1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,600 Dear God, we do cherish that cross that You laid down Your life on for each one of us. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,440 And Lord, we look forward to that day when we can exchange it for the crown of glory 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,560 that we can dwell with You forever and ever. 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:23,960 In Your name we pray, amen. 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:30,440 So the year was about 1620, and there was a group of people in England. 6 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:37,640 And first they went and took refuge across the English Channel in the Netherlands. 7 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,440 And after a time they came back to England. 8 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:47,420 And then in 1620 they boarded a ship known as the Mayflower, and they sailed across the 9 00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:48,500 Atlantic Ocean. 10 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:52,620 This group of people we refer to often as the Pilgrims. 11 00:00:52,620 --> 00:00:59,400 And they came to this continent, they came to this place seeking after religious freedom, 12 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:05,280 wanting to worship God in the way that they saw fit, a little bit different than others 13 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,360 were doing in England at that time. 14 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:14,320 And they initially were hoping to come to Virginia, but they missed. 15 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:21,080 And they ended up in Massachusetts of all places at the beginning of winter. 16 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:28,960 And you can go to a little town called Plymouth in Massachusetts, and there's a grand structure 17 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:33,200 there with columns and a beautiful structure. 18 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:39,280 And if you go into this structure, there is something that reminds people of that group 19 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:44,760 of explorers that came to that place. 20 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:45,760 Plymouth Rock. 21 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,200 Has anybody seen Plymouth Rock in person? 22 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:54,400 I never have, but I understand it's one of the most underwhelming things you can see, 23 00:01:54,400 --> 00:02:01,720 because you think Plymouth Rock, and yet it's a nice structure, but inside it's a rock, 24 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,880 but not a huge rock. 25 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:10,920 But it stands there as a reminder of that group of people who risked their life to come 26 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:15,680 to a place so that they could worship God in the way that they wanted. 27 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:22,120 And of course, one year later, after that first winter where about half of those people 28 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:28,000 passed away from sickness and starvation, it was that next year that they learned how 29 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,720 to plant the crops and with help from the Native Americans, how to hunt and fish and 30 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,120 different things. 31 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:41,280 And that next fall in 1621 is that event that we look back on as the first Thanksgiving. 32 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:50,000 But that reminder is a rock, is a Plymouth Rock stands there as a memorial to that settlement 33 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:51,760 of the pilgrims. 34 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,720 Let's go to Luke chapter 19 as we get started today. 35 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,240 This is where our scripture reading was. 36 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,520 Luke chapter 19. 37 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,920 We're going to pick up the story, and this is the triumphal entry. 38 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:09,920 We might refer to this as Palm Sunday if we were to look back on it. 39 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,200 And Jesus is making his way into Jerusalem. 40 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:21,660 Before this week is over, the mob is going to turn on him and Jesus is going to be hanging 41 00:03:21,660 --> 00:03:22,960 on a cross. 42 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,880 Jesus is going to give his life for each one of us. 43 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:33,680 But on this particular day, the crowd is there and the crowd is rejoicing and the crowd is 44 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,160 excited about him. 45 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,240 So let's look at verse 37. 46 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:45,440 It says, then as he, Jesus, was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives. 47 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:52,160 So he's coming down this Mount of Olives approaching overlooking Jerusalem. 48 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:59,680 And it says, the whole multitude of the disciples begun to rejoice and praise God with a loud 49 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:06,360 voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the 50 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:11,040 name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. 51 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,880 So they're praising God and it says they're praising him because of the mighty works they 52 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,360 had seen. 53 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:25,480 So we could pause and we could remember what were some of the mighty works that Jesus had 54 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,100 done that these people had seen. 55 00:04:28,100 --> 00:04:32,740 They had seen people that were unable to walk. 56 00:04:32,740 --> 00:04:38,120 When Jesus touches them or speaks a word, suddenly they're able to rise up and take their bed 57 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:39,120 and walk. 58 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:45,000 Or people that were excluded from the community because of a disease like leprosy. 59 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,920 Jesus was able to touch them and their skin was healed and they were able to come back 60 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,500 into the family, into the community again. 