1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,320 Pastor Seth Adams with us today to bring us God's Word. 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,280 Some of you know that I serve on our Presbyteries committee that 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,440 does the examinations of men being ordained into our 4 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,960 presbytery, and it was just a delight to have Seth come 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,880 through that process. He did a fantastic job. 6 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:25,120 It was enjoyable, probably not for him but but for us and 7 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,440 getting to know him better. But just also seeing how the 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:32,680 Lord has been at work in his life, equipping him to be God's 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,560 man on the campus of North Dakota State as the PCA pastor 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,360 there to pursue young people to come to faith in Christ and be 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,400 equipped with the gospel. Seth, come and bring us God's 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:01:03,810 Word. Well, before we read Joshua 4 13 00:01:03,810 --> 00:01:10,200 together, let's pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, we 14 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,560 thank you for your word, which is given for our instruction and 15 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,800 encouragement. We pray that as we think about 16 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:18,840 it together, You would delight us to hear truth. 17 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,040 May our hearts soar with joy to hear of your magnificent works, 18 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,720 that may they be molded and fashioned in order that we may 19 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,280 be useful for your purposes. And may we be humbled at the 20 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,520 revelation of your power and your kindness toward us in 21 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,520 Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. 22 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,320 And if you would turn to our sermon text for this morning, 23 00:01:37,320 --> 00:02:15,360 Joshua Chapter 4. Joshua Chapter 4 When all the 24 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,000 nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to 25 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,520 Joshua, Take 12 men from the people from each tribe a man, 26 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,320 and command them, saying, Take 12 Stones from here out of the 27 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,720 midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests 28 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,120 feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and lay them 29 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:34,920 down in the place where you lodge tonight. 30 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:38,640 And Joshua called the 12 men from the people of Israel whom 31 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:40,720 he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 32 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,080 And Joshua said to them, Pass on before the ark of the Lord your 33 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,200 God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you 34 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,320 a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the 35 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,040 tribes of the people of Israel. That this may be a sign among 36 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,720 you, when your children ask in time to come, what do these 37 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,600 stones mean to you? Then you shall tell them the 38 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,800 waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the 39 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,040 covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, 40 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:07,640 the waters of the Jordan were cut off. 41 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,000 So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial 42 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,200 forever. And the people of Israel did 43 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,360 just as Joshua commanded. They took up 12 Stones out of 44 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,120 the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the 45 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,280 tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua, 46 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,120 And they carried them over with them to the place where they 47 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,200 lodged and laid them down. There Joshua set up 12 Stones in 48 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:31,760 the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the 49 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,080 priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood, and they are 50 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,840 there to this day. For the priests bearing the ark 51 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,040 stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished. 52 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,040 That the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people. 53 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:46,000 According to all that Moses had commanded Joshua, the people 54 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,160 passed over in haste. When all the people had finished 55 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,880 passing over the ark of the Lord, and the priests passed 56 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,280 over before the people, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and 57 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,560 the half tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the 58 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,360 people of Israel, as Moses had told them about 40,000 ready for 59 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,320 war, passed over before the Lord for battle to the plains of 60 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,440 Jericho. On that day the Lord exalted 61 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,280 Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of 62 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,080 him, just as they had stood in awe of Moses all the days of his 63 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,839 life. And the Lord said to Joshua, 64 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:19,920 command the priest bearing the ark of the testimony to come up 65 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,640 out of the Jordan. So Joshua commanded the priests 66 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:25,240 come up out of the Jordan. And when the priest bearing the 67 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,280 ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the 68 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:32,480 Jordan, and the soles of the priest's feet were lifted up on 69 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,320 dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place 70 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,760 and overflowed all its banks. As before, the people came up 71 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:41,640 out of the Jordan. On the 10th day of the first 72 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,760 month they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 73 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,920 And those 12 Stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua 74 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,480 set up a Gilgal. And he said to the people of 75 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,160 Israel, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, 76 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,560 what do these stones mean, then you shall let your children 77 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,000 know. Israel passed over the Jordan on 78 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,040 dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the 79 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,400 Jordan for you, until you passed over, as the Lord your God did 80 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,760 to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us, until we passed over, 81 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,680 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of 82 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,600 the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. 83 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:34,720 This is God's holy word. When I was a boy, I loved 84 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:36,800 history, particularly World War 2 history. 85 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,200 I devoured entire books about the landings on Normandy and 86 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:41,880 June 6th. I read about the Battle of 87 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,960 Bastone, the heroics of General Pat, and I was less interested 88 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,920 in Civil War history, which is a shame because I grew up in 89 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,280 upstate New York, relative short distance from many of the places 90 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,320 where famous battles were fought. 