On Mission with Jesus: Luke 9:1-6

On Mission with Jesus
Luke 9:1-6

I have a confession to make. When my daughters get older and they are on their own, I don't want them to go to church. I know. You're shocked. "How can the preacher say he doesn't want his girls to go to church?" I really want more than that for them. I don't want them to just go to church. In fact, I never pray, "Lord, I pray when they get older that they go to church." I have never, ever prayed that for my daughters.

Here's what I have prayed: "Lord, I pray that they love you and love the gospel more than their own lives." That's more than just going to church. I don't want them to go to church. I want them to desire to reach the world for Christ. I want them to be willing to give their lives, to go to the ends of the earth with the good news of Jesus Christ. Some parents are afraid their kids will go on the mission field. I'm afraid they won't. I'm afraid they'll just go to church.

So here's what I pray. I say, "Lord, I want them to love you more than life, and I want them to be on mission for you." Christy and I don't teach them to just go to church. That's important, obviously, but it's not. Not in the way we understand it. I want them to see every aspect of their lives as a mission field. I want them to see every relationship they have, now and for this side of heaven, as an opportunity to reach someone with the gospel.

Therefore, I want my kids to build relationships with people who are not following Jesus Christ. Yes, I do. Now I don't want them to be influenced. I'm just like any other parent. But I do want them to have such a heart for lost people that they will build relationships with them. So what's important now is that the parents are on mission with Jesus. It's important that we build relationships with people who don't know Jesus so we can reach them with the gospel.

Let me tell you, it's really easy to do that when you have kids, because they get involved with soccer. They get involved with band. They get involved with a lot of things. All of those are opportunities to build relationships with people who do not know Christ Jesus. I'm thankful to God that God has used my wife's bus driving to build relationships.

We had a birthday party for Caroline in June, and it blessed my heart to see all of the people who were there. Except for one or two, they were there because they built a relationship with Caroline on the bus, and none of them go to church. That's what I want my kids to be. I want them to be on mission for Jesus. I don't want them to just go to church. I want them to be the church.

We're starting a new series called Sent. This whole idea of being on mission with Jesus, just so you know, wasn't something the Southern Baptist Convention just developed. It's really the biblical requirement of those who follow Jesus. Whether you know it or not… You may not be one who follows the statistics like I do. I do. I like to know what the church is doing today.

Let me tell you, there are churches that are dying. I would say "closing the door," but that would imply the building is the church. It's not the church. The people are the church. They're dying at a rapid pace. On the other side of that, there are churches being planted right now, and there are multisite campuses that are increasing and multiplying at a rapid pace. Believe it or not, I can count probably at least six church plants in the Bryant and Benton area that are happening right now.

Now the temptation… I know. We're human. "Oh my gosh, they're getting on our turf." Do you know what I've found out? That's a good thing. If we're not going to be the church, God is going to raise up people to be the church. That's why these churches are dying, because they're not being the church; they're going to church, and as you go to church, God is going to lift up laborers who may not be you. He can work around us.

God is not really concerned about our preferences. He's really not concerned whether we sing off the wall or from a hymnal. He's not as concerned about contemporary music or hymns as you are. In fact, I've never seen him weep over a church service, but I've seen him weep over people who were going to hell. He's weeping today, and he's raising up people who will not just go to church.

There are churches that are going to church and they're dying left and right, but guess what? God is lifting up people who want to be missional, who want to impact our culture and reach the lost community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what this is all about. This is what Community Groups are all about. It's really being on mission with Jesus. We often say as Baptists, "We are people of the Book." Well, if we're people of the Book, let's live by it. Let's actually do what the Bible tells us to do. Let's actually do what Jesus has laid out for us.

So we're starting this series. It's called Sent, and it's called Sent for a reason. If you were to ask me to define what it means to be on mission with Jesus in one word, I would use that word. Sent. Here's why: it all begins with Jesus. Jesus said in Luke, chapter 4, verse 43, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."

Jesus was sent to proclaim the kingdom of God, and now he sends out his people. He sends out the church. He says, "I send you out." Of course, Jesus became the good news of the kingdom of God, but now he says, "You're my disciples, and now I'm calling you. I am sending you out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom."

So as we begin in chapter 9… Chapter 9 gives us timeless principles. They are meant to be applied to the church throughout the ages. Though the times have changed, the principles do not change. What chapter 9 teaches us is if you follow Jesus, you will be on mission with Jesus. Look at the very first part of verse 1. This is Jesus. It says he called the Twelve together.

Obviously, if you know your Scriptures, the Twelve he's talking about are the twelve apostles. He is calling them not to follow him. This has already taken place. The call to take up their cross, the call to follow him and leave everything, has already happened. This is a call to mission. It's a call to action. It's a call to become fully functioning followers of Jesus Christ. But what precedes that is the call to follow.

Go back to chapter 5. We see Jesus calling some of his first disciples. It says in the first 11 verses of chapter 5 that Jesus is teaching the multitudes, and he asks Peter to get in his boat. They set out a bit from the shore, and Jesus continues to teach. Then Jesus looks to Peter and says, "I want you to go out into the deep waters, and I want you to throw your nets over." That's when Peter said, "Well, Rabbi, we've been fishing all night, but at your word I will do what you say."

We can't see it there, but here's what Peter is thinking: "Lord, you don't know what you're doing. You're not a fisherman. But I believe you. I'm going to trust you." They go out, and he throws his net over, and there's a miracle. That's when Peter realizes Jesus is more than a rabbi; he is Lord. Then Jesus says to him, "'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.' And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him."

They started following Jesus, and then in chapter 6, Jesus actually appoints twelve of them to be apostles. It says in verse 12 of chapter 6, "In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve…" Which means there were more than just twelve there, but he chose twelve specific men to be his apostles.

Their names were (verse 14): "Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." Jesus is calling these twelve together, and now he's going to send them out on mission.

Now there's an interesting truth here that when it comes to being on mission with Jesus… By the way, Jesus says, "If you're following me, I will make you…" What? That's why the first point. If you're following Jesus, you'll be on mission with Jesus. You see, you can't follow Jesus and not be on mission with Jesus. You can go to church and not be on mission with Jesus, but you can't be the church and not be on mission with Jesus. Do y'all understand that?

You can't follow Jesus and not be on mission with Jesus. But I want you to see here, as soon as he called them, notice he didn't immediately say, "Okay, go. You're on mission." There was this process of spiritual growth. They have now witnessed the power of Jesus. They have seen his miracles, and now Jesus is saying, "It's your turn."

There is a point in our spiritual lives where we begin to multiply ourselves. We actually become parents, and we actually begin to see people come to Christ. Then we actually mentor them in Christ, and then we send them out to multiply. This is what's happening. This is where many churches are dying, because most Christians are stuck in this area called a child, and they're not reproducing themselves. They're going to church, but they're not being the church.

He calls them, and he's going to send them out on mission. Now here's the truth. We want to think, "Well, that's the apostles. Of course. They're supposed to be on mission." But every Christian is called to be on mission with Jesus. You know that, right? If you don't, today you do. Every Christian, everyone who says, "I am going to follow Jesus…" If you are following Jesus, you will be on mission with Jesus.

That's what we see here. It says he called the Twelve together. Notice he didn't say, "I want you to hang out with me." No. "I'm calling you together because I'm eventually going to send you out. I want you to go out into the world, and I want you to go and tell people about the kingdom of God." Every Christian is called to be on mission with Jesus.

People who want to be the church will be on mission with Jesus. People who go to church… Well, it's very possible to go to church and not be on mission with Jesus. That's why I tell you I don't want my kids just to go to church. As a pastor, I know that's most of the problem with the church today. We have too many people going to church and not enough people being the church.

Now here's some good news. You think, "Well, I can't do that." Yes, you can, because Jesus equips every believer for the mission. Do you know that? He does it for the apostles. It says in verse 1, after he called them together he gave them power. He equipped them. He gave them everything they needed to do the ministry God had called them to. It says he gave them power and authority.

The Greek word dunamis where we get our word dynamite is the same word Luke uses in Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, when Jesus said, "But you will receive power from the Holy Spirit." It's not your power. It's not your ability. It's not your adequacy. It has nothing to do with you except your faith and obedience. It's all about the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

"You will receive power. He will come upon you in a mighty and powerful way, and you will be my witnesses. In Jerusalem and in all of Judea, in all of Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, you will be my witnesses. I've given you everything you need. Not only that; I give you authority, which means you have the right to do it." Jesus says, "I've equipped you. I've given you power." He has given us all power.

That's why we have to also get past this mindset that it's the preacher's call to do all that. The staff is called to do all that. No, it's not. We are the body of Christ. Guess what? Every member is called to be on mission with Jesus, and Jesus equips every member of the body of Christ to do the work of the ministry. Can I get an amen? Yeah, it's the body of Christ. He equips us. He gives us the power we need.

I was talking with a church member last week. He's going to be teaching one of our Community Groups. When he was asked, he said, "I don't know if I'm adequate enough." Then he realized he doesn't have to be adequate. In fact, that's where God wants him, because it's not about him; it's about God giving him the power to work through him. See, the mission with Jesus is all about Jesus working through you.

So Jesus calls every Christian to be on mission with him. We're all called to be on mission with him. He equips every one of us, and when he equips us, he then sends us out. Jesus will never, ever send you to do something without giving you the ability to do it. Then he sends us out to proclaim the gospel. Verse 2. Here's their commission. He says, "I'm calling you. I'm equipping you, and now I am sending you out."

It says, "…and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." It's interesting. Here he sends out 12, and then in chapter 10 he sends out 72, and then in Acts, chapter 2, you see them empowered and they go forth. Before, I believe God gave them power and authority for this specific mission and again for the one in chapter 10, but when the day of Pentecost came, they had that power at their disposal. All they had to do was surrender and trust and allow the Spirit of God to empower them. The same is true today. God sends us out with his power.