61 00:04:55,500 --> 00:05:01,920 And I don't know this for sure, but I like to picture at least one person who we know 62 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:02,920 their name. 63 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:08,960 Because if you go back to chapter 18, at the very end of chapter 18, Jesus is near Jericho 64 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,240 and he's walking through and there's a blind man who begins to call out, Jesus, son of 65 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,520 David, have mercy on me. 66 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:22,400 And we know this gentleman's name was Bartimaeus and he was blind and the people told him, 67 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,440 be quiet, shh, you're making too much noise, be quiet. 68 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,000 But Bartimaeus says, called out all the louder. 69 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:36,600 And Jesus came to blind Bartimaeus and he said, your faith has saved you, your faith 70 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,080 has healed you. 71 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:46,760 And Bartimaeus says in chapter 18 verse 43, it says, immediately he received his sight 72 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,880 and he followed him, glorifying God. 73 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:57,840 Now so this gentleman was blind and now he sees and he follows Jesus. 74 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:02,320 And Jesus went from Jericho and he went to Jerusalem. 75 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:07,800 So I don't know, but I like to imagine that maybe Bartimaeus followed Jesus all the way 76 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:14,080 to Jerusalem and maybe he is in this crowd praising God with a loud voice. 77 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:21,240 Now this mob is making a lot of noise and some people don't like it, don't appreciate 78 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:22,420 it. 79 00:06:22,420 --> 00:06:25,960 Notice verse 39 of chapter 19. 80 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:32,240 So Luke 19 verse 39, it says, some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd. 81 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:39,760 So these religious leaders are talking to Jesus and it says, teacher, rebuke your disciples. 82 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,680 They're making too much noise. 83 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,380 Rebuke your disciples. 84 00:06:43,380 --> 00:06:47,680 Tell them to pipe down just a little bit. 85 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,460 They're being too loud. 86 00:06:49,460 --> 00:06:55,560 But notice what Jesus says in verse 40, he answered and said to them, I tell you that 87 00:06:55,560 --> 00:07:03,180 if these should keep silence, the stones would immediately cry out. 88 00:07:03,180 --> 00:07:09,720 If this group of people is not praising me today, Jesus says, nature is going to praise 89 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,720 me. 90 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:12,220 The stones are going to cry out. 91 00:07:12,220 --> 00:07:17,400 The stones are going to lift up their voices and praise. 92 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,080 That's a fascinating statement. 93 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,800 You know, there's a song that young people used to sing. 94 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,200 I'm not sure if they sing it anymore. 95 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,080 It's not quite grammatically correct, but it goes like this. 96 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:35,360 It says, there ain't no rock going to sing in my place. 97 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,720 As long as I'm alive, I'm going to glorify his holy name. 98 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:41,880 So ain't no rock. 99 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:47,260 I don't need a rock to sing in my place is what that song is saying. 100 00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:51,920 As long as I'm alive, I'm going to be the one that praises Jesus. 101 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:57,160 I don't need a rock to sing for me because the song says I'm going to be loud enough. 102 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,800 I'm going to sing in my place. 103 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:11,400 But I wonder, has anyone ever told us, told me, told you to be quiet, that you're praising 104 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,400 God too much? 105 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:18,160 That's not usually what we're told to be quiet about. 106 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,200 We may be told to be quiet about something. 107 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,000 Maybe we're talking too much. 108 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,480 Maybe we're telling some lame jokes or something. 109 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,280 Oh, just be quiet. 110 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,280 Or you know, no, now's the time not to talk. 111 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:37,780 But it's not usual that we're told, that I'm told to stop praising God. 112 00:08:37,780 --> 00:08:39,800 You're praising God too much. 113 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:41,520 You need to be quiet. 114 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,440 But that's what these Pharisees are saying to this group. 115 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:52,840 Most of us are not disrupting other people because we're giving thanks to God. 116 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,800 We have things to help us remember. 117 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,400 Do we have things to help us to remember what God has done for us? 118 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,760 Do we have things to remember what we can give thanks for? 119 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:11,620 Like Plymouth Rock is a reminder, a rock that reminds people. 120 00:09:11,620 --> 00:09:18,440 You know, in our home, and I imagine many of your homes, if you take pictures at a family 121 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,640 gathering, perhaps you could put those in an album. 122 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:28,440 Maybe there's some shelf in your home, some bookshelf, and you can pull off that bookshelf 123 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:33,200 and it's got pictures of your family, you know, pictures of your kids when they were 124 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:34,460 babies. 