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