WEBVTT 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:09.720 We're going to be in Joshua chapter 4. We're 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.359 going to start in verse 1. Joshua, that's in 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:14.140 the Old Testament, kind of closer toward the 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:22.199 front of your Bible. Joshua chapter 4. We were 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.379 going to be in there last week, and the Lord 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:28.239 changed my mind at the last minute. But this 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:30.539 week we're going to get it, I think. Unless the 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:35.640 Lord changes my mind again, and He might. years 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:37.479 of preaching, and if the Lord puts something 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:39.759 on your heart, even if it's the last minute, 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:42.659 you better say whatever he tells you to say. 00:00:42.979 --> 00:00:46.799 Because if you don't, the whole next week I'd 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:50.200 have just been doubting myself. So we shifted 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.259 gears last week, but we're going to be in Joshua 00:00:53.259 --> 00:00:55.740 chapter 4. We're going to read the first three 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.579 verses, and then we're going to jump down to 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.000 the very end of the chapter, and we're going 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.219 to read verses 20 through 24. Now, I would encourage 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.459 you to go back, and you can read the chapters 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:09.819 before this and read all of this chapter to get 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:12.599 all of the context of what's going on. I'll briefly 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:15.099 kind of hit on the story and what's taking place, 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.260 but for time purposes, we won't read all of Joshua 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:21.260 chapter 4 today. We'll start at the beginning 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:24.359 and skip to the end. So let's read through these 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:28.379 verses, then we'll pray and get started. Joshua 00:01:28.379 --> 00:01:33.140 chapter 4, verse 1. After the entire nation had 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:36.079 finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.959 to Joshua, Choose twelve men from the people, 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:44.260 one man for each tribe, and command them, Take 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.400 twelve stones from this place in the middle of 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.659 the Jordan, where the priests are standing. Carry 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:53.739 them with you and set them down at the place 00:01:53.739 --> 00:01:59.280 where you spend the night. Verse 20 Then Joshua 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.959 set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.000 from the Jordan. And he said to the Israelites, 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.419 In the future, when your children ask their fathers, 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:14.039 What is the meaning of these stones? You should 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:17.259 tell your children, Israel crossed the Jordan 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:21.500 on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:23.759 the waters of the Jordan before you until you 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.659 had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.569 to the Red Sea. which he dried up before us until 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:32.810 we had crossed over. This is so that all the 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:35.289 people of the earth may know that the Lord's 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:40.150 hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear 00:02:40.150 --> 00:02:44.729 the Lord your God. Let's pray. God, we come to 00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:47.569 you. We thank you for these beautiful words. 00:02:48.009 --> 00:02:51.189 We thank you for all the stories we see in Scripture 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:56.229 that are reminders to us as to who you are, dear 00:02:56.229 --> 00:02:59.419 Lord. God, help us not to be those who forget 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:02.060 you and forget your words and forget your commands. 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:06.599 God, help us to not only recall the mighty works 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.080 you did in Scripture, but the mighty works you 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:12.840 do in our lives, dear Lord. Help us to see how 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:14.800 you're working, God. Help us to give you the 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:18.360 praise and help us to remember you, dear Lord, 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:21.580 and to pass on to future generations who you 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:25.129 are and what your commands are. I pray, God, 00:03:25.189 --> 00:03:27.189 that your Holy Spirit would be among us today. 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:30.110 I pray that you would help me to preach and teach 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:32.550 in a way that brings glory and honor to you. 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:34.710 I pray that you would help us to be free of the 00:03:34.710 --> 00:03:38.229 worries and distractions. God, let us grow in 00:03:38.229 --> 00:03:41.889 you today. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:47.349 Amen. Now, God had delivered his people from 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:50.229 Egypt, and maybe you've heard the story of how 00:03:50.229 --> 00:03:53.620 God... parted the Red Sea, and his people crossed 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:57.379 on dry land, a large number of people, and they 00:03:57.379 --> 00:03:59.979 made their way into the wilderness, and they 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:04.240 wandered for 40 years. But eventually, Joshua 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:08.039 was going to take over for Moses, and it was 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:11.039 going to be Joshua who was going to lead God's 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.500 people into the promised land. Now, they were 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:17.480 over on the east side of the Jordan River. And 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:20.120 they needed to cross the Jordan River and God 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:24.060 was going to work miraculously similarly to what 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:26.579 he had done when they crossed the Red Sea. And 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:28.600 so the priests who were carrying the Ark of the 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:30.959 Covenant, they were to walk toward the Jordan 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.000 River, and when their feet stepped into the water, 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:36.720 the scripture says that the waters began to back 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.680 up. Now, I don't know what that looks like. In 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:41.620 my mind, I just imagine like an invisible dam 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:44.379 just forming there, and the waters just piling 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:46.939 up on one side from which the Jordan River was 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:51.180 flowing. And God's people were then to walk across 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.040 the Jordan River and make their way into the 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:58.720 land that he had promised. And upon this miraculous 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:02.339 event that was taking place, we see here in Joshua 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:05.660 chapter 4 that God tells Joshua, you need to 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.519 take one representative from each of the 12 tribes 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:12.420 of Israel and get you a stone from the middle 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.000 of where this dry ground is in the Jordan River 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.279 where you've crossed and take them with you. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:20.259 And then at the end of the chapter, we see why. 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:23.339 God says, I want you to take these 12 stones 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:27.259 and I want you to set them up as a place of remembrance 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:31.120 so that you will remember what I've done, that 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.939 I've led you out of Egypt and that I've led you 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:37.560 across the Jordan. But the reason God says is 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:41.079 not just for you. God says so that when your 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:45.480 children see these stones, you will be able to 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:49.850 tell them of the mighty works of God. God said, 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:52.689 I want you to set up these stones so that you 00:05:52.689 --> 00:05:55.250 will remember me and the generations that come 00:05:55.250 --> 00:05:58.850 after me will see these and know that they symbolize 00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:02.050 something special, something important, the very 00:06:02.050 --> 00:06:07.629 power of God. Now we see kind of the same type 00:06:07.629 --> 00:06:11.029 of thing in our world today. We see stones that 00:06:11.029 --> 00:06:14.410 are erected in some way that may... recall us 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.069 of days past just this past week for instance 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:19.930 michelle and i went to philadelphia beautiful 00:06:19.930 --> 00:06:23.509 city far more beautiful than i expected it to 00:06:23.509 --> 00:06:26.870 be and right in the middle of center city sat 00:06:26.870 --> 00:06:31.829 the philadelphia city hall now this is a fantastic 00:06:31.829 --> 00:06:35.990 building this thing is beautiful it was constructed 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:40.089 started back in the 1870s And it sits on a whole 00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:44.209 acre of land. It's a massive building, and it's 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:47.389 symmetrical. Every side looks the same. And there's 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:50.889 a huge tower that stretches over 500 foot in 00:06:50.889 --> 00:06:53.850 the middle. And it's one of the largest masonry 00:06:53.850 --> 00:06:56.550 buildings, one of the largest stone buildings 00:06:56.550 --> 00:07:00.589 still in the world today. Now the people of Philadelphia 00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:03.370 will tell you it is the biggest, but you kind 00:07:03.370 --> 00:07:05.009 of have to twist some numbers a different way. 00:07:05.170 --> 00:07:07.350 But regardless of whether it's the biggest or 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:10.329 not, it is a massive building that's made out 00:07:10.329 --> 00:07:13.509 of stone and out of marble and out of granite. 00:07:13.649 --> 00:07:16.930 The lot of it comes right there in that area. 00:07:17.069 --> 00:07:20.089 And you stand in front of this magnificent building, 00:07:20.189 --> 00:07:22.470 and you can see these stones, and they are stacked, 00:07:22.529 --> 00:07:24.889 and you just look up for hundreds of feet, and 00:07:24.889 --> 00:07:26.949 you see these beautiful stones. And when you 00:07:26.949 --> 00:07:30.540 see these old buildings, You can't help but think 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:32.500 about the past. Now, we don't make buildings 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:35.240 like that anymore. I don't know why. Our buildings 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.160 today are made out of glass and metal, and that's 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:39.319 all well and good. But there's a certain beauty 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.180 of these buildings in the past that these stones 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.600 were quarried somewhere and were carved out with 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.120 all these