125 00:09:34,460 --> 00:09:37,520 And the first kid has a whole bunch of pictures. 126 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,140 And the second child has some pictures. 127 00:09:41,140 --> 00:09:43,440 And the third are following children. 128 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,480 You know, you're just lucky that they're still there. 129 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,520 And you probably have one or two pictures. 130 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:55,260 But that's something we don't have as much anymore because we take pictures on our phone. 131 00:09:55,260 --> 00:09:59,340 We don't usually print out pictures. 132 00:09:59,340 --> 00:10:04,560 My wife, if we go on a trip or something, she'll take those pictures that we take and 133 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:08,260 upload them to some site like Shutterfly. 134 00:10:08,260 --> 00:10:13,720 And they'll send you a little book with all the pictures from that trip that they'll print 135 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:14,720 out. 136 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:22,160 And so we can have something to remember that event or that trip that we went on. 137 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:29,240 Do we have things to help us to remember the things that God has done in our life? 138 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:36,000 We're going to look at some stories in the Bible about how God's people set up reminders 139 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,080 of God at work in their life to help them to remember. 140 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,620 So we're going to go to the Old Testament here. 141 00:10:42,620 --> 00:10:46,520 And just like Jesus said, the rocks are going to cry out. 142 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:51,560 These stories we look at are going to involve rocks. 143 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:54,320 So let's look at Genesis chapter 28. 144 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:55,960 Genesis chapter 28. 145 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,340 This is the story of Jacob. 146 00:10:58,340 --> 00:11:01,980 And Jacob had a brother named Esau. 147 00:11:01,980 --> 00:11:04,080 And they didn't always get along. 148 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:12,200 And Jacob's name, his name is Deceiver, that he was not always the most honest guy. 149 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,080 And he would trick people. 150 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,240 In fact, he tricked his brother out of the birthright. 151 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:24,720 He even lied to his dad and pretended to be his brother so that he could get a special 152 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,800 prayer of blessing. 153 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:33,360 And when it came time for Jacob to be married, his mom was like, why don't you go back to 154 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,880 the land that I'm from? 155 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:41,080 Maybe to keep him safe from his angry brother or to find some people who at least had some 156 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:42,800 similar beliefs. 157 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,200 And so Jacob is going on that journey. 158 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,120 Perhaps he's running away. 159 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,320 Perhaps he's worried about what is behind him. 160 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:58,360 But as Jacob is making this journey, he lays down at night to go to sleep. 161 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,300 You could say he's cowboy camping. 162 00:12:00,300 --> 00:12:01,560 He's got no tent. 163 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:03,080 He's got no structure. 164 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,200 He's just out there under the stars. 165 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,940 But as we often lay down, you know, you want something under your head or you're going 166 00:12:10,940 --> 00:12:13,320 to get some kind of crick in your neck. 167 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,440 And so what did Jacob use for a pillow? 168 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:18,640 He used a rock. 169 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:23,280 Seems like an odd choice for a pillow, but that's what he used just to lift his head 170 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:24,280 up. 171 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,520 And we're going to read the story in verse 16. 172 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:33,040 It says, then Jacob awoke from his sleep. 173 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:39,080 Now as he was sleeping with this rock on his pillow, Jacob had a dream. 174 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,000 And we sometimes sing songs about this dream. 175 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,120 I am climbing Jacob's ladder. 176 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,760 He had a dream of a ladder that stretched from earth to heaven. 177 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:55,000 And later Jesus actually referenced this and said that he is that bridge between heaven 178 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,080 and earth in the early chapter of John. 179 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:05,720 But when Jacob wakes up, he says in verse 16, he awoke from his sleep and said, surely 180 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,540 the Lord is in this place. 181 00:13:08,540 --> 00:13:10,420 And I did not know it. 182 00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:15,040 Because in this dream, he saw this ladder extending to heaven and he got assurance from 183 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:20,080 God that God was going to be with him even though he was leaving, that God would bring 184 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,320 him back to this place. 185 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:29,080 And it says in verse 17, he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? 186 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,420 This is none other than the house of God. 187 00:13:33,420 --> 00:13:36,520 This is the gate of heaven. 188 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:42,560 Then Jacob arose early in the morning and he took the stone that he had put at his head, 189 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:48,640 set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 190 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:54,360 And then it says he called the name of that place Beth-el, Bethel. 