What I find here is a very interesting principle that we need to really grasp if we're going to understand what it means to be on mission with Jesus as a church. The Greek word sugkaleo is translated called together. Sun meaning together; kaleo, called. Here's what we learn from this, that he calls his disciples together. What we know about them, obviously, is in the Scriptures, but I believe they had opportunities to go home. I believe they had opportunities to get away from the Twelve for a while.

He calls them together. "I want y'all to gather around me." He doesn't say, "Good. This is the goal of life. I just want you to worship me." No. "I am calling you together. I'm calling you from all walks of life to gather together, and when you gather together in my name, then I send you forth into the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ."

Oftentimes we feel like this is the end goal. "Let's get people to go to church." No. Let's get the church to be sent out into the world to tell people about Jesus. He says he calls us together, and that's what he does here on Sunday mornings. Most of us think this is it, that what we do here is it. No, it's not. This is just where Jesus puts us all together and says, "Okay, here's the plan. Go. I'm sending you out. I'm sending you to your neighbors. I'm sending you to the people you work with. I'm sending you anywhere you occupy to be on mission with me."

He gives us a message, and the message is, "The kingdom of God is at hand." We've lost that in the church. We've lost this idea that when we leave here, every one of us who knows Jesus, who follows Jesus, in essence is taking the kingdom of God to a people who aren't in the kingdom of God, who need to know there's only one kingdom that lasts, and that is the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

When you're not on mission with Jesus, when you just go to church, you're expecting them to come here. There was a day in our culture when that worked, but times are changing. Those who aren't going to be on mission with Jesus are going to die, but those who catch the vision of the kingdom of God, who believe we have a responsibility, that we are sent out from this place to build relationships with people who need Jesus, are the ones who are going to make a difference.

If you follow Jesus, you'll be on mission with Jesus. Jesus gives a strategy for the mission. Listen to what he says in verse 3: "And he said to them, 'Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.'" There are three things Jesus gives as a strategy.

First of all, seek his kingdom first, not your comfort. Did you hear what he told them not to take? "Don't take anything for your journey, no staff or bag or bread or money, and do not have two tunics." By that, Jesus is saying, "I want you to go and proclaim the kingdom of God, and I want you to totally depend upon me. I don't want you to be so bogged down by your creaturely comforts that you allow that desire to be comfortable in your life to become first in your life and you fail to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ."

There's an element to being on mission with Jesus. It's called dying to self. Most of us, if we're honest, allow the creaturely comforts of living to get in our way with being on mission with Jesus. We don't allow ourselves to die to those comforts. Instead, those comforts become preeminent, and we put off being on mission with Jesus. What Jesus teaches us here is you seek first the kingdom. You make priority being on mission with Jesus. You seek the kingdom first, and all of these things will be added unto you.

The second thing he tells us to do is build relationships with people who do not know Christ. You take nothing for your journey, you trust him, you seek him, and then you go house to house, which means you have to build relationships with people who do not know Jesus, people who offend you. I know there are a lot out there, but we have to be willing to build those relationships with people who don't know Jesus, to take the kingdom of God to them.

Here's the third strategy. This is the good news. Leave the results up to God. You can't save anybody. All you can do is plant. All you can do is water. It's God who brings the harvest. That's what he's saying. Verse 5: "And wherever they do not receive you…" They're going to reject you. Christianity is not a popular message. They're going to reject you, but don't worry about that. They're rejecting Jesus.

"And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them." In other words, let God handle them. Leave the results in his hands, because you can't save anybody. There's nothing you can do to convince somebody to follow Jesus. It takes a work of the Spirit of God. Period. The Spirit of God working in their life, the Spirit of God working through your life. It's really not about you; it's about Jesus working through you.

Let me show you verse 6. It's personal, it's practical, and it's powerful. Look at verse 6: "And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere." First of all, it was personal. They had to decide, "Are we going to go out? Are we going to go and proclaim the good news? Are we going to be on mission with Jesus?"

Being on mission with Jesus is personal, because each one of us has a responsibility before Jesus. If we follow Jesus, we're to be on mission with Jesus, and it is a personal choice we have to make. That means we don't seek our own comfort; we seek his comfort first. It means we try to build relationships with people who do not know Jesus, and we leave the results up to God. It's personal. We have to decide, "Am I going to be used by God?"

It's practical, because he says, "I want you to go," and it says they departed and went through the villages, which means wherever they were going, they allowed that to become a mission field to work and to proclaim the kingdom of God. You don't have to go overseas to be on mission. You're on mission right now.

You're on mission when you leave this place today. You're on mission when you go to work tomorrow. You're on mission when you're eating at Cracker Barrel. You're on mission in your family. You're on mission at sports activities, sports games. You are on mission with Jesus. They were going and proclaiming as they went through all the villages.

It's personal (they had to decide), it's practical (it's just as you live your life), and it's powerful. Notice what happened. When they went out, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, it says people were healed. Lives were changed, and the change came because they were willing to leave Jesus and go out and be on mission with Jesus.

I'm here to tell you our community can change when we catch the vision of being on mission with Jesus. That's why we're doing Community Groups, because our groups need to be multiplied. If your life group hasn't multiplied in years, I'm sorry; something is wrong. We need to go out into the community and give people an opportunity to come to a place, and that becomes our front door to the church because we built the relationship and we can share Jesus with them.

I'm going to be leading a Community Group in an apartment complex. Let me tell you, there is a mission field. Ask any police officer in Bryant. They'll tell you most of their calls go to apartment complexes. I know Coach Marvel playing golf has seen a couple of domestic disputes in the apartments just playing golf. That's where they need Jesus. They're not coming here. That's why we have to go beyond going to church. That's why we have to be the church.

That's why we do what we're doing, because I believe that's what Jesus would do. I really do. I believe he would be hanging out in apartment complexes. I believe he would be hanging out at Starbucks. "Well, you know they don't like people who hold up traditional marriage." Well, all the more reason we need Jesus at Starbucks. If we're boycotting them that's probably a good sign we need to be building relationships with them.

I think he would be at Chick-fil-A. I think he would be in the community trying to tell people about the kingdom of God. That's why I don't want my girls just to go to church. I don't want the generation that comes behind me to get a false impression about what it means to be on mission with Jesus. I want them to understand that Jesus calls us together on Sunday mornings to send us out.

See, our goal isn't Sunday morning. Our goal is what we do in between Sundays. When we make that our goal, these gatherings we do on Sunday will grow. It's just natural. When you reach people where they are, then you bring them. That's the culture we live in. That's what it means to be on mission with Jesus.

We want to define that a little bit more over the next several weeks. What does it mean to be in community? What does it mean when Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few"? What does it mean to us? This is one of the challenges I'm praying for. "Lord, make us a church that wants to be the church." It's a challenge. Of course, it all begins… If you're going to be the church, you have to be a part of the church.

I find it very interesting that Judas went on mission with Jesus. You can be a lost person and tell people about Jesus. I think it's important that we understand that to be the church, for me to be on mission with Jesus, I have to be a follower of Jesus. I have to give my life to Jesus. That means I understand I'm a sinner and I can't save myself, that Jesus died for my sins, and I turn to him and place my faith in his saving work and commit my life to him and follow him.

For some of you, being on mission with Jesus begins right there, giving your life to him and following him. For others of you, it begins right here. We have to get over that mentality of going to church. We have to allow God to make us people who are the church, who want to be on mission with Jesus. Let's bow our heads and our hearts before God.

In a moment we're going to sing a song of invitation. It's an invitation for you who do not know Christ to say, "I need Jesus. I want Jesus. I want to follow Jesus. I need to be saved from my sins." If that's you today, we're going to stand, and I'm going to invite you to walk forward and just grab me by the hand and say, "Pastor, I need Jesus."

But the invitation is to us as a church to really allow the Spirit of God and the teachings of Jesus to formulate our hearts and formulate our thinking and to help us, as a church, understand what it means to follow Christ. It means we're on mission with him. It means we make his kingdom priority, not our comfort. It means we build relationships with people who need to know Jesus Christ, and we leave the results up to God.

We plant and water but allow him to bring about the harvest. He is the Lord of the harvest, but what he needs are laborers. What he needs are people who claim to follow him to be on mission with him. He's inviting us, church. He's inviting you. He's inviting me to be the church. How will you respond this morning in your heart? How will you respond when you leave here this morning? Will you heed the voice of Jesus and go forth proclaiming the good news? How will you respond? Take some time to make that commitment to Lord Jesus right now.

Father, these decisions are being made by all of us, and I just pray that they glorify you. I pray that your Spirit moves in a mighty and powerful way. In Jesus' name, amen.

Press Through Your Challenges: Joshua 6:1-20

First Southern Baptist Church

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Forward

August 17, 2014

Press Through Your Challenges

Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-10, 20; Hebrews 3:15

We're coming to our seventh and final sermon from our series called Forward. From this study, God has been speaking to us about the abundant life and how he calls us to move forward in our Christian experience to possess the abundance and fullness of our salvation that can only be experienced as we abide in Jesus Christ.

Now as we come to the sixth chapter, we are presented with yet another challenge that Joshua and the Israelites will have to face. Of course, the Promised Land is a challenge. The first challenge was crossing the Jordan River, and God got them across the river. Now they're across the river, and the next challenge is a big challenge. It is the city of Jericho. 

If you've been in church for just a minimal amount of time or if you've ever read through the Bible, most likely you've heard this story, the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. What these walls represent are the challenges we face in life. The walls of Jericho teach us a timeless truth. Whenever you move forward with God, you're going to face challenges. 

The abundant life is not a trouble-free life. The abundant life is not a life of comfort. Whenever you move forward with God, you're going to face challenges. You're going to have problems simply because you're moving forward with God. So what the city of Jericho represents, what the walls of Jericho represent for us is they serve as a type of the challenges we meet as we move forward with God. So a Jericho challenge is anything that opposes you moving forward with God. 