ornate features. And when I looked 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:50.980 at that building, when I looked at City Hall 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:54.300 and so many other historic buildings there, the 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:57.100 stones that I could see, one stacked on top of 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.810 another, made me think about the past, made me 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:02.610 think about the founding of our country. It's 00:08:02.610 --> 00:08:04.329 hard not to think about that when you're in a 00:08:04.329 --> 00:08:07.689 place like Philadelphia, where so much historical 00:08:07.689 --> 00:08:10.509 things happened, to go visit Independence Hall, 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:13.470 and you see these structures that still stand 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.889 today, and they remind you of something in the 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:21.069 past. Perhaps of better days, maybe not. That's 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:23.529 debatable. I think they were better days, but 00:08:23.529 --> 00:08:26.949 some people would disagree. But that's what God's 00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:29.730 desire is here with these stones. He says, look, 00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:32.649 I want you to take these stones and I want you 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:34.309 just to set them up. Now, I don't know how they 00:08:34.309 --> 00:08:36.169 set them up. Maybe they set them up in a structure. 00:08:36.250 --> 00:08:38.669 Maybe they stacked them in some way. I don't 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:40.750 know. It doesn't matter how these stones were 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.190 erected or how they were laid out. What matters 00:08:43.190 --> 00:08:46.129 is that God says these stones that you leave 00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:50.830 behind are to point people to me. Now, let's 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:54.049 fast forward a little bit into our day and time. 00:08:55.049 --> 00:08:57.990 Now, I suspect that there probably is no one 00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:00.769 in here that, as we've approached a river, that 00:09:00.769 --> 00:09:03.470 God has dried it up or backed it up so that we 00:09:03.470 --> 00:09:06.590 could cross on dry land. Perhaps we haven't experienced 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:10.350 a miracle like that in our life, but I suspect 00:09:10.350 --> 00:09:12.649 that most everybody in here, if not everybody, 00:09:12.990 --> 00:09:17.009 could be able to praise the Lord for something 00:09:17.009 --> 00:09:19.419 that He's done in their life. There are miracles 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:21.639 that we have experienced. There are times in 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:24.039 our life that God has been with us and delivered 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:26.700 us and given us grace and given us forgiveness 00:09:26.700 --> 00:09:30.240 and he has shown us his mighty power and his 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:33.399 love and has changed our life and has protected 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:37.179 us and provided us in just the same way that 00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:40.740 he did for the Israelites. And I believe that 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:43.299 when God blesses us in those ways and when He 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:45.679 works in those miracles, that we need to leave 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:48.279 some stones behind for the next generation. I'm 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:50.360 not talking about physical rocks. I'm talking 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:54.299 about the things that God has taught us and showed 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:58.080 us that we need to pass these things on to another 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.919 generation. Because any people who walk according 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:05.100 to the commands of God and seek Him and live 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:07.840 in obedience to Him are going to be a blessed 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:11.470 people. And when people forget about God, then 00:10:11.470 --> 00:10:15.610 societies go downhill really fast. Listen to 00:10:15.610 --> 00:10:17.669 some of these scriptures in the Old Testament 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:20.250 about God's people forgetting about God, commands 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:24.610 not to, and scriptures that talk about the fact 00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.629 that Israel did. In Deuteronomy 8, verse 11, 00:10:27.830 --> 00:10:30.750 listen to this. Be careful that you don't forget 00:10:30.750 --> 00:10:33.230 the Lord your God, failing to keep his command 00:10:33.230 --> 00:10:36.590 and ordinance and statutes I am giving you today. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:39.200 Now this is good advice for us, not just the 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:42.940 Israelites. Don't forget God. Don't forget who 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:46.879 God is. Don't forget what God calls us to. Don't 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:48.899 forget the love that God says you need to love 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:51.360 people. You need to love your enemy. Don't forget 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:53.580 that God says we need to show grace. Don't forget 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:55.700 that God says we need to help the poor and needy. 