191 00:13:54,360 --> 00:14:01,920 Anytime you see a name in the Bible that ends in E-el, that's a word for God. 192 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,460 You see names like that, Daniel, God is my judge. 193 00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:08,640 And so this is something about God. 194 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,760 Now that first word, Beth, means house. 195 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,500 So he's saying this is the house of God. 196 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:20,360 I've been sleeping here and this is the house of God. 197 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:26,940 And it says he set up that rock in some way as a pillar and he anointed it, he poured 198 00:14:26,940 --> 00:14:31,140 oil on it so that he could remember his experience here. 199 00:14:31,140 --> 00:14:37,340 He could remember that God met him here even at a time in his life when there was much 200 00:14:37,340 --> 00:14:38,340 uncertainty. 201 00:14:38,340 --> 00:14:39,700 This is the place. 202 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:42,160 This is the house of God. 203 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:48,200 That was a way for him to remember what God had done, how God had met him. 204 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,320 Let's turn over just a page or two to Genesis chapter 31. 205 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:57,600 Still talking about Jacob, but it's about 20 years later. 206 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:05,120 Jacob has gone to the other land, he got married, he got married again, he worked for his father 207 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:13,080 in law for about 14 years to earn the dowry for his wives and he continued working and 208 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:18,320 he began to get more and more flocks and different things and finally he recognized that it was 209 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:24,320 time for him to return back to the place of his family. 210 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:30,800 And again, his name is Deceiver and so he kind of, he pulled a fast one on his father 211 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:31,800 in law. 212 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:36,520 He left, he took off, headed for the homeland. 213 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:43,640 And it was a few days later that his father in law realized that Jacob had taken his daughters 214 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,800 and his grandchildren and he wasn't very happy about that. 215 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:53,960 And so Laban set off in pursuit and he was going to, we're not sure exactly what, but 216 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,300 take his daughters back home. 217 00:15:56,300 --> 00:16:03,520 And just before Laban caught up to Jacob, Laban had a dream from God and it was like, 218 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,160 don't mess with Jacob. 219 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,480 I'm protecting Jacob. 220 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:14,080 And so when he caught up to Jacob, instead of going to battle or going to war or having 221 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:19,520 some sort of conflict, instead they made a treaty. 222 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,800 They had a treaty that took place and they wanted to remember this event. 223 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:34,360 And so we see in Genesis 31 verse 45, it says, so Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 224 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,960 So again, another rock pillar here. 225 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,280 And Jacob said to his brothers, gather stones. 226 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:45,400 And they took stones and made a heap and they ate there at the heap. 227 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,800 So they had a lunch meeting there at this heap of rocks. 228 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:55,600 And it says Laban called it something and Jacob called it Gilead. 229 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:01,780 And Laban said, this heap is a witness between you and me this day. 230 00:17:01,780 --> 00:17:03,420 This is a witness. 231 00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:06,760 This is a witness of a treaty that we have. 232 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:16,960 Therefore, its name was called Gilead and also Mizpah or watch tower, because he said, 233 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:24,000 may the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 234 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:29,660 So there's another rock, a pillar, some stones, a heap of stones. 235 00:17:29,660 --> 00:17:35,040 And they said, this is a place where we had a treaty that took place. 236 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,680 We had peace instead of battle. 237 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,640 And God is going to be a witness to this. 238 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:49,440 And verse 49 is one of the first verses that I have a clear memory of where I memorized 239 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,200 that verse. 240 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,680 Because from grades one to three, I went to Knoxville Adventist School. 241 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,460 It was Knoxville Junior Academy at the time. 242 00:17:58,460 --> 00:18:00,240 But I had a little teacher. 243 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,200 Her name was Mrs. Bunch. 244 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:08,520 And she was a sweet teacher, but she could swing a ruler if need be and tap those knuckles 245 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:09,920 from time to time. 246 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,800 But each day for three years at the end of the school day, we would stand up behind our 247 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:21,840 desk, push our little chairs in, and we would end the day by reciting the Mizpah. 248 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,560 That would be our closing prayer of the day. 249 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:29,800 May the Lord watch between me and thee while we're absent one from another. 250 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:30,800 Amen. 251 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:37,800 So I'm sure I had known some Bible verses before that, but that is one that I know exactly 252 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,880 the process that took place for me to ingrain that into my head. 253 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:49,520 And so once again, there's a rock, a pile of rocks remembering what God had done, remembering 254 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:56,160 how God had protected Jacob and had brought a treaty between these two people. 