Now before we get into this passage, I think it's important that we identify some of those challenges. If you have your outline, I put a little area where you can write down some challenges you are facing right now. There are those challenges on a personal level. Maybe you have a challenge in your family. There are some family issues that are happening in your family, and there is a big challenge ahead of you.

Maybe your challenge is in your marriage or maybe with your children. Maybe the challenge is at work. Maybe you're looking for work, or maybe the challenge is trying to live out your Christian life and Christian experience in a workplace that is against you. It could be that you're trying to get over the challenge of grief because you have lost a loved one. 

It could be a financial challenge. Maybe there's a financial challenge standing before you. There's a wall before you, and you're wondering, "How am I going to get through this challenge?" It could very well be a loved one is unsaved. There are unsaved people in your life, and you want them to come to Christ. So these are just some of the things that could be challenges in your life personally.

Then, of course, we come to the church level. As we try to get out into the community, it's a challenge. Right now, if every church pastor in this area were honest, they would tell you most of their growth comes from transfer growth, Christians moving from one church to another. We sometimes get comfortable with that, especially if you're on the receiving end of it, right? 

The reality is while we're comfortable going from church to church and we're comfortable with transfer growth, here is the reality. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. If you haven't been watching the news, it's getting bigger. So that is a challenge in these communities groups. We're trying to get out there because they're not coming here. 

So it's a challenge to really change the mentality from going to church to being the church. So it's a challenge. We have a challenge called the North Campus. You can draw a circle around that challenge. We need to sell the North Campus. There are all kinds of challenges we have as a church that keep us from moving forward. Then the church as a whole, we need revival, amen? The church needs revival of God. 

If we will repent of our sins as a whole (I'm not just talking about our church; I'm talking about the church), we could turn the world upside down. I think a lot of problems we're complaining about are the direct result of a church that isn't on fire for Jesus. Then, of course, you have what is going on in our nation. We have what is going on around the world. I don't know about you, but there are all kinds of challenges, right? 

So I want you to identify those personal challenges because I believe God wants the walls to come down. I do, but how? How do we press through? How do we press through those challenges, whether they be personal, whether they be the church, or whether they be in our community? How do we do that? Well, God is going to show us through Joshua, the Israelites, and the city of Jericho.

Now let's begin the story in verse 1, chapter 6. It says, "Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel." In other words, they were terrified. They were scared of the people. They were scared of Israel. They just heard about what happened, and they saw how they went across the Jordan River. It was a miracle of God. It says, "None went out, and none came in."

So the good news is the people are scared. That's good news. The bad news is they have secured the city. Nobody is going in. Nobody is going out. That is an extremely large challenge for a group of people who really aren't trained in battle. They're not trained in battle. So humanly speaking, from a human perspective, there is an extreme challenge before the Israelites because this untrained people now think they're going to have to siege the city of Jericho. 

So how do you meet that challenge? Well, Joshua shows us how he deals with it. It actually takes place before verse 1. In the closing verses of chapter 5 (they actually belong to chapter 6), those verses are a transition. They transition us to the second half of the book, which basically has Israel, the people of God, and Joshua occupying the land through warfare. So they're going out into the Promised Land. They're battling because that is the abundant life. You battle. That is what you do. You battle and you conquer. You enjoy the fruit of the land.

Before they could move and occupy, remember if you were here a couple of weeks ago chapter 5. They had to pause. They couldn't just run for the city and attack it as soon as they got over. No, God had them stop because there was sin in the camp. That sin is there was a whole group, a whole generation of young men, sons of Israel, who had not been circumcised. So God said, "Let's pause for a moment. Let's deal with the sin, and then you can move forward." 

So they stopped. They dealt with the sin, and then they partook of the Passover. You can't be uncircumcised and observe the Passover. They observed the Passover, and it says as soon as they observed the Passover, that is when they started enjoying the fruit of the land. That is when they started enjoying the benefits of the land flowing with milk and honey, the abundant life.

So after they experienced the land, the fruit of the land, and the abundance of the land, it's then we find Joshua going out by himself. He is near Jericho. Most likely he is there as a good commander. He is going to go and strategize. "How are we going to take the city of Jericho? How are we going to do it?" It's the normal human response.

While he is there, all alone, he has a divine encounter. Now watch this. Verse 13: "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?'" Now I want you to see how he answers. He doesn't say yes or no. He just basically says, "This is who I am."

It says then he said, "No. I'm not even going to go there. It's not an issue of who I'm for; it's an issue of who I'm with and what I'm about to do. "And he said, 'No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.'" Notice this. Joshua at first thought he was a man. Notice the response after he identified himself as the commander of the army of the Lord. It says, "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped…" In other words, he recognized this is not just any man; this is the commander of the army of the Lord.

Let me just say there is great discussion about the identity of the commander of the army of the Lord. We won't get into all that discussion. We'll just boil it down to what I believe it is. I believe it is the Angel of the Lord, and that means he is in the presence of Jehovah. Most likely he is in the presence of the second person of the trinity, the pre-incarnate Christ. Theologians call this a theophany. So he falls down on his face, and he begins to worship because he recognizes this is a divine encounter. 

Now this encounter is almost parallel to the encounters and the experiences Moses and Jacob had. You remember Moses had an encounter at the burning bush, right? Do you remember that? Yeah. If you know the story of Jacob, Jacob wrestled all night with an angel of the Lord, a man who we know is the Angel of the Lord. He would not let go of the Angel of the Lord until he got blessed. 

Then finally God blessed him and gave him a little limp to go and remind him, "You need to trust me. Stop taking things into your own hands." Well, this is what Joshua is having. He is having a divine encounter with God. The moment he recognizes this is none other than Jehovah himself, the Lord, he falls on his face, and he worships him. 

Now I want you to see something because here is what Joshua says in verse 14. He falls to his face. Remember, he is worshiping. Then he says, "What does my lord say to his servant?" "What do you want from me, Lord? What do you want?" Then God responds. "And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.'" Sound familiar? Yeah. That is what God said to Moses. "You are now on holy ground." 

Now the question is…Is it just where he is standing, or is he referring to the fact that he is near Jericho? Remember Jericho is the challenge, right? Jericho is the challenge. He is standing before Jericho. He has an encounter with God. All of a sudden, God says, "Oh, by the way, you are now standing on holy ground."

What is he talking about? The ground around him? I believe he is talking about not just the ground you're standing on, but your problem is now holy ground. Can I get an amen? Your problem, your challenge, your financial problem, your marriage problem, your health problem is now holy ground. 

Here's what he did. He was able to turn his challenge and his problem into an altar for worship, not a reason for worry. Did you notice that? He is on his face. He is worshiping. I believe the fact that he is on his face and worshiping is a direct result of what took place in chapter 5 because they paused long enough to deal with the sin in their lives.

Now they had an awareness of God and his presence. He was sensitive to the presence of God. Here he is. He is standing before the challenge. We don't know this. It's not in the text, but he could have very well been praying. All of a sudden he looks up, and there's the Lord. There's the Lord. He doesn't worry about the challenge. Instead, he lets that become his altar for worship. 

I want you to think about that. I want you to think about your challenge…that one, or the many…you just identified. Some of you are worried about that challenge. Why? Because we're human. We worry. If it wasn't a part of our nature, God would have never commanded us, "Do not be anxious." Why did he command us? Because naturally in our humanness we're going to worry, right? Instead, he falls on his face. He is worshiping the Lord.

Do you know what happens when you turn your challenge into an altar for worship? What happens is you, in essence, are aware of the presence of God. Now all of a sudden God is saying, "I'm with you. I know there's a challenge before you, Joshua. I know you're wondering how you're going to take the city, especially now that they have secured it. You have all these young guys who don't even know how to fight. You're wondering, 'How am I going to overcome this challenge?'"

By worshiping there, God is saying, "I am with you. I go before you. By the way, this isn't your battle. I am the commander of the Lord's army. I'm the one fighting for you. I'm the one going before you." The same God who is saying that to Joshua is saying that to you today, child of God. Do you believe it? Yeah. So do you want to know how you press through your challenges? You turn that challenge into an altar for worship, not a reason for worry. He is on his face. He is worshiping. 

You need to listen for God's voice while you worship. Here's what happens. As soon as he realizes it is the Angel of the Lord, the commander, that he is in the presence of God, he falls on his face. He worships. Then he asks this question, which is a very important question because it tells us he is ready to hear from God. "What does my lord say to his servant?" You have to prepare yourself to hear from God. Do you know that? How do you prepare yourself to hear from God? You worship. Hearing from God and worship go hand in hand. 

Many people want to hear from God without even coming and pausing and worshiping him. How many of you come here on Sunday mornings with the anticipation and this expectation that as I worship, God is going to speak to me? Do you come here with that expectation? You should if you come to worship. God speaks. We have a God who speaks. So you have to prepare yourself to hear from God. You do it through worship. 

So Joshua is worshiping. He is humbled. He simply says, "Lord, what do you want to say? Lord, what do you want me to hear?" By doing that, he is saying, "God, I'm under your authority. I want to hear from your Word. I want to do your will. What do you want me to hear, God?" That is what worship is. Do you know that? Worship is submission. Worship is raising your hands and saying, "I surrender." Worship is saying, "God, you are God and I'm not." That's what worship is, and that is what Joshua is doing. That's how you prepare yourself to hear from God.

Acts, chapter 13 is a great example of worship and prayer and God speaking to his church because in Acts, chapter 13, it says all the church leaders were worshiping and praying before God. As they were worshiping and praying, guess what? The Holy Spirit spoke. He speaks today, by the way. He is speaking now. As the Scripture says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

So they're worshiping. The Holy Spirit tells them, "Set Paul and Barnabas aside." What happens is they go on their first missionary trip. If it wasn't for them worshiping and listening to the Lord, listen. They went and they obeyed, and the whole world was changed because of that. Acts, chapter 13 and their obedience to the call to missions has brought the gospel to you and me.