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:58.580 Don't forget the commands of God. When God says 00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:01.700 do not commit adultery, do not steal, all these 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:04.440 commands that God says we need not to forget 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:08.000 the word of God. Because when we forget the word 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.899 of God, we find ourselves in trouble. And so 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:13.840 God brings his people through the Red Sea, across 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:16.299 the Jordan River, and he says, I want you to 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:18.480 take these stones, and I want you to set them 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:20.879 up so that you don't forget. And when your kids 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:22.879 ask, you can tell them so they don't forget, 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:25.159 so that everybody will know the mighty works 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:29.059 of the Lord, and they will fear God. The fear 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:30.960 of God is the beginning of wisdom, the scripture 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:34.500 says. God commands his people in Deuteronomy, 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:40.759 do not forget me. Judges chapter 3 verse 7. The 00:11:40.759 --> 00:11:43.240 Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.440 They forgot the Lord their God and worshipped 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:49.320 the Baals and the Asherahs. Well, they didn't 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:51.159 heed that command very good, did they? God said, 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:53.659 don't forget me. Well, not long after they get 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:55.679 into the promised land, the scripture says that 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.220 they forgot it. Now, if you've never read the 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:00.000 book of Judges, you need to read the book of 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.960 Judges. It is just on repeat. I'll tell you the 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:06.139 story. I'm going to sum it up for you. God's 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:08.779 people get into the promised land. God's people 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:11.059 are supposed to serve him, but they don't serve 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:13.700 him. They serve false gods. They forget about 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:16.019 God. And then they find themselves in trouble 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:18.340 with the other people in the land. And then God 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:21.320 appoints a judge. And the judge comes and leads 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:24.759 God's people to victory and frees them from their 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:27.289 troubles and takes care of them. And then guess 00:12:27.289 --> 00:12:30.610 what they do? They forget about God. And that 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:33.429 cycle repeats itself through the whole book of 00:12:33.429 --> 00:12:36.389 Judges. That's a pattern that is true in our 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:38.250 life. And we don't want to sit here and say, 00:12:38.309 --> 00:12:40.330 boy, look at those foolish Israelites and how 00:12:40.330 --> 00:12:43.129 much trouble they got their self into. It happens 00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:47.190 to us too. When we forget about God, we get ourselves 00:12:47.190 --> 00:12:53.289 into trouble. Psalms, chapter 106, verse 7. Our 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:56.799 fathers in Egypt did not grasp. The significance 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.460 of your wonderful works are remember your many 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:03.460 acts of faithful love. Instead, they rebelled 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:07.860 by the sea, by the Red Sea. Another example. 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:10.740 God's people, even before they crossed the Red 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:13.820 Sea, had seen the power of God. And yet they 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:17.159 didn't listen to God. They didn't acknowledge 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:21.970 God. They didn't trust in God. Hosea chapter 00:13:21.970 --> 00:13:25.970 8 verse 14. Israel has forgotten his maker and 00:13:25.970 --> 00:13:29.929 built palaces. Judah has also multiplied fortified 00:13:29.929 --> 00:13:32.330 cities. I will send fire on their cities and 00:13:32.330 --> 00:13:37.309 it will consume their citadels. Israel forgot 00:13:37.309 --> 00:13:39.690 their maker and they just started living for 00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:41.690 themselves. We're just going to build palaces 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:45.210 for ourselves. We don't need God. That's how 00:13:45.210 --> 00:13:48.879 Israel got in trouble. And that's how you and 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.019 I get in trouble too. We read the Word of God. 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:55.100 We hear the Word of God. We sit here today and 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:57.320 we say, I'm going to do the Word of God. I'm 00:13:57.320 --> 00:13:59.120 going to live for the Lord. And then we walk 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.299 out those doors and then we just forget everything 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:04.360 that we've ever read. Because it's not convenient. 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.259 God's Word is not convenient. Because our flesh 00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:10.309 wants to do stuff. And what our flesh wants is 00:14:10.309 --> 00:14:12.909 often against what the word of God says. And 00:14:12.909 --> 00:14:16.009 so more times than we care to admit, our flesh 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:19.409 wins out and we forget about the words of God. 00:14:20.330 --> 00:14:22.090 And then we're no different than the Israelites 00:14:22.090 --> 00:14:25.429 and judges. And then we say, oh God, I've really 00:14:25.429 --> 00:14:27.870 blown it this time. God, if you just deliver 00:14:27.870 --> 00:14:30.009 me, we'll follow you and listen to you and do 00:14:30.009 --> 00:14:33.250 everything you say from here on out. Has anybody 00:14:33.250 --> 00:14:38.059 ever said that before? Yeah, probably so. We 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:39.720 ain't done good at keeping that promise, have 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:43.039 we? Because we're humans and we fail. And it's 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.059 not okay. I'm not justifying it and saying, oh, 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:47.580 it's okay. What I'm saying is we need to make 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:50.539 an effort to seek God and follow His commands 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:55.700 so that we don't forget about Him. So we need 00:14:55.700 --> 00:15:00.279 to seek the Lord. Has God done anything in your 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:05.200 life? Maybe He has. I bet He has. What's God 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.730 shown you in your life? Is it love? Is it grace? 