255 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:57,160 Let's go forward. 256 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,000 Let's go to Joshua, Joshua chapter 40. 257 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,480 Another event here. 258 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:07,920 God's people have spent now 40 years in the wilderness. 259 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,640 God had delivered them from Egypt. 260 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,560 He had brought them through the Red Sea. 261 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,400 They had come to Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments. 262 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,680 They had turned their backs on what God wanted them to do. 263 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,480 But now after 40 years in the wilderness, they are once again on the borders of the 264 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:25,480 promised land. 265 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,320 And they're about to go into the place that they had been searching for for all this time. 266 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:35,720 But there was a barrier between where they were and the promised land. 267 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,680 What was the barrier? 268 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,120 The Jordan River. 269 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,160 And so they had to get across the Jordan River. 270 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:44,160 And so God told them a plan. 271 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,600 They were supposed to, well, the priests were supposed to pick up the Ark of the Covenant 272 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,260 on the long sticks that they could carry this with. 273 00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:57,200 And they walked to the banks of the Jordan River. 274 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,520 And then what were the priests supposed to do? 275 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:01,920 They were supposed to keep going. 276 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,120 They were supposed to step right into the water. 277 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:12,940 And when the priests stepped into the water, somehow miraculously the river dried up. 278 00:20:12,940 --> 00:20:19,800 And so then these people, by the thousands, were able to cross over the Jordan River, 279 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:25,160 to go from the wilderness and to make it into the land that God had promised them. 280 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:31,720 And as they were going, God had given some additional instructions about what they were 281 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:32,920 supposed to do. 282 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:38,960 They were supposed to choose one person from each of the 12 tribes. 283 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:45,520 And as they were going through the water, that person was supposed to pick up a rock, 284 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,520 pick up a stone from the middle of this riverbed. 285 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,360 And they were supposed to carry it across. 286 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:59,480 And we don't know exactly how that looked, but I just picture dudes today. 287 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,440 So the first person picks up a rock. 288 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,480 And that second guy in my head, I picture it, I can get a bigger rock than that guy 289 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:07,480 can. 290 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,880 And so he makes sure he gets a little bit bigger rock. 291 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,500 And then the third guy, oh, I think I can get a bigger rock than that. 292 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:17,280 And so the last guy I picture got this giant rock. 293 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,880 But there's this heap of stones on the other side. 294 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:23,880 Why? 295 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:32,160 Joshua 4 and verse 20, it says, Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, when your 296 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,100 children ask their fathers in time to come. 297 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:43,040 So years from now, families are walking by, little children, daddy, what's that pile of 298 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,460 stones there? 299 00:21:45,460 --> 00:21:51,560 When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what are these stones? 300 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:58,920 Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land. 301 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:00,560 There's a river right there. 302 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:05,480 But we crossed over, our forefathers crossed over on dry land. 303 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:10,640 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed 304 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:16,480 over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until 305 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:23,160 we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, 306 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:28,240 that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. 307 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:34,520 So they said, we want to remember that God worked a miracle here, just like he did at 308 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:36,560 the Red Sea. 309 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:42,340 But you know what, most of these people were not at the Red Sea, because most of those 310 00:22:42,340 --> 00:22:49,520 people who had crossed the Red Sea, they had died because they had disobeyed and they spent 311 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:51,280 that time in the wilderness. 312 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:58,400 But they could remember the power of God at work at both the Red Sea and the Jordan River. 