Now as you prepare yourself to hear from God, that's when you begin to listen for God to speak a promise to your challenge. As he is worshiping, remember verses 13-15 are connected to chapter 6. So God already spoke to him the first time. He said, "By the way, you are on holy ground." Then he is going to give him a promise. Here's the promise.

Verse 2 of chapter 6: "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.'" Church, that is a promise. Can you look at it closely? What kind of promise is it? Can you tell me? What is the tense? Past tense. "I have given you the land." Not, "I will give you Jericho." That's important, don't you think? I think it's very important. It's a past-tense promise in which God says, "I have given it to you." 

Now of course they had to do their part. It's conditional on their obedience, but God says, "It's a done deal. Joshua, when you guys go forward, you're not fighting for victory." In fact, they're not even going to have to fight at all. "You're fighting from victory. I have already given you the victory." 

Let me tell you, church, in Christ we have the victory. We have the victory. So he gives him a promise: "I have given you Jericho." Let me tell you, God used Chad this morning to talk about the promises of God because the same God who gave Joshua a promise is the same God who will give you a promise. If you will pause and worship him and allow him to speak a promise to your situation, he will do it. He will do it.

However, you need to be very careful because when God gives a promise (and he will), how he decides to answer that promise and how you think he should answer that promise may be on two different spectrums, amen? I am sure that if Joshua was a praying man (and I believe he was), when he prayed, "Lord, give us the military strength. Give us the ability to rush that city. I want you to strengthen those guys so they can fight in battle," you can imagine what he was praying.

Here's what God does. Here's what God loves to do. He loves to do the absurd. Naaman had a problem with it, right? "What? You're telling me to dip seven times into the Jordan River? I'm not going to do it. That's unusual." God works that way. God may choose to give an absurd plan for your challenge, and that is what he does.

Listen to verse 3. He gave him a promise. "I have given you Jericho. Now here's what you have to do." "You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days." "So for six days, you march around the city, okay?" Verse 4: "Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets."

Now listen to verse 5. "And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all of the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him." Now that's unusual. That's why I tell you they're not Baptists. The Baptists I know don't shout. I think we should. Now I'm a shouting Baptist, but God gave him an unusual plan. Humanly speaking and from a military standpoint, that is foolish. That is foolish. 

Not only that, but he says, "I want you to blow trumpets." The trumpets weren't the silver trumpets of warfare; they were the rams' horns, the shofar. They would blow those for celebration and worship. You say, "Well, that's an unusual plan." It sure is. It's an absurd plan, but it's a perfect plan. Here's why it's perfect. 

Did you notice the number seven? Yeah. "You need to march for seven days. On the seventh day, you march around the city seven times. You need to get seven priests with seven horns. Every day they are to be blowing the horns. When you get on that seventh day and you get around that seven times, then they're going to have a long blast. That is when they are to shout." 

At the center of it all, it's not Joshua. It's not the Israelites. It's not the priests. It's the ark of the covenant, because the ark of the covenant symbolized God's power and presence. Now here's why it's a perfect plan. 

First, this plan gives God all the glory. Amen? To go to war without even having to fight gives God all the glory. That is how God answers the prayers. That is how he answers our challenges. He does so in such a way that will give him the most glory.

Secondly, it's now going to strengthen the faith of the Israelites. Can you imagine if they obey (and they do), after marching and doing everything God said he would do and he supernaturally brings the walls down, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to take on anybody, amen? Yes. Wow. Look what God can do when you obey his voice. So God gave an unusual, absurd plan.

Some of you have a challenge, if not all of you. If you're like me, I often come with a perfect plan for God to follow. "God, here's how you should answer this. Boy, you would really get a lot of glory." What I find is God always answers in a way that will be for our good. You say, "Well, what is for our good?" Where we are able to demonstrate faith that pleases him. Where we are conformed more into the image of Christ. That's for our good. 

It's good that you become more like Jesus. It's not comfortable becoming more like Jesus, but it's good that you become more like Jesus. Amen? Being comfortable and becoming more like Jesus are not compatible. It's very painful, but what God does is he allows us to face these challenges. He will answer these challenges in a way that will strengthen our faith and conform us more into the image of Christ. Then he will answer that challenge in a way that gives him all the credit.

So listen. While you turn that challenge, while you turn that problem into an altar for worship, you listen. You listen for God to speak. He will speak. You listen. He'll give you a promise. He may give you several promises. Then you listen for those promises. You wait for him to unfold those promises in your life, but you also realize he may choose an absurd way to fulfill that plan. I've had a lot of plans fulfilled in a way I didn't want him to fulfill them, but it turned out for my good and for his glory.

Now you have your promise. Your challenge is before you. The next thing you do is you celebrate. You celebrate God's victory over your challenge with faith and obedience. They still had to do their part. They had to believe. When you have a true belief and a true faith, when you place your faith in a promise, it will move you to action. We call that obedience. 

So here's what happens. There's no question on the part of Joshua. That's why I believe I don't see any complaining going into the Promised Land because when you're living the abundant life, you're in the Spirit. You're open. You're willing to do whatever God wants to do. So when he gives him the plan and tells him, "Here's what is going to happen, and here's how you're going to do it," it's interesting. 

Moses was reluctant. "I can't speak. Can you send somebody else?" Not Joshua. Verse 6: "So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, 'Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.' And he said to the people, 'Go forward. March around the city and the let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.'" No complaint from Joshua. Now you go to verse 8, and there is no complaint from the people. 

"And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually.

But Joshua commanded the people, 'You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.'" So here's the picture. Nobody is complaining. They have the orders. "We're going to march around the city six times. The priests are going to blow the shofar each day. While you're walking those six days, don't shout. Don't say anything."

Here's what happens. When God moves us forward and he gives us a promise, God will oftentimes put us in a holding pattern. We have to wait. Now in a generation that likes instant gratification, I don't want to have to walk around six days, Lord. Can you hurry up this process? Can we slip it into the microwave and, boom, it's gone? It's done with? That is not how God works. 

Here's where many people will not have victory over a challenge or pass through the challenge because they don't like the idea that they're having to walk around the city for six days. They did. They walked around the city. It says they went around the first day and the second day, and they did exactly what God told them to do for six days straight.

Can you imagine the struggle the Israelites had? Now we don't see it on the pages of the Scriptures, but can you imagine about the third day? You're looking to the next guy going, "Do you ever feel like we're walking around in circles?" Do you ever feel like you're going nowhere while you're waiting for God? Well, God puts us in those patterns because he wants to strengthen our faith. They persevered. They did not give up. Why? Because while they were waiting, I guarantee you they clung to the promise of God.

I just read the classic book The Pilgrim's Progress for the second time in my lifetime. You need to read that if you haven't read it. Great book. The story is an allegory of the Christian life. A man by the name of Graceless is saved, and he becomes a Christian. Christian is making his journey to the celestial city. He ends up in a castle called the Doubting Castle, where Giant Despair runs the castle. 

So he and his companion, Faithful, are in the Doubting Castle. They can't get out. Giant Despair is beating them and beating them and beating them. He is going to beat them to death. Then finally, Christian takes this key out of his pocket, and it's the key of Promise. It's the key of Promise that opens up the door and enables him to get out of the Doubting Castle.

That's the same. When you're going around and around in circles and you're waiting for God to act, don't give up. You pull out the key of promise. You open up that door, and get out of that castle of doubt. You keep believing. You keep walking. If you have to go 12 weeks, if you have to go 12 years, do not stop believing the promises of God. They did not stop.

Not only that, but they worshiped. That horn, that shofar, was not for wartime. It was for celebration and worship. So when they were walking around the city, they were in essence declaring God and his goodness and his almightiness, and they were worshiping. While they worshiped, while they waited, they watched. 

Here's what happened. Look at verse 20. Now they've already gone around the seventh day. They've marched around seven times. Here's what happens. Verse 20: "So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown." The shout wasn't a shout of wartime; it was a shout of praise. "As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city."

I was reading through the Bible. God put me in Ezra, chapter 3 this past week. In Ezra, chapter 3, they're rebuilding the temple. They lay the foundation of the temple. It says in Ezra, chapter 3, after they laid the foundation of the rebuilt temple, the priests got out the horns. They blew the horns, and the people shouted. They were praising God for the finished work.

I believe when they shouted and praised God here in Joshua, chapter 6, they were praising God for the victory. They were praising God that now the walls had been pushed down. That is what the Hebrew suggests. It's almost as if God is pushing the walls down from the top. He flattens the walls for them. He flattens the challenge for them. 

You can imagine. The walls are tall. So all of a sudden, they shout. The walls are pushed down flat. Now they're walking up. They're on top of the city, and they're capturing the city. Not one time did they have to do any kind of military action. It was all based upon worship and praising God. So they captured the city. I believe the same God who flattened the walls of Jericho is the same God who can flatten the walls of your challenge. Do you believe that? 

So here's what I want to do. I want to challenge you. We're going to incorporate this into our worship service. You can use your outline this coming week, and I want you to start today. I made some little devotionals. Here's what I want you to do. You've identified your challenge. Now today, spend some time with the Lord. Let him begin to speak a promise to your situation. Let him speak that promise to your challenge. It may take a couple of days. It may be that you don't have a promise from this week. Don't give up.

Here's what you do. I want you to take that challenge you have or challenges we have on all levels. I want you to circle them for six days. Every day, go before the Lord and circle your challenge, okay? Then we're going to come back next Sunday, and we're going to come up front, those of you who take the challenge and those of you who want to see walls come down in your lives, walls come down in our communities, walls come down in the lives of other people. We're going to stand up front, and we're going to pray, because I believe God wants to do some great things. 

