Memorials
Christians should always have a strong sense of remembrance
of history of the need to celebrate and honor days like this. We are people
whose faith and life is built around a book that took 1500 years to write and that
writing began almost 5000 years ago and ended about 2000 years ago. Every time
you read this book you are remembering; you are celebrating a memorial of what
God has done and is still doing. We attend church on Sunday to honor and
remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ who gave his life on the cross,
paying for our sin and then 3 days later rose from the grave taking death
captive.
Memorials are important and I want to challenge you today to consider that each of us is building our own memorials. The letters are being etched and the stones are being set with each act of our life, each decision and each commitment. Turn to Joshua the fourth chapter and look at a very strong example of two memorials built as the children of Israel crossed the Jordan and camped at Gilgal.
The Command - Joshua 4:1-3
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
God commands Joshua to build a memorial
God's call and command to Joshua is clear. He did not need to pray or seek a sign. He understood exactly what God wanted, for God had told him plainly. “Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.”
Joshua did not question, hesitate or wait. He simply acted as God had commanded and he and the nation of Israel built the first memorial of the Promised land.
God Commands Us to Build Memorials
I believe based upon the word of God, that we are still to be building memorials. God speaks directly to us from His word and his instructions, His commands are never vague or difficult to understand. They are crystal clear and supernaturally recorded without error for us in scripture.
Isaiah 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Deut 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
When we hear God speak to us in His Word and submit to His authority, then just like Joshua and Israel the actions that follow our obedience is how we build memorials, not with stones but with our lives, our sacrifices, and our commitments.
I believe we should understand that every commandment of the Lord and our obeidance to that Word is the way in which we build a memorial with our life. Something that is lasting, glorifies God and tells others of our love and devotion to Him.
What are some of those commands that God gives us today. In a sense, these are the commands that we as Christians will act as we build our memorials to God.
Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Luke 17:3-4 If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Other scriptural commands that tell us to grow, to give, to raise up our children and love our spouses. Commands that like the memorials at Gilgal, will change the shape of our world.
Joshua and the Israelites were instructed by their God and they carried out those commands. Obedience to our God is not something that can be lightly passed over, it cannot be ignored, or pushed to the bottom of our list of priorities. God expects us to act, to obey
Here is what God said through Samuel, notice this sharp comparison.
The Creator and Sustainer of the universe, our Redeemer, Savior and Lord speaks to us, calls on us, gives us commands, and commissions us. Dare we not listen? Dare we not obey? Or do we think that obedience and commandments is just an old Testament thing. All that legalism is past.
The Last Lesson Jesus Taught the Apostles Before the Crucifixion.
Look what Jesus told the disciples in John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
That’s not legalism. That’s not the Old Covenant, that is the love of the New Testament written in the shed blood of Jesus, my Savior. A love that is seen by our obedience to the Word of God.
Jesus’ love enables and moves us to obey His commands. When we do what He asks us to do, then like the people of Israel that day in Joshua 4, build a memorial for others to see what God has done and what He is doing in and through us.
Look at the cause, the reason for the memorial God told Joshua He wanted built.
The Cause - Joshua 4:6-7; 21-24
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children
ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then
ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of
the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were
cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel
for ever.
21-24 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
The Memorial Would Let the Past Touch The Future
There were two reasons for the memorial. To serve as a reminder for their children in the future and as a sign for the people of the earth to know the hand of God. The memorial would serve as a catalyst, a spark to ignite an quest from those in the future who weren’t there on the day that God stopped the Jordan and the Hebrews crossed on dry land.
When the future generations, even the lost nations around Israel, would ask, “Joshua 4:6 What mean ye by these stones?” Then the past faithful generations of leaders, fathers and mothers would tell the story of God delivering the children of Israel from Egypt, the miracles He had done in the wilderness, the great leaders like Moses, Joshua, Caleb and others that God had used to deliver them to their Promised Land.
They would “know the mighty hand of the Lord” and they would fear, honor and respect Jehovah their God forever.
By the memorial, the future would shaped and changed by the past. The memorial was to be a foundation upon which the future could be built. The memorial meant that the goodness and greatness of God would not be forgotten. The memorial at Gilgal was part of God’s plan to reach from the past, into the future and impact it.
Building Our Own Memorials
Let me make this simple and direct application. Our actions or lack of action, our obedience, or our disobedience to God, either erect a memorial or they tear the memorials down. What we do in obeying God everyday builds or lets decay the memorials our life, words and actions should build and maintain.
We must weigh every action or inaction, every act or inaction, in the light of what will this show to others about God? Especially we need to ask what will it teach that next generation, my children, my grandchildren. What will they see and learn about the power, the love and the grace of God?
What will the lost world see in the memorial I am to build? Will those who are the most in need of being touched and inspired by a transcendent, powerful and living God, see Him in my memorials?
Two Memorials - There were two memorials built that day, one at the campground at Gilgal, near the river bank and one in the river. One that would be seen and one that would be personal and private to Joshua. I want you to first consider the one on the riverbank, built by the 12 men from every tribe that picked up carried the stones from the river to the camp.
I think a proper application of that visible memorial would be what we are celebrating today, the Lord’s local, visible church.
