Remember Your Miracles
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Jan 22, 2006
- Series: Moving to a Great Future
REMEMBER YOUR MIRACLES
Joshua 4:1-8,19-24
- When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,
- "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
- and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."
- So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,
- and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,
- to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?'
- tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
- So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.
- On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
- And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.
- He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?'
- tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
- For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.
- He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
A popular Chinese Proverb says, "The palest ink is better than the best memory.
This saying reminds me of a story I read about a couple who were both over sixty years old. The wife asks her husband to run down to the corner store to get a pint of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate syrup. "Do you want me to write that down?" she inquires. "It's only two things," he replies. "Not a problem." Later he returned and handed her a package containing cheddar cheese. "I knew you should have written it down," she says. "See here, you forgot the crackers."
The problem of forgetfulness is not only true with older people, we all can remember embarrassing times wherein we have forgotten names, telephone numbers, wallets, bags, etc. Worse of all, we also have the tendency to forget even the Lord. When everything is smooth sailing, and when everything is going the way we want them to be, it is so easy to take God for granted.
Knowing our natural inclination to forget, we will find the Lord addressing our problem in two ways:
1. He gave sufficient warnings:
- When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
- Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Even before Israel would enter the Promised Land, God had given them sufficient warnings concerning this sin of forgetfulness.
2. He had provided memorials:
Our main text this morning would show us how the Lord had commanded His people to build a visible reminder of what He has done for them. As we have seen last Sunday, God led the people of Israel to cross Jordan River. Because this was such a significant miracle, the Lord explicitly commanded Joshua to choose twelve representatives from the different tribes of the nation, and instructed them to take up twelve stones from the midst of Jordan River, and carry them to the other side for the purpose of building a monument. According to the passage, there are three essential reasons for the building of this monument:
I IT WILL INSPIRE FAITHFULNESS: (vs. 6-7, 21)
If you read these verses, you will understand God's concern for the next generation. Once the monument was in place, this could be an effective way for the parents to teach their children the deliverance of the Lord.
This is not something new for the Israelites. There had been occasions in the past whereby the Lord had impressed to them the need to teach their children:
- And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'
- then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
The feast of the Passover was established by the Lord to serve as a teaching tool for the coming generation. Remember, God wants us to pass our faith to our children.
Today, our celebration of the Lord's Table would equal that of the Passover. When we participate in the Lord Table, we are reminded of the body and blood of Jesus Christ which He sacrificed so we can received forgiveness for our sins. We, as parents should take the time to instruct our children. I believe the church should simply reinforce what the parents have been teaching their children. Parents, the truth of the matter is: kids need to be inspired by our personal stories of answered prayers, miracles we have experienced because of our close walk with God. We have to take the time to talk about them since this is one of the effective ways for them to embrace the God we are serving.
II IT WILL INCREASE FAITH: (vs. 23-24)
Another very important reason why God had caused them to build this memorial is for them to be reminded about His great power - He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful.
It is also interesting to notice that prior to these words in verse 24, God also made a comparison between what He did with the Red Sea and Jordan River, showing that in both cases He demonstrated great power. He did not only do it once, but twice. If you are in doubt, twice in a row should be enough to convince anyone.
As the families of Israel spent their first night in the land, their hearts may well have been filled with uncertainty and fear. But then the people looked at the 12 stones taken out of the Jordan and were reminded that God had done something great for them that day. Surely they could trust Him for the days ahead. At this point, you have to consider the fact that Jordan River is just the beginning of their challenges. They are still a long way in fully conquering the Promised Land. The monument should constantly remind them of the powerful God who helped them, so they will have sufficient faith for their future conquests.
We should never forget our past victories because they can give us the faith to face our future battles. God himself reminded His people:
I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
It is so good to know that God does not change. What He has done in the past, He can still accomplish today. We have to move forward knowing we have a powerful God. The apostle Paul gave us this assurance that God's great power is at work in us:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
III IT WILL INSTILL FEAR: (v. 24b)
"So that you might always fear the Lord your God."
Lastly, the reason why God built a memorial was to remind the people to fear Him.
Throughout the Bible, you will find the emphasis on the fear of God. Its most basic meaning is to respect or revere God because of who he is. Of course, this fear results in godly moral choices and proper worship of God.
By application, God's people need to be constantly reminded of who God is so that as a result they will be more careful in relating to Him. If they do their best to please Him, the more they will see His mighty works in their midst.
the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
The Psalmist declares God's delight to those who fear the Lord. Now, consider the link with Psalm 37:4:
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Evidently, God's blessings abound in the lives of those who fear the Lord. May we all increase in our desire to please God!
In closing, we need to understand that the crossing of the Jordan River was an incredible milestone for the Jewish people. God demonstrated His mighty power in leading them across, and He made sure that they did forget this miracle. Is it possible that we have already forgotten God's miracles in our lives? What have we done to remind ourselves about them? And with whom do you need to be sharing those miracles - both in your family and with those who don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Let's us seek for opportunities to share what God has done for us with someone else.