Will you take the challenge? I will, because I have some challenges. I want to see God bring the walls down. Some of you are here this morning, and the greatest challenge you have is the wall of sin that keeps you from having a relationship with the one true God. Guess what? Jesus has broken down that wall. Through his death, his burial, and his resurrection, you can have eternal life. You can have a relationship with God.

In a moment, we're going to have a song of invitation. I want to invite you. If that's you today, I want to invite you to come forward and just say, "Pastor, I need Jesus. I want the wall of sin in my life to be broken by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I want to have a personal relationship with God." Let's bow our heads and our hearts before God.

Father, we just praise you, God, that you're a God who puts challenges in our lives so you can do mighty miracles. There are challenges that are represented here today. There are Jericho challenges, God, that many by faith are going to put before you and just ask, God, that you bring those walls down. 

God, we pray that in the coming weeks and the coming months, we can have testimonies of how you brought the walls down in people's lives. God, we pray that you get all the glory. We pray for that man, that woman who is here this morning who doesn't know Christ. We pray that they would come this day and give their life to Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. 

Let's sing. Let's worship. Let's stand, and then we'll conclude.

Pause Before You Move: Joshua 5:1-12

First Southern Baptist Church

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Forward

August 3, 2014

Pause Before You Move

Joshua 5:1-12

How did we ever watch television before the DVR? Most shows I watch I'm going to DVR, because it enables me to fast-forward through those commercials, or if I miss something in a show, if I get distracted, I can just go back. "What did he say? What did she say?" And there's that "pause" button. That's why I think women like it. If your wife comes in to talk to you, guys, you can pause the show and give her your undivided attention. I have found it has helped my selective hearing quite a bit.

What if we were able to fast-forward or go back in life? Wouldn't life be interesting? Or if we had a "pause"? Now we can't pause, we can't go backwards, we can't go forward, and we really can't stop time, but there is an element where we can pause. If you're going to move forward with God, you have to pause. Our study of the book of Joshua is all about moving forward with God.

The Israelites had spent 40 years in the wilderness, wandering because of their disobedience, and with the book of Joshua, God is now moving them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. One of the things we need to remember as New Testament believers is that all Scripture (and when Paul wrote this, he was talking about the Bible they had of the day, which was the Old Testament) was given to us for our instruction and encouragement, and to enable us to persevere. That's Romans, chapter 15.

Therefore, the book of Joshua is a picture of what it looks like for the Christian to move forward in his or her Christian experience. When we started this study, I gave you a main theme. The main theme of the study is that God calls you, the Christian, to move forward in your Christian experience to possess the abundance and fullness that is only found in Jesus Christ.

To possess this abundant life we have to abide in Christ. The only way you can possess the abundant life and experience the fullness of your salvation is to abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is a daily battle for the believer. Don't be misguided to think there is a level of Christianity where you never struggle and never battle.

The abundant life is not a comfortable life. Sorry. It's not a trouble-free life. The apostle Paul illustrated this very well with the imagery of the armor of God in Ephesians, chapter 6. Really, Ephesians, chapter 6, is the Joshua of the New Testament. In verse 10, of chapter 6, he said, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil."

That tells me right there that the Christian life and abiding in Christ is a battle. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood, or just against flesh and blood. I kind of interpret that differently, because every day I wake up I'm battling with my flesh. I'm going to be honest with you. Sometimes I'm battling with your flesh. I'm just saying.

All of us are battling with somebody else's flesh. "My goodness, you need to be in the Spirit. Please. How about a little fruit there? What about love and joy?" Then you have to battle with it yourself. Just because somebody treats you wrongly doesn't mean you respond in the same manner. You respond in the Spirit of God.

So I say it's not just against flesh and blood, but mainly it's against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over the present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Every day is a battle if you are going to abide in Jesus Christ. Now for us to move forward and to battle and abide in Jesus Christ, there needs to be preparation.

Joshua, chapter 5, gives us this imagery of what we need to do daily, and it really instructs us how to make daily preparation so we can fight this battle. Every Christian needs to be fighting this battle every day, because to fight this battle means you want to walk in the abundance of your salvation. If we would all walk in the abundance of our salvation, I'm here to tell you the world just might believe we belong to Jesus.

So turn to Joshua, chapter 5. Joshua, chapter 5, shows us that before you move forward, you have to pause. The first seven verses show you have to pause consistently, daily, and constantly. It's not a one-time event in the day, although it needs to be. It's an ongoing process in your life. If you want to abide in Christ, there's this constant daily battle of fighting off the old nature and the temptations of this world.

You have to constantly pause to renew your relationship with the Lord. We see that. Let's begin in verse 1. Verse 1 actually is part of the last section we looked at back in chapter 4 last week. It shows us the effect the crossing of the Jordan had on the inhabitants of the land. It says:

"As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel."

In essence, they were terrified. They were afraid because of all of the powerful miracles God was doing among his people, the Israelites. In verse 1, it gives further confirmation of what God told them he was going to do. He said, "I'm going to give you victory over the inhabitants of the land." God is affirming that.

Now all of the inhabitants of the land… It's not just Jericho. Back in chapter 2, when the spies returned after talking to Rahab, they said, "Hey, I want you to know Jericho is terrified of us. They're scared." Now we're learning not just Jericho, but all of the inhabitants of the land, everybody was terrified of Israel.

Now humanly speaking, you cross the Jordan. You have two million people. Now you understand that everybody in the land is terrified. What do you do? Humanly speaking, what would we do? We would attack, right? "Let's strike while the iron is hot." That's what we would do. But that's not what God does. In fact, God is going to push the "pause" button. We see that in verse 2. Look at verse 2.

"At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.'" Here's a very important truth that verse 2 teaches us when it comes to moving forward with God: God is more concerned with your character than he is your conquest. That's what verse 2 is revealing. It says, "At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.'"

Why do this? Well, to really understand what's happening, we need to go back to chapter 1, verses 7-8. This is where the Lord is commissioning Joshua. It says, "Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you." "Make sure you obey the law. Do everything in the law. If you'll do everything in the law, then you'll be successful. Then you'll be prosperous."

He says in verse 8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…" It should be a priority in your life. "…so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Their ability to have success would be determined by their ability to obey the law of God. In that law, there was the need for the sons of Israel to be circumcised. Here's what's happening: God is dealing with sin in Israel. Why? Because God is more concerned with your character than he is your conquest or your comfort. Now watch what happens, because in verse 4 and following we have the reason. Here's why there needs to be circumcision.

"And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished [they had to die], because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey."

This really takes us back all the way to Genesis, chapter 17. There, when the Lord reiterated his covenant he made with Abraham in chapter 15, he gave him a sign this time, and the sign was the sign of circumcision. Circumcision was, first of all, an outward sign that they belonged to the Lord, that they were in a covenant relationship with God.

We learn from the Old Testament also it was to be a sign of an inward reality, that a person who has trusted in God should have a circumcised heart. It should be a symbol, a sign, of a significant life change in an individual's life because they have placed their faith in the God of Israel. The people who died in the wilderness, who came out of Egypt, were circumcised, but they died.

Now here's why. We see the digression, I could say, of their disobedience in verse 6. It says, "For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished…" This generation had to die, and they had to die in the wilderness, because God would not allow them to enjoy the abundance of the Promised Land. Here's why: they did not obey the voice of the Lord. They did not listen to God. They did not obey God.

Because they disobeyed God, it resulted in them staying and dying in the wilderness and not experiencing the abundance of the land that was flowing with milk and honey. This takes us back to Numbers, chapter 14. God sent out 12 spies to look at the land. They came back, and they talked about all the abundance of the land, but there were 10 of them who said, "You know what? We shouldn't go. Those inhabitants of the land are strong. They're powerful, and there are a few giants there as well."

The majority report ruled, and the people of God said, "No, we're not going." So God said, "Okay, because of your disobedience, you won't experience the abundance of the Promised Land. This generation will die off. They will wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and when they're dead, then we'll move."

I want you to see their rebellion. If they really loved the Lord and were trusting in God, they would have done exactly what the law said, and they would have had their children circumcised, even though they were in the wilderness. "Let's circumcise our children, because we want to obey the law of God." They were disobedient, and it carried over. Now their children are in the Promised Land, and now it's time for God to deal with the sin, and that's exactly what's happening here.

Notice verse 3. It says, "So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth." That means the hill of foreskins. What a name, huh? In my sanctified imagination I think, "Yeah, Joshua was quick to get that flint knife because he was already circumcised." It's so much easier and less painful to deal with other people's sin sometimes.

Here's what's happening. God is saying, "Okay, it's time to deal with the sin in your life, and it's time to renew your relationship with the Lord." That's the same for us today. Nothing has changed. God wants us to pause, just like he had them pause. He didn't say, "Keep on going." He said, "No, we're going to stop here, and we're going to deal with the sin. You're going to renew your relationship with me. You're going to renew your covenant with me."

God does the same and expects the same of us. He wants us to daily pause long enough to allow the Lord to speak to us about sin or sins in our lives, and then, if we're smart, we'll agree with him. That's what confessing means. "I agree, God. You're right. That is sin. I agree, God. I'm a sinner." Guess what? When we agree, God is pleased.

Now I think there are a few lessons here about sanctification, about moving forward. That's what moving forward is. It's really another term for sanctification. You thought, "Well, I know what moving forward means. What does sanctification mean?" Well, it's a theological term that means you are growing more and more like Jesus. You're moving in an upward direction. You're becoming more like the person you are in Jesus Christ. That's what sanctification is.

I think there's a lovely truth here. As I thought about this, I thought, "Okay, God is dealing with sin in their lives," but then I went back to chapter 3. Right before they crossed over the Jordan… Do you remember he told them, "Okay, I want everybody to keep their eyes on the ark of the covenant"? Then Joshua said in verse 5, "I want you to consecrate yourselves."

