Stones and Memorials

Stones and Memorials
Sermon Notes – Ps. Jim White
Sunday 29th November 2009
• Last week we looked at the life of Caleb, and began to understand what it means to be a man or woman with “a different spirit.” There were aspects of Caleb’s life that spoke of qualities such as faith, boldness and courage – but also patience, endurance and hope. He knew what it was to be a man of authority, but also a man under authority. Caleb had the strength of character, to wait until the season was right, to go in and take possession of all that God had for him.

• Caleb was held back from possessing the promised land for 40 years, but when the time eventually came, Joshua and Caleb and a whole new generation of young men and women with a different spirit, went in and occupied the land that God had given them.

• We are a generational people – a generational church. But, by the grace and wisdom and strength of God, we are all going into the promises of God together – not one generation missing. I believe God is calling us as a body together to be ones who have a different spirit in our families, our church and our community.

• Those of us who are part of the more mature generation have so much to teach and impart to the generations that are coming after us. It’s a spiritual and biblical principle that what one generation experiences and learns and gathers, is passed on to the following generations – with joy, with thanksgiving, with substance of faith.

• When Joshua and Caleb and the people of God passed over the River Jordan into the land of Promise, this is what the Lord said to Joshua: In Joshua 4:2-3 - “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’”

• Verse 6,7 – “that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

• It goes on to say that Joshua also took another twelve stones and placed them in the middle of the river Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, and that they are there still to this day. But the first lot of twelve stones they set up as a memorial at their first place of camp in the promised land, which was Gilgal.

• It actually says a number of times, as in verse 21-24, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; 23 for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

• I could give you numerous examples of where the men and women of God set up altars and memorials; many that were simply stones piled on top of one another – but what they represented and what they stood for, was incredible.

• These piles of stones were memorials, they were altars. They were places of remembrance, places of worship, places of dedication, places of sacrifice, places of revelation, places of celebration.

• When the people of Israel saw the mighty hand of God at work in their lives, they would gather stones and build an everlasting memorial to God.

• There was the time when Jacob spent the night at Haran, and he placed a stone under his head as a pillow. As he slept he saw the angels of God ascending and descending above him on what looked like a ladder. He heard the Lord speak to him and give him revelation about his future. And Jacob called that place the house of God and the gate of heaven.

• He took the stone and anointed it with oil and set it up as a pillar and a memorial, and called the place by a new name – Bethel.

• This morning’s message is much more than a history lesson. I wonder whether we have lost the way a bit when it comes to recognising and establishing memorials in our lives.

• Our lives have seasons. We have all experienced times of amazing joy and prosperity of soul – there have also been times where we have had a fresh revelation of the nature and character of God – of His faithfulness and goodness towards us. Our faith and strength and courage has at times been lifted up to amazing heights.

• But then there have been times when we have experienced dryness in our walk, and the struggles of life have challenged us to the core. There have been dark times, times of crying out to God – feelings of isolation and pain.

• And it draws me back to Eccl 3. Listen to this: Verses 1-8: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.”

• Solomon had amazing wisdom. He obviously experienced some soul searching, frustrating times in his life as well. But this is wisdom. To recognise that life has its seasons.

• Why do we need to create memorials in our life? Because we need to have solid anchor points in our life – points of remembrance – points of celebration – points of dedication, etc. Life’s seasons bring the tough times with them, and we must have places of memorial to guide us toward faith, and joy, and thanksgiving and peace.

• Did you notice that Solomon says, there is a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones. There is much more than a physical, practical application to this word. People in biblical times probably gathered stones for many reason, but one of them was to set up memorials and altars to God.

• Memorials were meant to be everlasting reminders, not to keep them focussed on the past, but to the contrary, to build their faith and encourage them for the difficult times and for the promise of an amazing future that lay ahead.

• In Eccl 3:11-13 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour—it is the gift of God.”

• God wants us to remember the good times – to celebrate life – to enjoy the fruits of our labour – to build memorials that lead us to the truth that God makes everything beautiful in its time.

• Are you going through a really tough time right now? I don’t even have to give you examples of what a tough time looks like. If you are going through one, you don’t have to wonder if you are in one.

• Well, I need to ask you this morning, where is the last pile of stones that you built? How many memorials have you set up along the journey of your life that you can wander past again to remind you of the goodness and faithfulness of God?

• When was the last memorial of dedication, where out of the revelation of who God is, you gave yourself wholeheartedly to Him?

• Let me put it another way. Has God ever healed your body? Build a memorial. Has God ever set you free from an addiction? Build a memorial. Has God filled you with His Holy Spirit? Build a memorial. Has God ever come through financially just when you thought you were doomed? Build a memorial.

• What’s a memorial? It’s a place. It could be a place in your heart. It could be a physical place. The place where I was born again at the Airport Hilton in Sydney – that’s a place of memorial for me. I often go back there in my memory and build my spirit again in faith at what God has done in my life. But I wouldn’t even mind going back in a physical sense one day, because it means so much to me.

