave

us buried in sin. Thank God, everyone of you that

are saved today know that He is a God of deliverance.

He is a God that will bring you out.

He is a God that will bring you up.

He's a God that will change your circumstances.

He is a God that will lift you out of despondency and bring you

into faith and bring you into the power of His Holy Spirit.

The Bible tells us in Second Corinthians one, verse 9 and 10,

yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves.

We were as good as dead that we should not trust in ourselves,

but in God who raises the dead. Now love this next part.

Who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us in

whom we trust that He will still deliver us.

You see that there are three stages of your deliverance.

The first one is when He saved you.

He delivered you from your sin. He delivered you from Satan.

He delivered you from evil. And then the Bible says as you

walk through this life right now, He's still delivering you.

He's with you to bring you out of whatever you walk through,

whatever you go through. He's a God of present

deliverance. But how many know there's coming

a day when Christ will split the sky, and when He splits the sky,

He will deliver us ultimately out of this place, and we will

be with Him forever in the presence of Almighty God and the

angels of heaven. He is a three delivering God,

Hallelujah, past, present and future, giving praise in the

House of the Lord. My goodness, there's a message

right there, isn't there? All the three phases of your

deliverance. He delivered you from a past

life of sin. He's delivering you right now as

you walk through a world of sin and he will deliver you, taking

you out of here. Thank God it's coming.

Thank God it's coming. He's going to do what he said.

They speak also of testimony. The Bible says there to be

memorial stones there to serve as a signs to what God has done.

Again, once they were on the bottom of the swirling Jordan,

but now these stones are suddenly lifted up, they're

exalted, and now they're actually being used by God as

witnesses to the power of God. These 12 Stones were going to

serve a purpose that God had planned for them absolutely

perfectly. Again, in Isaiah 43, God said to

Israel, you're my witnesses. You see God, God never raised up

the nation of Israel just to be itself.

He actually wanted them to take the message of God's grace and

love to the world. He chose that nation.

He chose that nation so that all nations could be blessed by

fact. The Bible said in you all the

nations will be less. Is that not right?

That's what God's choice was. He wanted that for them to do.

And then he says to the church, and in Acts 1, he said, you will

be my witnesses, Church, you are now my witnesses.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you're going to be

my witnesses. And that witnessing that we do

is because he brought us out. But where did these stones go?

Well, the Bible says in Joshua chapter 5, verse 9, then the

Joshua 5:9

Lord said to Joshua, this day I have rolled away the reproach of

Egypt from you. I like, I just like that

terminology. I've rolled away.

Is there a song about that? Rolled away, rolled away, rolled

away. There is an old song about that.

All the burdens of my heart have rolled away.

What's the rest of it? Nobody knows it.

And what's the rest of it? Got to get there.

Sorry about that, anyway. No, but I and I just thought of

that. But I remember a song about

that. Janice, you remember, don't you?

Rolled away. Rolled away.

All the burdens of my heart were rolled away at the craw.

Oh, is that what it is? OK.

Well, anyway, all right. Let's keep going.

This day I've rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.

Therefore, the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.

Now the Hebrew word for gilgal means rolling or rolling away.

So the place is actually called the place where God rolled away

your oppression, your sin. Where did it happen for you?

It was your Gilgal. Maybe it was here at this altar.

Maybe you got saved here. And if you did, this is where

your gilgal is, because that's where it rolled away.

It might have been in the old church, it might have been some

other church, it might have been in your house, it might have

been on the street. Wherever it was, you call it

Gilgal because that's the place where your past life rolled

away. And he said, I want you to take

them to the camp, He said in chapter 4, verse 3, and command

them, saying, take for yourselves 12 Stones from here

out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priest

feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with

you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge

tonight. Notice where God tells him to

leave them. He doesn't tell them to leave

them on the other side of the Jordan where you used to be, but

I want you to lay them on the promised land side of the Jordan

where you're going. Amen.

So I, I don't want, I don't want you just to think about your old

life and, and, and where you were and, and, and the dread of

all of that and, and put your stones up over there and all you

can think about is your old sinful life.

No, I called you to be on the on the right side of the Jordan

because I got something for you call a promised land.

I've got something better for your life and I don't want you

to think and only about what you used to be, but I want you to

know what you can be because I brought you out from where you

were and I push you where you are right now.

