Thanks for the Memories

The people of God had just moved into a new normal… into a new chapter. THEY HAD CROSSED THE RIVER. The Jordan river was now behind them instead of in front of them… and God led the way into the promised land.

They were where they were because of a miracle of God. What had taken place was something only God could have done.

The moment was fresh in their minds… the excitement of the chapter they had just begun filled the hearts of the people. God’s promise… was NOW.

For so long, that promise looked like it was so far away. That promise was out of their reach. Even while camped on the river bank, the crossing of the Jordan would be too much for the people to do on their own. They could see the other side… but they couldn’t get there without the help of God.

They had to wait for the time… His time… to come.

They had to obey His instructions

They consecrated themselves… they made room for the miracle to happen

They followed the Ark and witnessed God do something that defied nature, the laws of physics, and all reasoning any person might have had.

GOD HAD MOVED! And in that move, the people were ushered into the promises He had laid out for them!

But before they moved deeper into His promises… something interesting happens. Something worth noting takes place. instruction is given… to do something that might surprise you.

Joshua 4:1–3 NIV

1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”

Stones? What in the world would the 12 stones be for? What purpose would they serve in this moment as the people had just entered the promised land? That purpose… would be found a few verses later.

Joshua 4:21–22 NIV

21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

A memory.... MORE than a memory. These stones would be a reminder of what God had done for the people of Israel.

Before they crossed the river… they had no idea how they would cross the river. Before the water stopped flowing… they had no idea the water would stop flowing.

What they had was an impossible situation before them, and God’s instruction for the priests to carry the ark to the water’s edge and to stand in the river. GOD WOULD DO THE REST.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever faced a situation you thought to be impossible? Have you ever been in a place when you could see the promise ahead… but something impossible stood between you and the promise?

Maybe you’ve been there… in a place where you had no idea how you were going to make it through.

Maybe something with finances. Maybe something at work. Maybe something with your health. Whatever the challenge was… it was beyond what you could do on your own. BUT SOMEHOW… God made a way where all you could see… was a dead end.

Has God ever brought you through something that you thought to be impossible?

There is nothing like the day after a car accident when every breath feels borrowed and every moment a gift from God.

There is nothing like making it to the other side. Crossing over the river is no small thing. But somehow… God got you through. And we give God praise for those victories that He has given us.

So what do you do… when you get to the other side? What were the people to do to once they had finished crossing the Jordan?

EVERYTHING was new! This is what they had been hoping for! It was time to walk into the future and leave the past behind!!! Wasn’t it??? Isn’t that what the new land demands of us?

The promises were indeed ahead… but there was an important lesson to be learned here. The stones that were placed on the ground were there to remind the people of the miracle God had done. Watch this:

Joshua understood that marking what God has done in the past isn’t only about how history will be told but also how the future will be lived.

These stones served as a reminder of what God could do. The people could not have gotten there without His help… Thus, they needed to remember they would continue to need his help with every step they took in the promised land.

The stones were a reminder… a type of testimony regarding the power of God. And I want to talk about the power that is found in testimony.

The Power of Testimony

What is a testimony? What purpose do testimonies serve?

Perhaps one of the most common places we see testimonies given… are within the court room.

Witnesses are called upon by the court to give what? Testimonies regarding their connection to the event in question.

The testimony is their experience… their perspective… it is their version of the story.

Even when multiple witnesses exist, the testimonies will have different variations due to the personal experience of the witness.

So to give a testimony or to testify is to speak of a person’s experience regarding a certain event or time period.

So how does this apply to people of faith? Testimonies allow us to revisit the past in a way that helps us discern our present and makes a new future possible.

If we want to experience the victory of God in our present and future, we have to revisit the work of God in our past.

Notice the important and very intentional wording that I just used. We need to REVISIT… visit, not live in the moments in our past.

It is one thing to revisit moments in our history and another to get stuck in those moments. The people of Israel did not make the stone reminder so that they would camp there and never leave… What God did was truly amazing… but God had more is store! The stones testified of God’s ability to get the people across the river. They served as a reminder of what God can do.