313 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:06,640 And the purpose of this pile of rocks was to pass on to the next generation what God 314 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:07,640 had done. 315 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:15,920 And I think we need to make sure that we pass on to the next generation in our families, 316 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:22,200 the next generation in our church, in our community, we need to pass on what God has 317 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,720 done in our life. 318 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:29,800 Are we talking about the things that God has done for us? 319 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,880 Our children listen to us as we talk. 320 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:38,520 Do they hear us talking about God in our conversations? 321 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,600 Let's look at one more story, 1 Samuel chapter 7. 322 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,120 First Samuel chapter 7. 323 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:51,340 Now they're in the promised land, but this is the days when Samuel is leading the people. 324 00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:53,640 So this is before King David. 325 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,280 This is even before King Saul. 326 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:01,560 And they've gathered together, the children of Israel have come to this place for a time 327 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:09,600 of prayer and to confess their sins and recommit themselves to God. 328 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:16,280 And Samuel has gathered them in this place, but the enemy, the Philistines have heard 329 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:17,600 that these people are here. 330 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,760 And they're like, you know what, we beat them in that same place before. 331 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,200 That's where we went and we took their ark. 332 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,040 We took the ark of the covenant. 333 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,880 We didn't get to keep it very long, but we took it in battle. 334 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:32,920 Let's go and fight them again. 335 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:37,960 Let's go and have another conflict, another fight. 336 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:44,720 And so this group of Israelites hear that the enemy is approaching and they cry out 337 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:45,960 to God. 338 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:53,480 And it says that God, in verse 10, it says, God thundered with a loud thunder upon the 339 00:24:53,480 --> 00:25:00,320 Philistines that day and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 340 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:05,880 And the armies of Israel went out and pursued and pushed back the enemy. 341 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:15,440 But then notice verse 12, it says Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizba and Sheen. 342 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,120 Here's Mizba again. 343 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:24,480 And called its name Ebenezer, saying thus far the Lord has helped us. 344 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:30,560 So they set up another rock and said, this is where God brought us a victory. 345 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,360 And they called its name, kind of a strange name for us, Ebenezer. 346 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:36,960 We sing a song sometimes. 347 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,360 It says, come now fount of every blessing. 348 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:47,200 I think it's about the third verse where one of the lines says, here I raise my Ebenezer. 349 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,520 If you're not familiar with this story, you may be thinking it's talking about, you know, 350 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,680 Scrooge or something like that. 351 00:25:53,680 --> 00:26:00,520 But this is what it's talking about, raising up a stone, a reminder that God has helped 352 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:01,760 in the past. 353 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:06,660 And so we can have assurance that God will help us in the future. 354 00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:14,120 And so God took this place that had been a place of defeat and he turned it into a place 355 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:15,380 of victory. 356 00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:18,640 This is where God is at work. 357 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:28,320 And I wonder, as you look back over this week, this month, this year, 2024 is almost over, 358 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:29,720 believe it or not. 359 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:35,240 As you look back, where have you seen God at work? 360 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,960 Have you seen God doing things for you? 361 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:40,560 I want to look at two more verses. 362 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:48,880 One is in Psalm 103, the 103rd Psalm, because we need to remember what God is doing for 363 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:49,880 us. 364 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,520 We need to remember all that God does. 365 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:59,520 In Psalm 103, it says, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. 366 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,480 Bless his holy name. 367 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:07,040 And then verse two says, forget not all of his benefits. 368 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,320 Don't forget the benefits. 369 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:11,560 Don't forget what God has done for you. 370 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,840 And then it lists some off here. 371 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,720 It says, who forgives all your iniquities. 372 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,640 What a huge benefit that is that God has given us. 373 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,140 Who heals all your diseases. 374 00:27:24,140 --> 00:27:26,240 You know somebody who's in need of healing? 375 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:27,960 I think we do. 376 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:34,480 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender 377 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:41,400 mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like 378 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,520 the eagles. 