Amen. So we are on the the correct

side. God doesn't want you to have

only stones and memories of how you used to do your life and how

you used to live your life and, and, and to be burdened by that.

People sometimes will try to trap you with that.

And I remember when you were this and you were that, that was

then, this is now. I'm not putting my stones back

there. I'm putting my stone pile on

this side because I don't plan to go back there.

I'm going here. Somebody praise God and notice

that there were 12 Stones in in Joshua chapter 4, verse 4.

Joshua 4:4

Then Joshua called the 12 men whom he had appointed from the

children of Israel. One man from every tribe.

I want you to remember that. One man from him, every tribe.

God gave orders that one man would represent each tribe.

So all 12 men are now representing the whole nation of

Israel. And it is a great part of this

story. Don't miss it.

He didn't say set up a Joshua stone or set up a Caleb stone,

but he said set up an everybody's stone because

everybody's included in this, not just the hotshot preacher at

the top. All of you are in this mix and

all of you are in this place of deliverance and freedom.

I didn't die. Jesus would say to just save a

few people. I saved.

I died to save the world, brothers and sisters.

This thing is for everyone, He said.

Every stone that you care out here represents a part of the

nation. And he said when you get all 12

of them piled up, the whole group is now represented because

God cares about everyone. I said God cares about everyone,

not just a few, not just a so-called cream of the crop, but

he cares about every man, every woman, every boy and every girl.

And he wants to bring everyone of us out of bondage and let us

live in the freedom of the power of the Holy Spirit.

So what do they mean? Chapter 4, verse six said that

this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time

to come saying, what do these stones mean to you?

What? What's all this to you?

What's this Christian thing to you?

What's this believer thing to you?

What, what's all this about? What does it mean to you?

So the kid that the children, if they were coming that way and

they see this, what the what's all these stones?

What, what's what's the deal here?

And again, I talked to you about the fact that in the very early

part of the message that we're all living stones, right?

So we, we always need to have in our heart, in our soul, we

always need to be able to say to our children coming behind us

because we need to be able to concisely say what it means to

us to be saved because we need to live.

Leave an inheritance to them. And while it is great to plan

for their education for the future and plan for other things

too, if you can, to leave behind things, finance, property,

whatever it is, that's all well and good, but you need to leave

a spiritual heritage to your kids.

Far more important than anything else.

You will leave them. It's a part of your DNA.

It's not just something that is a sideline, it's your life.

It's who you are. I'm saved.

Jesus brought me out of darkness.

Some of you need to tell your story to your kids.

You need to let them know what Jesus has done in your life.

You know, I, I think I thank God, you know, for my hair.

I've told you and I won't go into detail.

My dad wasn't much of an example at all really, but my mom was.

And, and you know, the thing that she left is she was not a

well educated woman. She never had a lot of money.

In fact, as a family, we didn't we certainly weren't rich by any

stretch of the imagination. We're just basically week to

week people. And but, but, but there was

something about her faith in God and she was going to make sure

that I was affected by it because I was going to church.

I there's no options, folks. I didn't get any options.

I'm going. In fact, I got where I never

even thought about asking for because it's just natural she's

going to make me be in the House of God.

I the only time I could remember, I lied to her one

time. The Wizard of Oz was coming on

Sunday night. There's Disney, right?

The old Disney did it. And the Wizard of Oz was coming

on Sunday night, went church on Sunday night.

We're going to church, right? So I told her I was sick.

Yeah, I lied. I lied.

Thank God that's all rolled away.

Let's all rolled away, but I don't ever remember any other

time. I'm not, I'm not trying to be

legalistic here. I'm just telling you it's

important. What's more important in your

family than to see that your sons and daughters know the

gospel, hear the gospel, get an opportunity to be safe.

They may not like it at the moment, but that's all right

because God has a way of changing them just like he

changed you. Can you say men Amen and Amen?

And they were stones that were to stay there.

You don't move them, you leave them right there.

God wanted his children and their children to know him.

And there was an opportunity for them to witness because of what

God had done. So those stones brought back

memories. Hey, I'll tell you what those

stones mean. We were here one time back years

ago and we were on that side of the Jordan and we had no way

over and we knew that our destiny was over here in the

flood banks of the banks were over flooded and water was

everywhere. And and we prayed to God, not

knowing what to do. And God did a miracle and he

rolled back on one side the Jordan River, the waters flowed

down to the Dead Sea from the other.