00:15:09.830 --> 00:15:13.450 Is it mercy? Is it how to work hard? Is it how 00:15:13.450 --> 00:15:16.830 to help other people? Well, these are the types 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:19.029 of stones that I think we need to leave behind. 00:15:19.210 --> 00:15:21.529 These are the types of lessons that we need to 00:15:21.529 --> 00:15:24.009 leave behind to the generation that's coming 00:15:24.009 --> 00:15:26.340 up now. Because I'm going to tell you, this is 00:15:26.340 --> 00:15:28.820 my opinion, but I'm going to tell you, I think 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:31.159 that there are a lot of people in our world that 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:35.120 do not know about Jesus Christ, that do not know 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:38.960 about God's commands, that do not know the Word 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.860 of God. And why is that? Because at some point 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:45.360 in time, there have been some generations years 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.399 ago that have failed to pass on the important 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.399 things of God so that the next generation would 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.720 remember the Lord and fear Him. And every generation 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:58.259 that passes by, it gets worse and worse and worse. 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.480 And you say, well, it's too far gone now. We 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:03.700 can't change anything. Well, hold up just a second. 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:08.100 God's pretty good. God can do a lot with a little. 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:12.120 And who's not to say that if we don't begin to 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.279 live for the Lord in our lives, and if we don't 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:18.820 begin to impart the wisdom of God into the lives 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.820 of the generation that's coming up, Who's not 00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:24.100 to say that God can't change this world? I won't 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:27.320 dare say it. God can change this world quicker 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:29.440 than you probably ever would imagine He could 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.580 change this world. But we have to take what we've 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:35.740 learned from God and we have to pass it on to 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:38.279 another generation so that it's not forgotten. 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.759 Our world is in a bad shape because we have forgotten 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:46.299 God. Our country, I think, used to be in a lot 00:16:46.299 --> 00:16:49.070 better place than it is now. And there's only 00:16:49.070 --> 00:16:51.490 one reason why it's as bad as it is, and I can 00:16:51.490 --> 00:16:54.210 tell you that reason. It's not because of politicians. 00:16:54.629 --> 00:16:57.830 It's not because of any of this other junk we 00:16:57.830 --> 00:17:00.789 see in our world. It's not because of race and 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:04.230 discrimination. It's because we have forgotten 00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:08.549 God. And the moment that we remember God and 00:17:08.549 --> 00:17:11.089 live for Him, and the moment that we pass the 00:17:11.089 --> 00:17:14.150 things of God to another generation, the better 00:17:14.150 --> 00:17:16.849 our country is going to be. The better our world 00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:21.519 is going to be. And so we've got some stones 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:23.900 in our life. That is, we've walked through some 00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:26.220 tough times in our life. We've walked through 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:28.720 some amazing things that God has done in our 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.539 life. And we've picked up, so to speak, a spiritual 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:34.180 stone that helps us to recall what God has done. 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:36.720 And that's what you need to share with your children 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.299 and your grandchildren. These are the lessons 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:42.579 that you need to pass down. You need every chance 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:45.220 you get. You need to do what God calls you to 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:47.859 do. And you need to tell your children why you're 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:50.299 doing it. God says, you set up these stones, 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:52.740 and when your children ask, you tell them what 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:55.720 these stones are for. You need to stop and help 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:57.940 that person that is poor and needy. You need 00:17:57.940 --> 00:17:59.900 to stop, and you need to help them, and you need 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:01.779 to love on them, and you need to give them food, 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:03.880 and you need to tell them God loves them. And 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:05.920 when your kid says, why did you do that? Or your 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.180 grandkids say, why did you do that? You say, 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:10.720 because that's what God calls us to do. Because 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:14.000 God says we need to help the poor and needy. 