• A memorial may be a place of sacrifice. A place in time where you gave your time, your money, your life, sacrificially.

• There may be a little note in the margin of your bible – and to you, that’s a memorial of something God has spoken to your heart that means so much to you. It may be a photo. Something that reminds you of the special gifts God has placed in your life.

• Your baptism would be a memorial. Your church may even be a place of memorial – where you have placed one stone upon another over time, and you have built up a living memorial to the blessing of God on your life.

• Next week – as we celebrate 25 years as a church in Ballina – we will be setting up a memorial. It will be a day that we will always remember. Ted and Thea and Peter and Tina will be telling us about the memorial stones that were set up over the 16 years that they were pastors of this church.

• We must take time to celebrate – to dedicate ourselves – to remember – to give thanks – to establish anchors to our faith.

• We not only need it for our own life – we need to pass them on to our children – to the generations that are coming behind us. And at the end of Joshua 4, in verse 24 – it says, “that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

• Our memorial stones should be in clear view of all the people of the earth.

• I hope that none of you is still thinking that I am talking about gathering literal stones and setting up a literal memorial or altar. Although, if it works, why not?

• Our memorials are seen by others through the testimony of our lives – our stories – our faith in God – the way we live our lives – the way we make decisions about life, money, family, material possessions...

• Memorials are for us to build our own faith, to teach these things to our children, and to testify to all the peoples of the earth that God is good and faithful and mighty.

• Our lives are to become memorial stones. But we are only alive spiritually when our lives are built up in Jesus Christ.

• 1Peter 2:4-8 – “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “ Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone, 8 and “ A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”[e]

• Jesus Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone – and our relationship with Him is our memorial. He is our remembrance, our dedication, our sacrifice.

• Just thinking back again for a moment to the people of God in the wilderness and their flight to freedom, 1Cor 10:1-4 says, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

• In other places, Jesus is described as the Rock of our Salvation, the Rock of our Stronghold, our Rock of Refuge, He is the Rock we are build our lives upon, He is the Lord our Rock, there is no other Rock...

• When you have doubts come – questions of unbelief – “can I get through this?” – “will I have the money to pay these bills?” – “will I survive this stress and pressure?” – remember... Remember the times you celebrated God’s goodness. Remember the times He healed you in the past, provided for you in unexpected ways, gave you a peace that surpassed all understanding... These are your memorial stones.

• The memorial stones that were collected by Joshua in the Jordan, came from the bottom of the river. They declared the miraculous, delivering power of God.

• These stones cry out and say – Yes, He can do it. Yes, He was completely faithful in the past. Yes, He is perfectly capable now. God can handle your Red Seas. He can handle your Jordan Rivers. He can handle your Jerichos. He can handle your Goliaths.

• But even more than that – Jesus Christ Himself is your Rock.

• In Matt 16, when Jesus asks Peter, who do you say that I am? And Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”, Jesus goes on to say, do you know what Peter, you didn’t get that all by yourself, the Spirit of God has revealed that to you – and upon this rock I will build My church.

• Peter was a living stone, just like you and me. But the rock that Jesus was speaking about here was the revelation of who Jesus is. He is the Son of God. What a memorial moment that was for not only Peter but for those around about them. What a memorial moment was established right there for not only their children, but for all the peoples of the earth.

• I haven’t even scratched the surface about the memorial stones. Think about the memorial stones the high priest had sown on his ephod. These were twelve precious stones that represented the twelve tribes of Israel. And they were sown on the upper part of his garment right on his chest – and right next to his heart.

• How much is that a representation of the heart of God for His people? It blows me away. These were memorial stones – stones of remembrance – of dedication – of celebration – of sacrifice... not heaped in a pile – but worn next to the heart of the priest.

• We have to remember that story and teach it to our children. It’s a beautiful story of the love of God for His people. It’s a story from our forefathers.

• Proverbs 22:28 says, “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”

• The word of God carries ancient landmarks. What about the landmarks that more recent generations have set up? Scripture in primary schools, chaplains in high schools, Holy Spirit filled churches like our own that have been planted by faith filled pioneers in the past? Let us not remove the landmarks of our Christian faith – but celebrate them, rejoice in them, make full use of them.

• I had planned to go on and talk about the memorial of the blood this morning, and how we are called to keep the remembrance of that before our children, but it will be a message in its own right for another time.

• I’m done – except to say – don’t forget or remove the many memorial stones of your life. They are God given and they are there to strengthen and build our lives for the future.

• And make sure you gather your stones as you continue to go on the pilgrimage of your life.

• Our true anchor is our hope in Jesus Christ – but He wants us to anchor ourselves also in the memorials of His goodness and faithfulness to us every day.

• Just one last scripture... Ps. 61:2 – “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

• That’s what this is really all about. Every memorial, every stone of remembrance, it’s all to lead us to the Rock that is higher then us.