Joshua 4- "What To Do Once You Get Through"

Introduction

“Ring the Bell” Story: Don’t just leave and say I took down the greatest foe. Mark the moment! RING THE BELL! IT NOT ONLY ANNOUNCES TO YOURSELF YOU JUST GOT THROUGH THE FIGHT OF YOUR LIFE, BUT IT ANNOUNCES TO AND INSPIRES AND ENCOURAGES OTHERS THAT THEY TOO CAN GET THROUGH! SO THAT RINGING THE BELL IS BOTH FOR YOU AND FOR OTHERS.

QUICK SEGUE TO OUR PASSAGE…ALL ABOUT RINGING THE BELL.

CREATING THE NEED:

LIFE IS FILLED WITH CHALLENGES/”JORDAN RIVERS”…AND WE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE GET THROUGH? HOW DO WE OVERCOME? EXAMPLES- THAT SICKNESS, FINANCES, MARRIAGE ROUGH SEASON, BETRAYAL, ACCOMPLISH THAT DREAM, RISE TO THE TOP OF THAT CAREER.

BUT GOD’S NOT JUST CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET THROUGH, BUT OUR PASSAGE TEACHES US HE’S ALSO CONCERNED WITH WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN RIVER, OF WHAT TO DO ONCE WE GET THROUGH.

IF WE DON’T TALK ABOUT AND PRACTICE THE PRINCIPALS OF THIS TEXT, WHICH IS TO REMEMBER, THEN WE WILL DEVELOP SPIRITUAL AMNESIA WHICH LEADS TO ONE OF TWO SPIRITUAL SIDE EFFECTS: 1) PRIDE; 2) PARALYZING FEAR.

PRIDE- I DID IT ON MY OWN. I PULLED MYSELF UP BY MY OWN BOOTSTRAPS, NOT KNOWING THAT GOD GAVE YOU THE BOOTS. OR YOU ACT LIKE YOU HIT A TRIPLE WHEN THE REALITY IS YOU WERE BORN ON THIRD BASE.

PARALYZING FEAR. IF YOU DON’T DO WHAT THIS TEXT SAYS TO DO YOU WILL FORGET THAT IT WAS GOD WHO GOT YOU THROUGH AND WHEN YOUR NEXT JORDAN RIVER COMES YOU WILL BE GRIPPED WITH A PARALYZING FEAR THAT WILL KEEP YOU FROM TRUST AND FAITH.

ILLUSTRATION OF KORIE AND LARGE BODIES OF WATER. SHE DOESN’T SWIM IN THEM, BUT WILL GO TUBING. HUH? WHY? BECAUSE TUBING DOESN’T RELY ON HER OWN STRENGTH AND ABILITIES. ALL SHE HAS TO DO IS HOOK UP HER TUBE TO SOMETHING BIGGER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN HER, AND HOLD ON AND SHE’LL GET THROUGH. SHE’S JUST THERE FOR THE RIDE.

(SO WHAT IS THE CURE FOR SPIRITUAL AMNESIA?)

REMEMBER- VERSES 6-7

OUR TEXT/NARRATIVE IS FRAMED AROUND ONE KEY AND CRITICAL CONCEPT, IT IS THE ONE THING YOU MUST DO WHEN GOD GETS YOU THROUGH YOUR JORDAN RIVERS- REMEMBER! LOOK AT VERSES 6-7.

SIGN MEANS A BADGE, A MILITARY ENSIGN, SOMETHING FRONT AND CENTER, A MEMORIAL. AND ALL A MEMORIAL MEANS IS THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE, IN THIS CONTEXT IT’S THE 12 STONES. GOD SAYS STOP, AND BUILD A MEMORIAL.

THE GOD WHO MARKS MOMENTS. THIS IS AN UNCANNY TRAIT OF GOD. HE’S A GOD WHO LOVES TO MARK MOMENTS. BUILD AN ALTAR. ISRAEL ORGANIZED AROUND FEAST DAYS- TABERNACLE, BOOTHS, PENTECOST, PASSOVER. ALL OF THESE CALLED THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO REMEMBER. THERE IS POWER IN REMEMBERING.