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:17.200 When somebody does something evil to you and 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:20.500 attacks you and is mean to you and you stop and 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:23.359 you pray for them and your child says, why are 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.359 you praying for that person? Mama, daddy, that 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:27.500 person was so mean to you. They said ugly stuff 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:30.339 to you. And you said, because Jesus said we need 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:32.640 to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.690 us. These are the lessons that we learn through 00:18:35.690 --> 00:18:38.130 Scripture. These are the stones that God has 00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:41.349 used to change our life. And these are the things 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:44.170 that we need to pass on to the next generation. 00:18:45.349 --> 00:18:48.410 What are you leaving behind? What lesson are 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:51.670 you teaching your children? What kind of example 00:18:51.670 --> 00:18:54.960 are you being for those who are around you? Are 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.500 you leaving a stone that can be built upon? The 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.759 Scripture says that we who are in Christ are 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.039 living stones. Our lives should be an example 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.940 to those who see us, especially to our spouses 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:09.339 and to our children and to our grandchildren. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.460 And if you're not teaching your children and 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:15.880 grandchildren the words of God and the ways of 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:21.329 God, then who will? The world will not. The world 00:19:21.329 --> 00:19:23.730 will teach your children a lot of things, but 00:19:23.730 --> 00:19:25.829 it will not teach your children the Word of God. 00:19:26.089 --> 00:19:30.869 That is your responsibility. And so how the next 00:19:30.869 --> 00:19:35.349 generation turns out will depend on you. Because 00:19:35.349 --> 00:19:38.049 you are the ones that are influencing the next 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:40.589 generation. The kids that are coming up now, 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:44.450 you are the ones who are influencing them. And 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:46.369 is there anything in your life that they can 00:19:46.369 --> 00:19:49.210 look at, that they can ask you, why did you do 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:51.309 this? And you can say it's because of the Lord. 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:54.990 And maybe if we're honest, as parents and grandparents 00:19:54.990 --> 00:19:57.569 and aunts and uncles, we hadn't done a good job. 00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:01.950 And maybe the stones that we've left behind ain't 00:20:01.950 --> 00:20:04.029 worth leaving behind. Maybe they need to be toppled 00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:09.789 down. So what kind of example are we leaving 00:20:09.789 --> 00:20:14.029 for the next generation? If the only stone you 00:20:14.029 --> 00:20:17.269 leave behind in your life reads, here lies, then 00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:21.609 you ain't done much. Because one day you're going 00:20:21.609 --> 00:20:23.630 to be dead and gone, and everything you've worked 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:27.549 for is going to be gone. It's a news alert. I'm 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:30.690 going to break it to you. Everything that you've 00:20:30.690 --> 00:20:33.069 ever worked for is going to be gone and forgotten. 00:20:33.450 --> 00:20:35.670 And a hundred years from now, nobody will know 00:20:35.670 --> 00:20:37.910 how much land you own. They won't know that it's 00:20:37.910 --> 00:20:40.549 your land. Your house won't be there. They won't 00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.799 know your name. Nobody's going to remember you 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.579 100 years from now. You know something that was 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:49.819 kind of sad, but not really. A couple of weeks 00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:53.000 ago, I was driving down Judge Road. Some of y 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.420 'all know where Judge Road is. And I passed by 00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:58.380 this property. And 20 years ago, this property 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:01.039 was well -kept and beautiful and a nice house 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.539 sitting there and a nice couple that lived there. 00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:06.059 And if you drove down Judge Road today and you 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:07.619 didn't know that couple and where that house 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:09.420 was, you'd never know that it existed. You'd 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.779 never know that they existed. The house got blew 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:13.559 over by a tornado. It's not even there anymore. 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.000 The driveway's grown up. You can't even tell 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.400 it's there. It just looks like an old, rotten 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:21.460 pasture. And for those of you who didn't know 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.880 O .D. and Joyce Judge, you would never know that 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.420 they existed. And the same will be true for you 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:30.599 and I. One day somebody's going to pass by your 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.299 place and you've spent thousands of hours, boy, 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.839 making it pretty and getting your house beautiful, 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.519 fresh coats of paint, and a hundred years from 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:42.680 now it won't even exist. Now their house doesn't 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:47.319 exist, but I remember them. I remember their 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.819 heart. I remember their service for the Lord. 