What does that mean? It means, "I want you to purify yourselves. I want you to deal with sin in your life, because we're going to follow God, and we're going to walk across on dry ground, and guess what? That dry ground is holy ground." Now here's my thought. Okay, God, why didn't you deal with the sons being uncircumcised before they crossed over? When Joshua said, "Consecrate yourselves," and he meant, "Purify yourselves," why wasn't the flint knife brought out then?

Here's what I think, and this is true. God rarely deals with sin instantly in our lives. If he does, we're up in heaven. Boom! We just died. Seriously. God rarely deals with sin in our lives instantly. Just like you see here, it is a gradual and progressive process. We call this progressive sanctification. Thank God he doesn't show all of our sins all at once. We would be so overwhelmed.

That ought to also remind us we're all in this together. We're all on this journey. You're going, "My goodness, I can't believe they act that way." Well, just think how they acted two months ago. They may be a long way ahead of the game. The point being God gradually and progressively deals with sin in our lives in such a way that brings him the most glory.

Here's another truth: just because you consecrated yourself earlier in the day, the day before, to cross over the Jordan, doesn't mean you don't need to consecrate yourself after you got over the Jordan. You can't live on yesterday's consecration. Some of you are living on last week's consecration. You're not living on it. Trust me. You think you are; you're not. You're dead and you're dying.

We as a church, as individuals, need to take this seriously. It is not enough to read your Bible once a week and it's only because you're coming to church on Sunday. You need to pause every day, pause consistently, not just in the morning. When I get up, I'm pausing throughout the day, because I am dealing and battling with sin throughout the day, inwardly and outwardly. You need to pause consistently and renew your relationship with the Lord.

That's what they're doing. Even though they consecrated themselves on the other side, it was time to consecrate themselves again. You need to do that for your own good, for the good of the church, for the good of the glory of God. Here's what happens. When you pause consistently and constantly to renew your relationship with the Lord through a renewed commitment to the Lord, it will result in a renewed life. We're going to see that. We see the renewal that takes place in verses 8-12.

Let me just say this. Just because you are renewed and just because you are on higher ground and just because you are on holy ground, that doesn't mean you have arrived to pain-free living. If you don't believe me, ask the Israelites. Look at verse 8: "When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed." In other words, they were in pain.

Now here's the wisdom of God: "Instead of moving forward while they are afraid, I'll have you stop and deal with the sin of being uncircumcised, knowing that once you are circumcised there are going to be a few days you don't want to walk around. Having them terrified is exactly where you want the people, the inhabitants. They're afraid of you, and little do they know, you can't walk." That's how God works.

I want you to see something here. Dealing with sin is painful. They were dealing with sin, and it was painful. When you deal with sin, it is painful. It can be painful physically. It can be painful emotionally. It can be painful relationally. It can be painful spiritually. When you deal with sin in your life, it is painful. That's why many Christians don't want to pause, because they're afraid of what God might say. They would rather live with the pain of living in sin and living out of fellowship than dealing with the pain that comes when you deal with sin in your life.

It's like going to the doctor. I'll give you a little confession, and y'all can make this a matter of prayer. I have a little spot on my skin right here. I need to go to the dermatologist. I have a few spots right here because I don't have hair like some of you. Yes, I envy you old guys with hair. Not that I'm not old, but my goodness, some of you have some nice hair. Part of me says, "Well, if I don't go, he can't tell me it's cancer, and then I won't have to go through surgery, so I won't go." But if I don't go and it's cancer, what happens? Not a good thing.

Many Christians do the same thing. "If I don't go and pause and let God speak to me…" They think, "Well, it's better off just living in the sin." Let me tell you, it's never better off to live in sin. It's painful dealing with sin. Anyone who struggles with sin knows it's painful. It's painful dealing with bitterness, isn't it? I know. I deal with bitterness. It's painful dealing with resentment that comes from somebody who has hurt you. It's painful dealing with unforgiveness.

That's why we need to pray the Lord's Prayer. "God, forgive me, as I forgive those who have trespassed against me." It's painful dealing with sin. It's painful dealing with things that control your life, such as addictions, gluttony, sexual sins. It's painful. There's nothing easy about putting to death the deeds of the body. When it says to mortify your flesh, to kill your flesh, I'm here to tell you that whole process of killing sin in your life is painful. Right? It is for me.

But here's the good news. When you renew your relationship with God through a renewed commitment and you renew your life and begin to deal with the pain of the sin that's in your life, here's what happens. It says they started to heal. You will find healing, and with healing comes forgiveness.

Verse 9: "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'Today…'" "Now that you've dealt with the sin, now that you've renewed your relationship with me, now that you've gone through the pain of sin, here's what has happened. "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt…" There's great debate on what that means. I think it has the idea of the people of Egypt and even the comedians of Egypt mocking Israel.

Remember, one of Moses' prayers was like, "God, do you really want to destroy them so Egypt can mock you? 'Oh look, their God led them out to the wilderness just to kill them.'" So maybe after 40 years they heard they're still out in the wilderness, and maybe they're mocking them. Why are they mocking them? Because of their disobedience. So he says, "Now the reproach of Egypt, now the disobedience that kept you in the wilderness…all of that is gone, and you are forgiven."

That's what happens when we pause long enough to allow God to deal with sin in our lives and we deal with the pain in our lives. It brings forgiveness. When we agree with God about our sins, here's what he says he will do: "If you confess, if you agree, God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness." There is forgiveness in a renewed life. There's restoration in a renewed life. There's fellowship in a renewed life. With that comes focus.

Look at verse 10: "While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal…" Gilgal means to roll away. They rolled the reproach. Gilgal is where the 12 stones were back in chapter 4. "…they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho." According to verse 19 of chapter 4, four days had passed. Within those four days, they were circumcised, and on the fourth day they were able to get up and at least partake of the Passover.

The circumcision had to take place before the Passover, because no one who was uncircumcised could partake of the Passover meal. So God had them deal with the sin, and now they're partaking of the Passover. If you remember, where was the Passover instituted? In Egypt. When they were delivered out of Egypt, they observed the Passover. Now they've gone out of the wilderness. They're in Canaan. They're in the Promised Land.

Now God says, "I want you to observe the Passover. It was the Passover that brought you out, and it's the Passover that's bringing you in." So it had a double purpose. It would always remind them about the blood that delivered them from Egypt, but now it will also remind them about the power that brought them through the Jordan on dry ground.

When they partook of the Passover, they were identifying themselves with God. "We belong to God. We've been delivered by God. We belong to the God of Israel, and we belong to all of his covenant promises." What they're doing now is refocusing themselves on the great I Am. You see, when you renew your life, you have a renewed focus, because it causes you to get your priorities straight.

That's what they're doing. When they partook of the Passover Lamb, it was time to get their priorities straight. For us, when we renew our relationship with God constantly and consistently, we are renewing our focus and priorities. What we're doing is saying, "Look, we're going to focus on Jesus," because Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Just as they found identity in the Passover, guess what? If you're a born-again believer, you find your identity in Jesus Christ.

We refocus ourselves on Jesus, we keep our eyes on Jesus, and when you are dealing with sin in your life and experiencing healing and forgiveness, it's then turned into focus, which results in fullness. That's what happens in verses 11-12. Now verses 11-12 reveal a change in Israel. I know we don't like that word, but I'm here to tell you if you are abiding in Christ, I don't know how you can be scared of change, because it's all about change.

I want you to see this. Here's what happened. What changed that day? "And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain." They finally got to partake of the land, the land of milk and honey, the land of wonderful fruit. Notice what happened the very next day. Verse 12: "And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."

I don't think they were Baptists, because nobody is complaining about the manna being gone. See, the Baptists are the ones who died in the wilderness. I'm convinced of that. Because they're the ones who complained. They complained about the manna. They complained about no water. They complained about everything. The Baptists died in the wilderness, and now what happened? I don't know. We didn't make it over. Nobody is complaining now. I don't know who this is. This is the abundant life is what it is.

They're not complaining, because they realize, "Who wants to eat the manna of the wilderness when we can now eat the fruit of the land?" Everything changed for Israel that day. When you abide in Christ and you experience the abundant life, it changes you. It doesn't change you and stop. If it stopped, you're not abiding in Christ. When you abide in Christ, it changes you from the inside out.

I'm learning that if I'm abiding in Christ, I'm growing less impatient with my wife and less impatient with my children. If I'm abiding in Christ, I'm growing patient with people. The fullness brings change. There will be many people who will not experience the fullness because they don't want to change, and they're satisfied with the manna of the wilderness.

Now the manna of the wilderness was good. It was good for a time. God doesn't want you to stay on the manna. He wants you to experience the abundant life. It only happens when you pause daily, constantly, and consistently and renew your relationship with the Lord. When you renew your commitment to the Lord constantly, it will result in a renewed life.

Part of me says I wish it was just a one-time thing and then it was over. It's a battle. It's a fight. It's a war. Some of you have lost your fight. Some of you have lost your battle, and you stopped desiring the presence of God in your life. You settled for the manna of the wilderness. Here's a good sign that you are abiding in Christ and experiencing abundant life: you will grow hungrier for God. You will want to spend more time in his presence and want to be in his presence when you go throughout the day.

People who pause, who really pause, who allow God to speak to them, are people who are hungry. Do some of you know what I'm talking about? You're hungry for the presence of God. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. I think it's important that we pause this morning, that we pause long enough to allow the Spirit of God, the Word of God, to speak to us this morning.

Is there something in your life…? It can be an attitude. It can be a behavior. Is there something where the Holy Spirit needs to get the flint knife out and cut it away? Let me warn you it's painful. But when there's pain, when you deal with that sin, I guarantee you the Holy Spirit will give you healing. You will have forgiveness and fellowship with God. You will refocus your eyes and prioritize your life on Jesus. That's how you experience the fullness.