And now we're walking on dry ground and those stones you see

there are reminder to us of what God did for us.

It wasn't about the stones, it wasn't about the rocks, but it

was about the people. And they said, we want you to

remember what God did for us, and he can do the same thing for

you in your life. And let me tell you, those

stones were also a witness to the enemy, because when the

enemy could see those stones, they would remember what God did

for his people. I want to tell you something.

Sometimes you need to. When the devil's after you, you

need to point your stones out to Him.

You need to say, listen devil, you didn't beat me back then and

you're not going to beat me now. God came through for me then,

and He'll come through for me now.

You're not going to take my victory from me.

You might have had me at one time, but I've come out of that

now. And you may fight me and you may

throw every obstacle in my way, and you may afflict me and you

may try me, but you won't win because God has shown me He what

he did in the past, He'll do it again because that is the God

that we are serving. Praise God.

And then finally worship team, come back.

The stones speak of a new beginning.

I thought about the first set of stones was actually the second

set because the first set were the ones brought out.

But Joshua and I as I read this and reread this I I never saw

where God told him to do it, but he had the men go back in and

find 12 more stones and put them in the riverbed.

Now remember this, they walked through dry ground.

When God doesn't work, he does it well.

They didn't walk trying to skip the mud puddles to get through,

and they didn't walk to mud and mire.

They had to clean off their sandals.

The Bible says they walked on dry, dry, dry ground.

But for some reason, Joshua said, put 12 Stones in the water

as well. And you know, when you think

about that, I think that represents something.

It represents an old life that's buried.

It's an old life that's buried. We're not going back there.

And that old life we lived in bondage is gone.

It's gone. I think he was saying those

stones in that water mean the wilderness is behind us.

Nobody may be able to see them. It doesn't matter because it's

the death of the old life. It's the death of the old way.

God has given us victory. And so those 12 Stones also

represent the 12 tribes, everybody and, and right now

there, he said they're going to be in that riverbed.

The water is going to come back over and that's our past.

It's gone. Don't talk about it.

Don't worry about it. It's under the water.

Sounds like something like under the blood.

Amen. Ha.

Where are sins under the blood of the cross of Calvary?

We are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God.

Here's my question for you. This was all about a new

beginning for them. They were going to possess a

land, a new land for them. They were going to take it.

Jericho would be the next issue they would have to deal with,

but they first had to get there. The promised land really isn't,

is a isn't really a representation of heaven because

the promised land still has enemies in it, right?

It had lots of enemies and it but it is a new beginning and

it's a new beginning with God's blessing.

And not that you want they wouldn't fight any battles

because they would. But he said, I'm going to give

you victory over the Hittites, the Jebusites, Amorites, all the

ice termites. He got them all.

He said God is going to give you victory over all of them, but

you got to get there first. You got to get on the other

side. I want to ask this question of

everyone here today, and that is, could you use a new

beginning? Because that's what that was

really all about. It was a time for the old to

pass and the new to come in. I don't know where you are

today, but if you're living in some kind of bondage, if the

enemy's got you wrapped up into something, that's not what God

would want for your life. And it doesn't have to be

anything particularly evil, but it's you're not where you have

the freedom that God wants you to have in your life.

He's able to bring you out. He loves you and He cares about

you, and He's able to bring you out of that deep, miry clay that

David talked about. He's able to bring you out of

whatever you might be bound with.

We understand when we look at God's Word how the Lord brought

the nation of Israel out of bondage, but He didn't leave

them on that side of the Jordan. But he said, I've got more for

you. And that more was in that

promised land. God wants you to live in the

fullness of the Spirit. God has more for you than just

your name being written in the Lamb's book of life, even though

that's the best thing you'll ever get.

God wants you to live in this life in victory.

He wants you to overcome. He wants you to be powerful for

him and with him. He wants to do great things in

your life. And just like those stones, He

brought you out for a cause and a purpose.

And he said those stones are going to be witnesses.

Think of all the people that you may be a witness to by the

change that Jesus makes in your life.

Thanks for joining us today. If you'd like to connect, visit

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