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.119 I remember Brother O .D. helping my little nephew 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.299 when he wasn't this tall, helping him turn to 00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:57.420 the pages in the songbook to find what page he 00:21:57.420 --> 00:21:59.119 was on. Probably couldn't even read the words, 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:01.339 he was so small. But Brother O .D., boy, he took 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:07.480 that time. What kind of things are we leaving 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:10.599 to the next generation? We're leaving anything 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:15.160 that's worth being remembered. Are we having 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:20.740 any positive impact in our world today? In the 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:26.200 Psalms, in Psalm 90, the Psalm of Moses, it says 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:32.420 this. Our lives last 70 years, or if we are strong, 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:38.140 80 years. Even the best of them are struggling 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:42.359 sorrow. Indeed, they pass quickly, and we fly 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:48.599 away. Uh -oh. Anybody in here 70 years old? Raise 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:53.799 your hand. Uh -oh. What did Moses say? He says 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:57.359 our lives last 70 years, and if you're lucky, 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:02.200 it's going to last 80 years. That's scary to 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:04.140 think about. For some of you, it's going to last 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:08.690 97. But that's few and far between. You look 00:23:08.690 --> 00:23:10.690 around you and you look at people that pass, 00:23:10.930 --> 00:23:13.809 and most of the time they make it to 70 or 80. 00:23:13.890 --> 00:23:17.190 That's reality. You're not going to live forever. 00:23:17.369 --> 00:23:19.690 You might not make it to 30. You might not make 00:23:19.690 --> 00:23:24.190 it to 50. Our life is going to end, and it's 00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:26.430 going to be full. What does he say? He says it's 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:29.769 going to be full of struggle and sorrow. And 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:32.069 that's the truth right there. Some of you keep 00:23:32.069 --> 00:23:33.930 thinking, all right, my life's going to get better. 00:23:33.970 --> 00:23:36.690 Well, no, it's not. Life is going to be hard. 00:23:36.809 --> 00:23:38.150 I'm not telling you you're not going to have 00:23:38.150 --> 00:23:40.329 good days. You are going to have good days. Today 00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:42.789 is a good day. I see people in here smiling. 00:23:42.930 --> 00:23:44.769 Praise the Lord. We get to come together. We're 00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:46.690 going to have this wedding shower. It's a good 00:23:46.690 --> 00:23:49.470 day. I just came back from vacation. It was good. 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:51.509 Some of the rest of you may have stuff going 00:23:51.509 --> 00:23:53.769 on in your life that's good. Some of you may 00:23:53.769 --> 00:23:55.970 be in the midst of the worst struggles and sorrows 00:23:55.970 --> 00:23:59.210 you've ever been in in your life. We have good 00:23:59.210 --> 00:24:01.349 days and we have bad days, but the fact of the 00:24:01.349 --> 00:24:03.390 matter is this. This life ain't really going 00:24:03.390 --> 00:24:07.380 to get any better. It's going to be 70, 80 years, 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:10.220 if you're lucky, of struggle and sorrow, Moses 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:13.980 says. So what does he say in verse 12? Psalm 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:17.920 90 verse 12 says this. Teach us to number our 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:21.359 days carefully so that we may develop wisdom 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:26.839 in our hearts. Number your days. Know that your 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:30.180 days are numbered. You will not live forever. 00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:37.430 God's wisdom on your children and your grandchildren 00:24:37.430 --> 00:24:42.089 forever. Your days are numbered. You've got to 00:24:42.089 --> 00:24:44.670 make the most of them. And there is nothing more 00:24:44.670 --> 00:24:47.690 important in our lives than that we know Jesus 00:24:47.690 --> 00:24:50.390 Christ and that we trust in Him and are obedient 00:24:50.390 --> 00:24:54.430 to His commands and that we pass what we have 00:24:54.430 --> 00:24:57.769 learned and the love that we have felt on to 00:24:57.769 --> 00:25:04.559 those around us, on to the next generation. That 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:08.660 our life and all that God has done in it can 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:12.539 be a stone that somebody else can look at and 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:17.460 see the work of God. What kind of stones are 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:22.440 you leaving behind in your life today? Are you 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.900 doing anything for the Lord? Are you doing anything 00:25:25.900 --> 00:25:31.420 that's worth remembering? Your days are numbered. 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:37.059 God tells Joshua and the people, look, you set 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:40.500 up these stones so that the people, so that the 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:43.339 children who come after will be able to know 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:47.839 the mighty works of God. We need to be those 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:50.460 who are sharing the mighty works of God with 00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:53.960 those who are around us. That everything people 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:57.640 see us do in our life, we can use to point them 00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:00.299 back to God. We can say, yeah, this is by the 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:03.150 grace of God that I am where I am. It's by the 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:05.730 love of God that I am where I am. It's by the 00:26:05.730 --> 00:26:08.829 forgiveness of God that I am where I am. It's 00:26:08.829 --> 00:26:11.289 by the power of God that I was able to get through 00:26:11.289 --> 00:26:13.650 what I got through. It's by the strength of God 00:26:13.650 --> 00:26:16.589 that I keep going every day. It's by the Word 00:26:16.589 --> 00:26:19.009 of God that I love those who hate me and I pray 00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:22.710 for those who persecute me. It's by the command 00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:25.789 of Scripture that I help the poor and needy. 