So allow the Spirit of God this morning to search you. Maybe you have sinned in your anger. Maybe there's an idol in your heart. Anything that controls your life can be an idol. It can be a substance. Maybe you're in bondage to alcohol. It controls your life. Maybe you're in bondage to drugs. You're addicted to drugs. Maybe you're in bondage to food. Food has become your god.

It can be a relationship other than your relationship with Jesus that's controlling your life. It can be material things that are controlling your life. It could be fear that's controlling your life. It can be anger that's controlling your life. Those are idols. Allow the Spirit of God to cut those things away this morning.

It could very well be that you need to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You have been wrestling with God week after week. You've heard the gospel preached, how Jesus died for your sins, how you need to repent, and how you need to place your faith in Jesus, and you've been resisting. Even now, you are resisting. Don't resist the grace of God. Give your life to Jesus this morning.

Father, allow your Spirit, allow your Word, to penetrate our hearts, to move, to work, to respond.

Let's take some time to worship God in song and response. Let's stand. Let's sing. Let's respond.

Never Forget: Joshua 4:1-5:1

First Southern Baptist Church

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Forward

July 27, 2014

Never Forget

Joshua 4:1-5:1

The picture you see on the screen is from the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. If you look closely, you'll see where that rose is. The name of the lady is Vanessa Lang Langer. Then it says, "…and her unborn child." There were many of those like that, many of those. It's a memorial to remember that evil that took place that September day in 2001.

Visiting the memorial is somewhat unusual. You take pictures, but you don't want to smile because if you were alive (most of us were in this service), we remember that day very well, don't we? It brought back so many memories of that day. I started to think about what I was doing that day, that morning. I was in my study. I was preparing a sermon from 1 Timothy, chapter 3. I received a phone call from a church member. She was crying and weeping, and she said, "Pastor, a plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers."

So I went and plugged the TV into the cable we had there at the church just in case for emergencies. I started watching the news, probably like many of you. I watched in horror as I saw the second plane hit the tower. Then, of course, we heard about the Pentagon. We heard about the plane in Pennsylvania. So going there had all of those memories and all the feelings that came with it.

Memorials have a purpose. They are to remind us, to keep us from forgetting, whether it be a tragic event or a joyous occasion. Memorials have a purpose in the life of God's people. In Joshua, chapter 4, it's going to teach us. It's going to teach the importance of having lasting memorials in the life of God's people.

Now we've been studying this since chapter 1. In the first chapter, what God does is he commissions Joshua to lead the people of God into the Promised Land. Then they commit to follow him. That happens in chapter 1. In chapter 2, God affirms the promises through a Gentile woman named Rahab, who would end up being in the genealogy of Jesus. He affirmed what he had already told them, what he was already doing to the inhabitants of the land.

Then you get to chapters 3 and 4, and God is now beginning to fulfill some of his promises. The first one, of course, was getting them across the Jordan. That was a supernatural miracle. It was a miracle. So in chapter 4, what God does is he doesn't want them to forget this experience in their lives. That's what we're looking at today, chapter 4.

Now chapter 4 breaks down into two sections, and really they repeat one another. They're just a repetition. The first section runs from verse 1 to verse 14 of chapter 4. What that section does is when you get to verse 14, it tells us how the crossing of the Jordan affected Israel. We'll look at that a little bit later. Then he basically restates what he already states from verse 15 of chapter 4 to verse 1 of chapter 5. Then you get to verse 1 of chapter 5, and it shows the effect the miracle of the Jordan crossing had on the inhabitants of the land.

Now it's paramount that God's people not forget or never forget this miraculous event in their lives. There's a good reason. God's people have a tendency to get spiritual amnesia. We're talking about ourselves as well, right? We have a tendency to get spiritual amnesia. If you've read the history of Israel in the Old Testament, anyone who has, you know Israel had a problem about forgetting all the things God had done for them. 

So what we remember concerning God's work in our lives, especially in the past, affects how we move forward in our Christian experience. So what chapter 4 does is it gives us at least three (I'm going to call them) truths that will help us to never forget what God has done in our lives so we can move forward.

1. Moving forward in your Christian experience is rooted in your ability to remember past experiences with God. Let's pick up the story in verse 1, chapter 4. "When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 'Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, "Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight."'"

So God gave Joshua some instructions. Choose 12 men. It says in chapter 3, verse 12 he did choose 12 men. He has already chosen them. They need to represent each tribe. So this choosing of the 12 and them getting 12 stones would represent the unity of God's people. So that was the instruction God gave to Joshua. Now he turns around, and he gives the instruction and the command to the people. We pick that up in verse 4.

"Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, 'Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel…'" So he gave them some clear instructions: "Go get 12 stones."

There's all kinds of debate over verse 9 of chapter 4 because it says Joshua himself had some stones set up in the water. So there were two memorials that day. I believe there were two. I believe he had to take stones out of the river to set up where they were lodging that night. Then I believe also he had some set there in the river because when the river was at its driest and not overflowing during flood season, they could see those stones, and they would be reminded of the mighty work God did in their lives.

That's what the stones were. They were a historical marker. They were to be a sign of how God did a miracle in their lives in the past. That's what he says in verse 6. "I want you to take these stones, that this may be a sign among you." These stones were to represent a time and a moment in the life of Israel when God did a mighty work. So it was a sign of God's work, a sign of God's work.

Now when that Hebrew word sign is used, it's usually in the context of some awe-inspiring event. For instance, when they were commanded to keep the Passover in Exodus, chapter 12, they were to do that yearly. They were supposed to do that yearly. Why? Because it was a sign. 

The Passover meal was a sign. The Passover lamb was a sign of how God in the past delivered them from Egyptian bondage. 

It was a memorial. It was something they could go to every year and be reminded of the powerful work of God. Not just that he delivered them from Egypt, but all he did to deliver them from Egypt. He says, "Now you have another sign. You pick those 12 stones up. You put them there in Gilgal." We'll see that in a few moments. "When you put them there, you go back there because that will remind you of the presence of God, the power of God, and the provision of God."

This isn't the only time God said, "I'm going to give you a sign," or, "Here's a sign for you." Do you remember the sign God gave Noah? I know you do because every time you see a rainbow, you say what? "God loves me." Right? I do. "Thank you, God. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for your love." Every time you see a rainbow, if you're a believer and you know the Scriptures, then you think, "My God loves me." That rainbow ought to be a sign for you, a memorial in your life of a God who loves you dearly.

Then, of course, for Abraham and Israel, there was circumcision. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant. "You're my people. You're in covenant relationship with me." The temple was a sign. It was a sign that God dwells among his people. The ark of the covenant, the very thing that was leading them through and stopping the water was a sign of God's power. It was a sign of God's authority, his presence, his provision, and his throne. So all of these signs were given so they could be reminded of who God is, what he has done, and not only that, but what he will do. 

We have our signs as well under the new covenant. We have baptism. Baptism is a sign. It is a sign that those who have trusted in Jesus Christ are now freed from condemnation. Can I get an amen? "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Baptism is a sign that I have identified with Jesus, and I am no longer condemned. It's a sign of new life, life that is given only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's a sign.

The Lord's Table is a sign. It is a sign. Every time we as believers partake of the Lord's Table, it reminds us of the atoning work of Jesus Christ, that all of our sins, past, present, and future, all of them, were taken care of on the cross of Calvary. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can wash away your sins but the blood of Jesus Christ. Come on. I'm preaching now. Amen. I started getting ready for Sunday at 5:00 p.m. yesterday, because this is a good message. I'm excited. It's exciting me.

When we come to the Lord's Table, it's not just to remind us of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. It reminds me that his bride will be eating with Jesus…where? At the marriage supper of the Lamb. Yeah. If you're a believer and you've been baptized, you can always go back to that baptism. When you see baptism take place in the church, it ought to take you back to that time where you trusted Jesus Christ, and it changed your life. It reminds us. It reminds us of that.

These signs mean nothing if the work they represent did not make a significant difference in the life of individuals, right? So this sign needs to be personal. The significance of God's work needs to be something very personal, something you can say, "Yes. This happened to me." I want you to see what happens. 

In verse 6, he says, "This is to be a sign." He says, "When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'" Now he asks the question again in the second section, but it's not "…to you?" It's, "What do these stones mean?" The first section is very personal. "What do those stones mean to you?"

For every man, child, woman who walked across the Jordan River on dry ground during flood season, they had a personal experience with the power of God, the presence of God, and the provision of God. That's why when they got out, God said to Joshua, "You make sure you take 12 stones. I want you to take those 12 stones, and I want you to put them where you were lodging." In verse 19, it says the place they were lodging was Gilgal. So they would go back to those stones, and they would be reminded of God's power, God's presence, God's faithfulness. 

The same is true when we look at baptism. Those of us who have been born again, those of us who can declare with great confidence that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, we ought to look at baptism. It should take us back to that day when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, and our lives changed.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are not religious rituals; they are declarations on the part of the person partaking in them. Whether it be baptism or the Lord's Supper… When you are baptized, you will say, "I have been changed by the power of the gospel." When you partake of the Lord's Supper, you are making a declaration that, "God's work has done a significant work in my life. Once I trusted Jesus, I was never, ever the same again." Amen? So the Lord's Table should always take us back to that day, that moment we gave our life in Jesus Christ.

I believe there are other things that can be signs of remembrance. It can be a place. There's a place in my life. It's a two-bedroom apartment with the balcony overlooking a golf course off La Prada drive in Dallas, Texas. You come off of Centerville. You go under 635, and you're on Ferguson Road. The next street on your left is La Prada Drive. You take a left on La Prada Drive. You go down about a half a mile, and there are apartments there on your right. 