The Lord built and established His first church during His earthly ministry, but we are called to obey and build churches wherever God leads us. Now the church is not the physical building but is actually every person who assembles themselves and covenants themselves together to carry out the work of the Gospel.
1 Peter 2:5-6 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
If you want your life to count, if you want a memorial that will stand the test of eternity and one that will bridge the past and the future, then pick up your stone and continue to build our church. Be the living stones, be the holy priests gathering stones from the Jordan river and bringing them to the memorial of the Lord’s local visible church. Bring yourself and bring others to Calvary Baptist Church. This is our memorial, showing our children and the lost world, that we serve a mighty God and a loving Savior.
This same Joshua at the end of his life stood before the nation he had lead and told the people to choose the kind of life they would live, the kind of memorial they would continue to build with that life.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Dear God, give us more Joshuas. Joshuas to fill our churches. Joshuas to lead our families. Joshua’s, who will stand up and say “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!” We will vow to build the memorial of the Lord’s House by our obedience, our love and our submission.
Now the story of the memorials moves us in a different direction, a different focus. Go with me to verse 9, of chapter 4.
The Construction - Joshua 4:9
And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
Joshua Constructs An Extra Memorial
What just happened? What is Joshua doing? Did God command Joshua to build a second memorial in the middle of the Jordan River? Did we miss that verse?
Joshua, on his own initiative, as a token of his love and thankfulness to God who had delivered them to the Promised land, now builds an extra memorial. At the place where the priest who carried the ark of the covenant across stood and waited for the people to pass. He does more than God asked him to do, more than just the minimal in fulfilling the command.
Is that allowed? He erects a hidden, private memorial. Once the waters flowed back it wouldn’t be seen. The visible memorial would be in Gilgal in the campground. All would see it there, it would be a public memorial. But this extra, personal memorial Joshua built just for the Lord. It would be covered by the river, seeming lost, but God would know exactly where it stood. And even to this day, no matter how many floods have shifted and swept the stones that Joshua used that day, God knows where every single memorial stone is in that river.
Constructing Your Personal, Extra Memorial
What a lesson Joshua teaches us here. I can admire Joshua as the leader of God’s army. I can watch with amazement as he tells the people to shout and the priest to blow the trumpet and the wall of Jericho falls flat. But I’ll never do those things. But this action, this memorial building, I can do.
Is my desire to only do the minimum for God? Is my devotion used up after only doing the least that God asks me to do?
Is church attendance on Sunday morning all there is? We are not commanded to attend more than one service on Sundays. And many today do not bother. The minimum is enough for them.
What about our worship? Are personal devotions, Bible reading and prayer at home asking too much. Is Sunday the only time I really look into God’s word, pray or sing praises to my Savior.
What about salvation itself? Is mine enough? Do I have to do more than just believe for myself. Are there not others who need Jesus, and need to know the peace of forgiveness and the joy of worship our Savior? The minimum, the nominal, the path of least resistance will get you into heaven, but it is not they way our own personal memorials to the God we love, are built.
Look at Joshua there standing in the dry Jordan river bed. As the whole nation of Israel passed by. As the men of the tribes gather the stones to build the visible memorial in Gilgal, he quietly and purposely searches for just the right stones to build into his own personal, extra memorial. I can’t help but think that with each stone, he gathered and built into his own memorial, he thought of a work of God, a miracle of deliverance, a day of manna, a fountain of water spring from a dry rock. The memorial he built was his thanksgiving, it was his act of worship and it was a visible act of his love assembled in the sight of God.
Can you understand the heart of Joshua? For the follower of God, the minimum is never enough. God didn’t deliver His people with just the minimum. Jesus did not save us with just the minimum. In the love and grace, God overwhelmed the wilderness and the enemies of Israel. In that same love and grace Jesus gave all, His life, His suffering, His promise of eternity.
What of us? Are you willing to erect both the hidden and visible memorials, the expected and the extra, the public and the private in your commitment and devotion to God?
D. L. Moody had a famous life quote, “The most I can do for God is the least I will do for God.” – D. L. Moody
The Memorial Jesus Built
Centuries later there was another Joshua who built the greatest memorial of all time and eternity. He was named Joshua by His Father in Heaven but we know Him by the Greek equivalent of that name, Jesus. Like the Old Testament Joshua, Yeshua built both a hidden and a visible memorial. He built the hidden memorial with his apostles and friends lives. With people like Peter, John, James, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He also built the public in his peaching and miracles. The hidden there in the Garden of Gethsemane and the public on the Hill of Calvary. He gave His life completely and with his death built a memorial of grace for all mankind, for all eternity.
He declared in John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
His life poured out on the cross was the ultimate memorial. When we see that memorial in the Gospel, we realize what God has truly done.
Can we, who have seen that eternal memorial, then only give the minimum to the One who has given us His only begotten Son? Can we give only what is visible to the One who gave us forgiveness of sin? Can we give only some of our life to the One what has given us eternal life?
Conclusion:
I want you to ask yourself, what kind of memorials are you building with your life and with your obedience? What will you leave behind for others to see? what will they know of God by the memorials you build are building with the stones of your actions, decisions and commitments?
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