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Simon Benham
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24th September
2017
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Remembering What God Has Done
In the book that bears his name, the Old
Testament tells how Joshua leads Israel across the river Jordan into promised
land.
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 are standing, and 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. Joshua set up the twelve stones
that had been[a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who
carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” - Joshua 4:1-9
So they didn’t just cross and move on, they
stopped to build a memorial pile of stones.
This was an important day for Israel to remember, because there would
never be another day like this; their life was never going to be the same
again.
Sean Green spoke at a men’s breakfast yesterday
of the challenges Israel encountered as they set out to
claim the promised land:
·
Idols - things which replace
God, which for us might be careers, possessions, money, family, or sex.
·
Giants - things that frighten us – perhaps following political correctness rather
declaring biblical truth, or protecting our reputation rather than standing up
for God.
This memorial wasn’t a one-off. Joshua recounts 7 occasions when the
Israelites marked significant occasions with a pile of stones (Joshua 4:20,
7:26, 8:29, 8:30, 10:27, 22:34. 24:36). Each marks an event,
often a high point but sometimes a low point.
What are the memorials in your life? What
memories remind you of God – the same today, tomorrow and forever - that keep
you from being scared of giants or attracted to idols? Simon’s own list goes like this:
·
Jesus – because he’s so easily displaced
in our minds by the day’s business. We
needs to keep bringing his death and resurrection to mind. “Do this in remembrance of me”.
·
Salvation – once Simon was lost, on the
road to an emotional mess; now he’s found, and meeting Jesus changed his life.
·
A church in Reading where things went wrong, and Simon got (most of) the blame.
He was 21 at the time, about to be married, and felt utterly confused. A failure, but one which God sorted out.
o
Joshua records the Israelites
placing stones to remember their failure to defeat Ai (10:27) – a memorial to
failure and disobedience which they couldn’t sort out but which God did.
o
Why remember failure? “Those
who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” Pastorally, there are so many examples of
people making the same mistake repeatedly and falling back into debt, addiction,
or worse. It helps to remember us that if God
was faithful in the past, he’ll be faithful now.
·
The building of Kerith - A walk of faith
by a congregation of about 250-300 to build something that would cost about
£10m today.
o
The healing of Katherine Pedley. Katherine had an
accident whilst ice skating that left her with difficulty walking, but God healed her
at a prayer meeting. She was totally healed
in that moment, and remains so today.
God doesn’t always heal in response to our prayers, but sometimes He
breaks in – so it’s always worth praying!
·
Serenje.
We should always be a church that remembers the poor, and it’s good to
know that there are girls in Africa that will be sleeping safely tonight because
of the Serenje project.
·
God’s word – like Joshua 1:7, “Be strong
and courageous”. All God’s promises are yes and amen – you can take hold of his
Word and rely on it.
Questions
What are your seven most significant
memories? Build a memorial to all God has done in your life by recalling 7
events that remind you of God's work in your life.
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