Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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