379 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,640 Anybody need any youth renewed in your life today? 380 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:55,120 We may not get that physical youth renewed at any time on this side of heaven, but we 381 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:03,360 have a promise that one day soon that glory of heaven will create us as a new creation, 382 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:08,760 will turn us into what God has intended for us. 383 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,280 I want to look at Psalm 150. 384 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,760 Psalm 150 and verse six. 385 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:23,680 The 150th Psalm, the very last verse of this book of songs. 386 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:29,360 Psalm 150 talks about lots of different ways to praise, but then the very last verse says, 387 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:36,160 let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 388 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:37,160 What was that song? 389 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:40,280 Ain't no rock going to sing in my place. 390 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:45,840 As long as I'm alive, I'm going to glorify his holy name. 391 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:46,840 So what can you do? 392 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:51,020 What can we do to remember some of these things? 393 00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:52,960 Remember what God's blessings are. 394 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:58,600 I don't think we need to necessarily set up a rock, but I would say first of all, just 395 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,640 notice what God does for you. 396 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:09,380 God does so many things, and we don't always recognize it when it happens, but some people 397 00:29:09,380 --> 00:29:11,320 like to write things down. 398 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,800 Some people have a journal, a Thanksgiving journal, and every day at the end of the day 399 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:21,080 they'll write down at least one thing that they're thankful for or three things that 400 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:28,280 you can be thankful for, and it kind of forces you to observe and to pay attention. 401 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:35,080 I've also heard of a thing called a Thanksgiving jar, and so people will take strips of paper, 402 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:39,360 and when they think of something, when they notice something, they will write down the 403 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:46,640 date, like November 23, Asian lunch was wonderful, so something to be thankful for, and they'll 404 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,440 put that in the jar. 405 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:55,920 As the year goes on, that jar will get more and more pieces of paper in there, and then 406 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:02,200 so maybe once a year, maybe at Thanksgiving time or at New Year's, you open up that jar 407 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:08,300 and you can read through and remember all the things, all the things that God has done 408 00:30:08,300 --> 00:30:16,560 for you, and as you're noticing things, as you're writing things down, tell somebody, 409 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:23,280 tell somebody what God has done for you, because they may not see God at work in their life, 410 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:28,920 but if you tell them how you had some kind of miracle, even a small one, that can bring 411 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,840 some encouragement to somebody else. 412 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:37,120 And then one final thing, after you've noticed things, after you've written it down, after 413 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:43,720 you've told somebody else, or maybe even before, say thank you. 414 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:48,120 We teach our kids to say please and to say thank you. 415 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,200 When they get a present, when they get something, what do you say? 416 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:53,980 Say thank you. 417 00:30:53,980 --> 00:30:59,200 We need to make sure that we are saying thank you to God as well. 418 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:07,080 We learn a song way back in kindergarten class, and we sometimes forget it, but it goes something 419 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,640 like this, praise Him, praise Him. 420 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:12,640 Sing with me here. 421 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:13,880 Turn it over. 422 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:19,320 Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children. 423 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:24,740 God is love, God is love. 424 00:31:24,740 --> 00:31:30,280 Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children. 425 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:35,600 God is love, God is love. 426 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,240 So notice what God has done for you. 427 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,640 Tell somebody else, and then praise Him. 428 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,360 Say thank you. 429 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:47,840 Let's not forget that lesson that we taught our children long ago. 430 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:49,680 Let's bow our heads for a prayer. 431 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,600 Dear God, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. 432 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,240 And Lord, forgive us, because we forget. 433 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,840 We get busy, and we don't notice. 434 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:06,480 But God, help us not just this week of thanksgiving, but as we come to the end of a year, as we 435 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:12,480 go into a new calendar year, help us to notice so many benefits and blessings that you pour 436 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,680 out on our life each and every day. 437 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,240 Help us to remember to say thank you. 438 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:19,240 In your name we pray. 439 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:36,680 Amen.