EXAMPLES: JUST ABOUT EVERY MAJOR CITY IN OUR OWN COUNTRY HAS MEMORIALS, ITS VERSION OF 12 STONES: 9/11 IN NYC; ALL THE MONUMENTS IN DC; PEARL HARBOR IN HAWAII AND SO ON. THESE MONUMENTS ARE HUGE IN SHAPING OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY AND GIVING US COURAGE TO MOVE FORWARD.

ILLUSTRATION OF WHEN MY FATHER GAVE ME HIS BIBLE ON MY ORDINATION. IT WAS HIS WAY OF MARKING THE MOMENT AND I CONSTANTLY GO BACK TO IT AND REMEMBER THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD IN MY LIFE, AND THAT WAS HALF A LIFE TIME AGO. GREAT GRANDFATHER MILTON DOCUMENT.

HOW TO REMEMBER: PRAYER CARDS/JOURNAL. WALK THROUGH WITH SPECIFIC EXAMPLES. MYLES SICKNESS/Q’S SALVATION/FRIENDS OVARIAN CANCER. I DON’T THROW THINGS OUT, I CONSTANTLY REFER TO MY OWN 12 STONES. YOU NEED TO REMEMBER

REMEMBER FOR THE WORLD- 24A

(WHY REMEMBER? THREE REASONS)

EXPLANATION- 24A. TO ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD THE POWER OF GOD (FOR SALVATION). GOD BRINGS YOU THROUGH NOT JUST FOR YOU, BUT FOR THE WORLD. REMEMBERING IS A MEGAPHONE TO THE WORLD OF THE GOODNESS, POWER AND MIGHT OF OUR GOD.

MY SON PRACTICES AT ARCHBISHOP MITTY FOR BASKETBALL. WHEN YOU WALK IN THE GYM YOU SEE ALL THESE CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL BANNERS (30)HANGING DOWN FROM THE RAFTERS. IT’S THEIR 12 STONES. NOW GUESS WHAT I’M THINKING? BOY I’D LOVE FOR MY SON TO PLAY HERE. WHY? BECAUSE THE STRONGEST MOST EFFECTIVE RECRUITING TOOL IS WINNING. PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY FOR A WINNER. WHEN GOD WINS IN YOUR LIFE YOU NEED TO ANNOUNCE IT. LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO. LOOK FOR WAYS TO CONNECT THE VICTORIES IN YOUR LIFE TO GOD.

APPLICATION- MARRIAGE VICTORIES, CAREER VICTORIES, ETC.

REMEMBER FOR YOU- 24B

EXPLANATION. BUT SECONDLY, REMEMBERING IS FOR YOU PERSONALLY. WHEN WE REMEMBER IT HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT OF SHAPING OUR IDENTITY AND DEEPENING OUR TRUST AND OBEDIENCE IN GOD. FEAR OF GOD YES SPEAKS OF BOTH A REVERENTIAL AWE AND A LITERAL AFRAIDNESS. ITS HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE WITH THEIR PARENTS. HOLD IN HIGH ESTEEM YET FEARFUL OF DISOBEDIENCE AND THE CONSEQUENCES THAT WOULD BRING, BUT THERE’S MORE. IN CONTEXT FEAR OF GOD ALSO HAS TO DO WITH OBEDIENCE. GOD IS GOING TO ASK ISRAEL TO TRUST HIM IN GREATER WAYS ONCE THEY GET OVER, AND REMEMBERING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN THE PAST WILL INSPIRE GREATER ACTION AND OBEDIENCE.

POINT: REMEMBERING IS NOT JUST A COGNITIVE EXERCISE…IT’S ACTION.

The notion of remembering in Hebrew is more than a calling to mind. It involves a remembering with concern; it also implies loving reflection and, where called for, a corresponding degree of action- MARTEN WOUDSTRA, THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.

TO REMEMBER WITH NO ACTION IS SENTIMENTALITY, NOT BIBLICAL REMEMBERING.