Sometimes… when the days get hard and the nights get dark… we need to be reminded of what God can do! Sometimes when we find ourselves in the tough moments… the moments when we do not know how we are going to make it through… we need to be reminded That GOD HAS GOT US THIS FAR AND GOD HAS THE POWER TO DO IT AGAIN!

Testimony… is powerful. In fact, look at what Revelation 12:11 has to say about this.

Revelation 12:11 NIV

11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Who is it that they overcame? The devil and his ways! The blood of the Lamb was the source of their breakthrough and the word of their testimony was the declaration of their breakthrough!

If Satan tried to get them down… their testimony reminded him that the victory has already been won!

Remember the old song that said, “I’m so glad Jesus lifted me?” There was a chorus that said “Satan had me bound, but Jesus set me free.” Sometimes we need to be reminded that Jesus has set us free!

The memories of what God has done in days past are important memories… memories worth sharing… memories worth… remembering.

We need to revisit these memories to be reminded what our God can do. But the key is revisit… not live in. Why? Because we do not want to get stuck in the past.

Church, if you are in Christ, you have a story to tell. You have a testimony to give. And your testimony will be unlike any other person’s testimony.

These are stories that will not only remind you of what God can do… but they are stories that will inspire others regarding what our God can do.

We’ve talked about this before but consider this for a moment. When I go shopping online and I need to get something on Amazon, one of the first things I look at regarding the product… is the reviews. Why? Because I want to see how people rate the item. I want to hear their stories regarding whether or not the item will do what it is supposed to do.

Those testimonies or ratings have more impact on my buying decision… then the price does. Why? Because I will pay a few more dollars for something that will last and do the job well!

We see testimonials in commercials, we hear them in radio ads, we see them on billboards and so on. They are offered in hopes that the consumer will be swayed to buy what they are selling.

People need to know that our God is the real deal!

How did you come to know the Lord? Someone told you about Him! Someone presented you with the truth and you made a decision to follow Him!

I gave my heart to God when an evangelist explained what I was feeling with the Word of God. He lined up this testimony with my life experience… and it made sense. The light bulb came on… the dots were connected… and I experienced the power of God in my life!

Church, we need to tell the story! We need to share the memories! We need to speak of the amazing things our God has done!

AND… in light of what He has done, we need to remain expectant of the powerful things that He has ahead!

God did it once before… and I believe God is getting ready to do it again!

The Israelites had crossed a river, on dry land, when the river was in its flood stage. The impossible had been overcome by the power of God.

They needed to remember it was GOD who got them through that river. It was God who had delivered them to the promised land. It was God who would continue to lead them forward.

The stones were just stones. Nothing special, just stones from the middle of the Jordan.

Joshua 4:4–5 NIV

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,

These were stones that would have been impossible to get if God had not stopped the flow of the water.

Those stones PROVED the power of God. The stones… were souvenirs, if you will, of a place the people had visited but would never return to.

Our stories are proof of overcoming the impossible. God is the source of breakthrough. God is the miracle or way-maker. We are here today because of what God did yesterday. And what God is doing today will make a way for what He will do tomorrow.

Now… you might be here thinking that you have no river crossing stories to share. You might be thinking that you have no testimony to give.

I often hear people ask why we do not see Bible level miracles take place anymore… but yet… we do. And I want to remind you this morning of a miracle that has taken place in the life of the believer, that is greater than a river crossing.

The Greatest Miracle of All

You are here… now. you are here… now. What does that mean? I will tell you what that means.

I am not speaking of your attending our service today… I am speaking of where you are in Christ today. You are here… now. Where is here?

Grace. Mercy. Redeemed. Set free. Forgiven. Washed clean. Empowered. Saved. That’s WHERE you are. And that fact that you are here… now means that you are a walking miracle.

What was the river that you crossed? What was the impossible situation that God brought you through?

It is impossible for us to overcome the effects of sin on our own. IMPOSSIBLE. It took an act of GOD to usher in a new era of mercy and grace.