00:26:25.890 --> 00:26:28.609 And everything in our life needs to be driven 00:26:28.609 --> 00:26:31.630 by the Word of God to live in obedience to Him. 00:26:32.970 --> 00:26:35.430 And we need to take what we've experienced and 00:26:35.430 --> 00:26:38.049 we need to tell others, just as those who are 00:26:38.049 --> 00:26:40.630 going to look at these stones, let me tell you 00:26:40.630 --> 00:26:45.210 what God has done in my life. Let me tell you 00:26:45.210 --> 00:26:48.690 of the mighty works of the Lord. There is no 00:26:48.690 --> 00:26:51.630 mightier work that the Lord has done today than 00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:53.970 sending Jesus Christ to die on a cross so that 00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:58.349 our sins could be forgiven. That is the most 00:26:58.349 --> 00:27:01.529 perfect example of grace and love and mercy. 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:09.940 Do you know Jesus Christ today? Have you trusted 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:12.380 in Jesus Christ today? It's the mightiest work 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:15.920 that we will ever see in all of Scripture. If 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:17.960 you don't know Jesus today, you need to trust 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:19.960 in that mighty work. And if you have trusted 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:23.000 in the mighty work of Jesus Christ, then your 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:28.039 life needs to show that. Let's pray. God, we 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:30.000 come to you. We thank you for your good word. 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:34.339 Dear Lord, I pray that you would help us to recall 00:27:35.309 --> 00:27:38.410 Mighty works that we have seen in our lives dear 00:27:38.410 --> 00:27:43.769 Lord. The way that you have worked in us. I pray 00:27:43.769 --> 00:27:45.609 that you would help us one to seek you and to 00:27:45.609 --> 00:27:49.349 rejoice in those mighty works. I pray that we 00:27:49.349 --> 00:27:51.069 would be able to share those mighty works with 00:27:51.069 --> 00:27:56.109 others dear Lord. That our life would be a good 00:27:56.109 --> 00:27:59.710 example of who Jesus is dear Lord. That we would 00:27:59.710 --> 00:28:01.880 know that there's... Nothing that we have in 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:03.380 this world that we're going to take with us, 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:04.940 one day we're going to be gone and forgotten, 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:08.140 dear Lord. But your word will remain forever. 00:28:08.660 --> 00:28:11.279 You will remain forever, dear Lord. Your mighty 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:14.859 acts will remain forever. And the only way our 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:17.200 world can change, dear Lord, whether it's now 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:20.359 or 5 ,000 years in the future or 5 ,000 years 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:22.500 in the past, dear Lord, the only way that our 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:24.720 world changes is when we are a people who will 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:28.019 seek you. When we are a people who don't forget 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:32.329 you, dear Lord. So let us not forget you. And 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:35.230 God, let us help the generations that come after 00:28:35.230 --> 00:28:39.210 us to know who you are, that you are not forgotten, 00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:42.930 dear Lord. That we here today would be a people 00:28:42.930 --> 00:28:44.630 who would seek you. Maybe there are some of us 00:28:44.630 --> 00:28:46.450 in this room, God, and we have forgotten you. 00:28:47.130 --> 00:28:49.049 And we just hadn't been listening to you. We 00:28:49.049 --> 00:28:51.089 hadn't been living for you. We just hadn't been 00:28:51.089 --> 00:28:54.349 doing right, dear Lord. I pray that today in 00:28:54.349 --> 00:28:56.779 these moments that we would remember you. that 00:28:56.779 --> 00:28:58.599 we would remember Jesus Christ, that we would 00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:01.940 repent of our sins, God. Maybe there are some 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:04.259 in this room that do not know Jesus Christ. They've 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:06.519 never trusted in Him. They've never seen Your 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:08.640 mighty works. But maybe today, God, Your Holy 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:12.220 Spirit is convicting them. And maybe today they're 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:14.559 ready to trust in the mighty work of Jesus Christ 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:18.740 on the cross. Maybe through this story of this 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:22.559 Jordan River being stopped, dear Lord, it's helped 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:25.759 someone to see Your power today. God, just as 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.859 you delivered those people into the promised 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:30.380 land, so you will deliver us, God. Just as you 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:32.779 provided for them along the way, so you will 00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:35.460 provide for us, God, even if our days are full 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:38.779 of sorrow and struggle. God, we know that you're 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:40.859 with us. I pray for those today who are in that 00:29:40.859 --> 00:29:42.980 sorrow and struggle, that you would just strengthen 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:46.859 them and comfort them, God. And I pray that you 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:49.200 would help us to leave a legacy that's worth 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.779 leaving when we leave this old world. And I ask 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:55.259 these things in Jesus' name. Amen.