There are apartments all the way down, but there is a specific apartment where one night, I had a Charles Lowery study Bible my brother and sister, who were Jesus freaks, gave me one Christmas five years before. I decided, "I'm going to start reading the Bible," because it couldn't hurt me. I started reading. I got to Matthew, chapter 5. I remember. I was wearing shorts and a tank top. I was on my knees reading Matthew, chapter 5: "Blessed are the poor in spirit…"

I read the first 12 verses. I was under conviction, and I gave my life to Jesus Christ on La Prada Drive in Dallas, Texas. My life has never, ever been the same. I drive by there when we're in Dallas, and I remember that moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ. So that memorial, that Gilgal in your life, can be a place. 

It can be a person. There are so many people who have influenced my life, who are spiritual Gilgals. The one who has impacted my life the most is a man by the name of Marty Ketchum, who is now with the Lord. He died at the age of 47. He spent four years invested in my life. A month does not go by where I do not think about Marty. 

I pray for his family every Thursday, his wife and five children. There are times where I can remember Marty talking to me. I can see it just as if it were live right in front of me. When he talked to me, he encouraged me to continue in my walk with the Lord. So your spiritual Gilgal may be a person. It could be a place. It could be an experience. 

It could be a daily coming into the presence of God reading your Bible. I do that every morning. I want to spend at least an hour with God. That's my Gilgal. Do you know why I spend time with the Lord every morning? Because I want to remember him. I don't want to forget him. I don't want to get spiritual amnesia. So why is it so important that we remember the past experiences with God? 

2. Remembering these past experiences with God gives purpose to your life. It gives purpose to your life. Now let's look at verse 7. After he asks the question about the children, when the children say, "What do those stones mean to you?" then he says in verse 7, "…then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD." 

I love that. It didn't give credit to Joshua; it was God. God is the hero of the book of Joshua. "When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones…" Again, a purpose. "…shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever," a lasting memorial. These memorials, these stones, had a three-fold purpose. 

First, instruction. These stones need to be a moment in the life of Israel and the people who made up Israel where they can instruct the younger generations to come. Two times he mentions the needs of telling children. Verse 6: "…that this may be a sign among you. When your child ask in time to come, 'What do those stones means to you?'" Verse 21: "And he said to the people of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers in times to come, "What do these stones mean?"'" They need to be an opportunity for you to tell the next generation of the mighty works of God. 

Now obviously this applies first and foremost to parents. Parents need to be able to explain God's past work in their lives. Not just salvation, but how is he working in their lives now? Do your children see salvation? Do they see a difference in your life? Do they see God in the family? Do they see God working in their own lives? Are you helping them to see that? Not only as parents, but grandparents.

Then all of us have a responsibility to tell the next generation of…what? The mighty works of God. That's why I appreciate some of you in here who invest in Awana, who invest in the nursery, who invest in anything that enables us to communicate to the next generation the mighty works of God.

What we do now, what I do isn't for me. What I do isn't for you. What I do is for those who are coming behind me. Nobody wants to say amen to that. We tend to forget about that. We can become very self-centered and think only of ourselves. What are we leaving? What kind of legacy are we leaving to the next generation? Are we giving them something to take the baton with and run, or are we, as was said last Thursday, criticizing and pointing the fingers?

Remembering the past gives us purpose. Our purpose as the people of God is to tell the mighty works to all the generations, but to the coming generation, we need to be investing in their lives. You need to be investing in young marrieds. How many of you have young married couples you are friends with? Do you know they are struggling in their marriage? They would love, they need people who will invest time in their lives who have been together for 40 years. How many young people will be at your funeral? 

Secondly, witness. It was a sign of God's work in the past. That experience in the past now gave him a purpose, and that purpose was to witness. Go to verses 23 and 24. It says, "For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty…" 

"I am doing these things because I want people to know there is only one God, the God of Israel. I want you to remember these past experiences with me because you have a responsibility, Israel, and that is to be a witness and a light to all the nations around." God's purpose hasn't changed. 

For Jesus said, "I have redeemed you, church. I have saved you. Now I want you to take the gospel, not hoard the gospel, not keep it to yourself, not enjoy it to yourself, but go. Take what you have received. You go out on the highways and the byways, and you go out to the ends of the earth. You tell people about Jesus, to witness, to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Thirdly, your walk. The last part of verse 24: "…so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever." I want to give you a definition of what fear looks like when you fear God. Do y'all want one? I got it this morning from the Scriptures, so I think I'm pretty good with this. I'm just going to quote the Scripture. If you really fear God, here's what it looks like: You are faithful, and you have an undivided heart.

There are a lot of Christians who forget what God has done in the past, and they lose their way. They lose their way. The next thing you know, they get away from church. Church attendance is a spiritual Gilgal, isn't it? I come every Sunday because God called me to be here to pastor, but I would come anyway. I really would because it reminds me of what God has done in my life, and it reminds me of what we're going to be doing in heaven. Now a lot of Christians get spiritual amnesia, and they lose their way. They forget. 

3. Your past experiences with God instruct you to live out God's purpose in your life. What happened to them in the past, the Jordan River, gave them purpose in the present. What is that? Well, you need to teach your children, instruct them. You need to witness. You need to let all the world know there is only one true God. You need to fear God. You need to walk with God. That's your purpose now. That equips you with confidence for the future.

I want you to see how this works out. Look at verse 18. It says, "And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before." So it returned to flood stage.

Now this is where God led them, between a rock and a hard place. You look back, and you think, "Oh my goodness. There's no more dry ground." You look ahead of you, and you say, "Oh my goodness. Is that Jericho? Oh my. What if they come out and they attack us? Where are we going to run?" God is like that. Sometimes God will burn a bridge so you can't go backwards. Sometimes he will bring the river back to its banks so you can move forward.

So here they are. They've crossed the Jordan. They have Jericho before them. At any moment, they could have been attacked. All they had to do is look down to those stones. What would those stones do? Remind them of what God has already done. Amen? He is powerful. He is with them. He is always faithful to his promises. 

Here's how it unfolded. I want you to see the effect it had on the people. In verse 14, notice the effect it had on Israel. It says, "On that day…" What day? The day they crossed. "…the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life." 

Now go back to verse 7 of chapter 3. "The LORD said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all of Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.'" "Today I will," and by the end of the day he did. God is faithful to his promises. Now look at verse 1, chapter 5, because here's the effect it had on all the inhabitants of the land. 

"As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel."

Verse 10 of chapter 3: "And Joshua said, 'Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.'" "Here's how you'll know. What I'm about to do with the Jordan is just affirmation of what I'm going to do before you, but here's further affirmation. I'm already working in their hearts, and they're terrified of you."

God is faithful to his promises. God gives us promises for the future to sustain us in the present, right? Amen? God gives us promises for the future to sustain us in the present. Those promises are supported by…what? The past. Past…what? Past faithfulness. God gave me a promise for the future. It sustains me in the present. That is supported by what is already done in the past.

This right here is a sign for my family. It represents a place. It represents a people. It represents an experience. It is a Thomas Kinkade picture. At the bottom, it says, "Clearing storms." If you look closely, he was the painter of light, right? I don't know if you can tell, but right around the lighthouse there's light coming out. The clouds are now clearing, and it's symbolic of a storm ending.

Now it's more special to my wife and I because Abigail and Maribeth were very young at the time. We got this the last Sunday we pastored the church that split. We were going to Oklahoma. In fact, they gave this to us on September 22, 2002. That was Christy's birthday as well. I look at this picture, and it has a lot of meaning because that experience was not a joyful experience, at least not at the time. It was painful. It was very painful. 

It reminds me a time where I tried to run from something God allowed me to go through. I did all I could to run from that storm, and God said, "You're not going to do it. You're going through it." It reminds me of people, some good, some not so good. It reminds me of how God, through it all, was faithful. So when I'm struggling and I'm in a storm now, I'll spend a lot of time praying and looking at that picture, that sign. It reminds me God is faithful. God is with me. He will provide. Never forget. Never forget those spiritual Gilgals in your life. Visit them often. Visit them daily.

Where are you? Do you have spiritual amnesia? The church in Ephesus had spiritual amnesia, and it says they left their first love. They forgot it. That's how easy it is for us to forget, isn't it? We forget about what Jesus has done for us. We forget about the life change. We forget about his faithfulness. For some reason, we want to take things into our own hands, and we leave our first love. 

Where are you this morning? Do you need to return to the cross? Do you need to return, not literally but figuratively, to the baptismal waters and remind yourself? Oh, I have died with Christ. I was buried with Christ. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Never forget. 

Maybe this morning it's not an issue of remembering; maybe it's an issue of experiencing for the first time the saving grace of Christ Jesus. For me, the first time was on my knees crying out, "Jesus, I want to be a Christian, but I can't do it. I need your help." I didn't have the sinner's prayer. 

But guess what? I was saved that day because it wasn't the words that saved me; it was my heart that surrendered to God and said, "I want you. I give up." Maybe today this becomes your spiritual Gilgal. "On July 27, 2014, at 10:06 a.m. in the morning, I gave my life to Jesus Christ for the very first time." Let's bow our heads and our hearts.

Spirit of God, draw that man, draw that woman who needs to trust Jesus, who needs this place to become a spiritual Gilgal in their life where they have committed their life to the very first time to the saving work of Jesus. I pray that you would draw them and that they would not resist the grace of God, but respond to you in obedience. May they not leave here today without declaring in front of all these people, "I have trusted Jesus. This is my spiritual Gilgal."

For every one of us who profess Christ as Lord and Savior, God, we need to remember. We need to remember the day you saved us. We need to remember the power you've given us. I just thank you, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will bring back to remembrance things we need to remember. I pray right now, Holy Spirit. Some of us need to be reminded of the grace of Jesus Christ. Some of us need to be reminded of your power. May we never forget the grace of Jesus. Have your way, Lord. Have your way. In Jesus' name, amen.