PEARL HARBOR ILLUSTRATION: SPENT THE MORNING THERE WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE LISTENING TO A TOUR GUIDE, WATCHING A FILM, READING LITERATURE, HOPPING ON A FERRY AND WALKING AROUND THE USS ARIZONA WHERE WE HAD SOME FEELINGS. BUT WHEN IT WAS OVER NOTHING CHANGED ABOUT OUR LIVES, WE WENT BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL. WE WERE SENTIMENTAL, BUT DIDN’T REMEMBER IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE.

POINT: FOR SO MANY BELIEVERS YOU COME TO CHURCH WITH A GROUP OF OTHER BELIEVERS, HEAR FROM A TOUR GUIDE CALLED YOUR PASTOR AND READ FROM A BOOK CALLED THE BIBLE. YOU MAY FEEL SOME THINGS, BUT WHEN YOU LEAVE YOU GO BACK TO BUSINESS AND LIFE AS USUAL. YOU WERE SENTIMENTAL, BUT DIDN’T REMEMBER. BIBLICAL REMEMBERING INVOLVES MEMORY THAT INFORMS SANCTIFIED ACTION.

WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES ILLUSTRATION: ONLY TIME I EVER LET MY SON WEAR HIGH HEELS. A WOMAN REMEMBERED THE PAIN AND HORROR OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THAT’S LEAD TO GOOD ACTIONS IN PUTTING THIS EVENT TOGETHER. HER MEMORY LEAD TO ACTION. HOW DO I KNOW I’M REALLY REMEMBERING GOD AND NOT JUST FEELING SENTIMENTAL? IT INSPIRES GREATER STRIDES OF FAITH, AND LEAPS OF ACTION.

REMEMBER FOR YOUR FAMILY- 6-7

EXPLANATION. THESE STONES HAD NO INSCRIPTIONS, SO THEY WOULD RAISE QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY BY THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEY WERE TO EXPLAIN IT TO THEM. THEY WERE TO REMEMBER AND USE MEMORIAL AS A TOOL FOR SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND DISCIPLESHIP, RAISING UP THE NEXT GENERATION! . THE TRAGEDY OF ISRAEL IS THAT THE BREAKDOWN OF THE NATION IS BECAUSE OF THE BREAKDOWN OF THE FAMILY AND THE BREAKDOWN OF THE FAMILY HAPPENED BECAUSE THEY STOPPED TESTIFYING OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD.

PARENTS. FATHERS AND MOTHERS YOU ARE THE ORAL CUSTODIAN OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD FOR YOUR FAMILY! OR TO SAY IT ANOTHER WAY PARENTS ARE THE TOUR GUIDES OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. A TOUR GUIDE IN A MUSEUM TELLS YOU THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVENT. THEY PASS ON THE INFORMATION SHAPING YOU. THAT’S WHAT PARENTS ARE. IT IS THE PARENTS, NOT THE YOUTH PASTORS JOB, NOT THE ELDERS JOB, THE PARENTS JOB TO TELL OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. FAMILY DEVOTIONS TOGETHER.

WHERE TO REMEMBER- GILGAL, VERSE 19

EXPLANATION. WHAT IS GILGAL? IT IS THE SPIRITUAL HEADQUARTERS FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. IT IS THE PLACE WHERE THEY CONSTANTLY COME BACK TO CORPORATELY TO GATHER. IT IS A PLACE OF CONSECRATION AS THE MEN WILL GET CIRCUMCISED. IT IS A PLACE OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE BATTLES AHEAD. IT IS A PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE WHERE THE 12 STONES ARE STORED. THEY ARE ALWAYS COMING IN AND OUT OF HERE GETTING WHAT THEY NEED TO GO BACK OUT ON THE BATTLEFIELD, AND THEN COME BACK AFTER THE BATTLE TO GET WHAT THEY NEED TO GO BACK OUT.

POINT: GILGAL IS CHURCH...

GOSPEL CONCLUSION. THE DATES POINT TO NOT JUST PASSOVER SEASON BUT TO THE DAY WHEN THE LAMB WAS SELECTED WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST. CONNECT TO COMMUNION WHICH IS THE BELIEVERS 12 STONES WHERE WE REMEMBER.

WESTMINISTER ABBEY/COMMUNION SERVICE. ONE REMEMBERED KINGS WHO HAVE DIED. THE OTHER REMEMBERS THE KING WHO HAS LIVED!