If you are in Christ… the power of God has transformed your life. IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST, THE POWER OF GOD HAS TRANSFORMED YOUR LIFE.

Your new normal began the moment you called upon the name of the Lord. And if you have yet to make that decision… God desires to do a new work in you… a work that can only be accomplished by His love and power.

There is nothing you can do nor is there anything offered by the world that can serve as a substitute for what God can do in you. HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GET YOU ACROSS THAT RIVER.

I’m not talking about the Jordan river, I’m talking about the gap that sin created in your life… the gap that separates all sinners from the heavenly Father.

Once in Christ, something remarkable takes place.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The old is gone… is done away with… and the new is here! Aren’t you thankful for that reality today?

Your salvation is the greatest work of God you can experience today!

God is STILL doing other great works, but the fact that we have ben brought from death to life is truly amazing!

And yes, church there is something that serves as a marker regarding what God has done. Yes, church, there is a symbol that reminds of us the miracle… it testifies of what took place in order for us to experience the new normal we live in as believers.

Anyone know today what the marker… what that reminder is? THE CROSS.

The cross was once a symbol of suffering and shame. It now stands as a reminder that Jesus has overcome sin, death, and the grave.

The cross, similar to the stones, is powerless and motionless. It is simply two timbers tied together. Yet what the cross reminds us of is something more powerful than we could ever imagine.

Remember… the stones that were collected came from the middle of the Jordan. They were collected in the midst of the miracle.

The cross took on new meaning… as the blood of the Lamb was spilt… in the midst of the miracle. It was on top of Calvary’s hill as a warning to those who would break the law. It became a beacon of hope for once Jesus breathed His last… the cross declared that the law had now been fulfilled.

THE CROSS TESTIFIES TODAY WHAT JESUS HAS DONE!

It wasn’t anything we could do on our own… it was a work only God could do for us. And I pray that when our children ask what the cross is all about… I pray that we answer them by saying, “God made a way where there seemed to be no way… and His name is Jesus!”

There is no greater miracle than our redemption. In Christ, we walk daily in the miracle… hourly in the new normal… Jesus has changed it all.

And in Christ… the door is open for more miracles to come. Faith opens the door for the impossible… to become possible. For with God… ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

Closing

So there they were… on the other side. The stones had been collected and assembled. This pile of what seemed to be normal river rocks might have seemed insignificant to 90% of the rest of the world… but to those who collected them, they were evidence - testimonies of God’s miracle.

I can only imagine that a somber hush overtook the people as they reflected on what God had done. They deserved to stay where they were - wondering in the wilderness - but God, in His love and grace had promised them so much more.

God had delivered on that promise. They were now standing in the new normal… and they had God to thank for that new reality.

Church… we are now standing in that new normal… We have been set free… redeemed by Jesus’ blood. And yes, there are countless other miracles that we could testify of today… but for me… one stands out above the rest.

I was lost, but now I’m found.

I was blind but now I see.

The old is gone… the new has come.

And what stands as a reminder of what God has done… is the cross of Jesus Christ.

That cross… stands on the edge of where we were - a place of sin and condemnation. It reminds us of the price that was paid, and the new life that we now have in Jesus.

And if you have yet to experience that new life… Jesus is inviting you today to come into that new normal through Him - a new life of forgiveness and spiritual freedom.

Jesus is the only way. Just as the power of God made the only way possible across the Jordan… so is Christ the only way to break free from the old and to come into the new.

He wants to set you free today, but you must be willing to give your life to Him. Are you ready to do that this morning?

PRAYER - SALVATION

Secondly, I feel we need to give thanks to God for what Christ has done for us on the cross.

You might feel like the miracles are missing… but never lose sight of the greatest miracle of all. GOD IS ON THE MOVE. YOU ARE HERE, NOW, IN HIS GRACE, IN HIS POWER, AND IN HIS PRESENCE? What better place could you possibly be?

Would you stand and worship Him with me this morning?