91 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,440 My dad struggled to get me to be more interested in the history 92 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,480 that took place there rather than the rubber band guns 93 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:05,160 available in various gift shops. One trip that I do remember 94 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,920 though was to a place called Gettysburg, a place where 50,000 95 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,160 men lost their lives and the Union very nearly lost the war. 96 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,800 The fighting lasted 3 full days when, in the heat of the final 97 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,280 day in July, Major General George Pickett of the 98 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:24,040 Confederacy LED a massive assault straight up the middle 99 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,800 of the Union lines in a maneuver that later became known as 100 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,880 Pickett's Charge. Pickett gathered all the troops 101 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,480 that he could muster and they marched across nearly a mile of 102 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,560 open territory while Union fire and artillery rained down on 103 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,520 them such that by the time Pickett's Charge reached 104 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,640 Cemetery Ridge, the place where the Union were encamped, their 105 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,440 numbers were severely dwindled and they were forced to 106 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:51,480 surrender shortly after that. Today, Gettysburg is dotted with 107 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:57,720 tons of monuments, statues. Perhaps the most unassuming but 108 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,920 significant one is placed at the very top of Cemetery Ridge. 109 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,480 It's a memorial to pickets charge. 110 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,000 It represents something fascinating. 111 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,200 It represents the very furthest point that any Confederate 112 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,120 soldier made it on that fateful assault. 113 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,000 Fittingly, this monument is known now known as the high 114 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,480 watermark of the Confederacy. It's the closest that the nation 115 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:27,200 came to losing the Civil War on July 3rd, 1863, as memorialized 116 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,600 by this statue so that all future generations could 117 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:34,080 remember, the Confederacy was turned around and their assault 118 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,120 denied. The monuments are powerful 119 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,440 things. They mark battles. 120 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,880 They stand for significant historical events. 121 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,360 They represent the incredible lives of powerful people who had 122 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,240 tremendous impact on the world around them. 123 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,200 Their three-dimensional history lessons. 124 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,800 When I visited Gettysburg as a boy, the textbooks that I had 125 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,400 read, the maps that I had studied, came to life. 126 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,720 I could see the open land across which Picket marked the Ridge 127 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,760 high above. I could feel the artillery fire 128 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,000 in my chest. And when we reached the monument 129 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,600 on top, I suspect I looked at my dad and said, Dad, what does 130 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:17,280 that monument mean? As we open our Bibles, we find 131 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,320 the occasional monument if we are reading closely enough. 132 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,640 The one we find here in Joshua for memorializes something far 133 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,360 more significant than than Pickett's Charge. 134 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,360 It's about something much more important than the life of a 135 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:32,880 great man or a great historical event. 136 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,679 At Gilgal, West of the Jordan River, Israel builds a monument 137 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:41,120 to the greatness of Yahweh, the king of creation, who has 138 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,559 delivered them from their wandering and brought them to 139 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,600 the land of promise, just like he told them he would. 140 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,400 We're going to look at that text now by considering two things, 141 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:55,640 firstly, what this memorial is and 2nd, why it is necessary. 142 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,640 First, what it is, it's a sign and it's necessary because 143 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:09,880 Israel forgets just like we do. So first it's a sign Joshua 4 144 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,600 begins as the nation is finishing their river crossing. 145 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,640 Verse 2 says Joshua was commanded, was commanded by the 146 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,120 Lord to take 12 men from the people, one person from each 147 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,720 tribe, and to command them to take 12 Stones from here out of 148 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,240 the midst of the Jordan, from the very police place where the 149 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,760 priests feet stood firmly, and to bring them over with you and 150 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:31,840 to lay them in the place where you lodge tonight. 151 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,920 This wasn't Joshua's idea. This was God's idea, wasn't 152 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,080 Joshua's wise institution or intuition that recognized the 153 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,960 goodness of this memorial. God commanded them to make it, 154 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,440 which teaches us something about God's awareness of who we are. 155 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,720 God knows his people, He knows their hearts, their weaknesses, 156 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,760 the frailty of their faith. And so for their own good, He 157 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,720 charges Joshua with this order and Joshua carries it out, 158 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,360 calling a man from each tribe, and they return to the river, 159 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,560 they gather a stone that this may be a sign among you. 160 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,200 Verse 6 says we have to skip to the end of the chapter to see 161 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,960 what becomes of these stones. Verse 20 says those 12 Stones 162 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,440 which they took out of the Jordan Joshua set up at Gilgal. 163 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,200 He erected something there to set up, to build, to establish. 164 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,400 It's a monument. They erect this monument here 165 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,640 their very first night West of the Jordan River after decades 166 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,920 of wandering in the wilderness, to commemorate God's 167 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,800 faithfulness to them. And what is it a sign of? 168 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,400 Verse 7. We see that these 12 Stones are 169 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,160 to cause Israel to remember that the waters of the Jordan were 170 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,880 cut off from before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that 171 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,080 when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were 172 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:46,840 cut off. We see in this verse several 173 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,080 things that this monument is to be a sign of. 174 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,600 First, these stones. This monument is assigned to 175 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:59,080 Israel and to us as the power of Yahweh in the world in which we 176 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,760 live. Few things have as much power as 177 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,640 water. Floods, mud slides, tidal waves, 178 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,960 even the smallest of leaks in your sump pump room have the 179 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,240 power to totally upend our lives. 180 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:15,120 Without rain, millions of people risk starvation. 181 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,800 With too much rain, millions more suffer the potential danger 182 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,120 of many worse things. Moving water has a tremendous 183 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,240 power, and controlling where water goes is 1 of mankind's 184 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,000 greatest challenges. We build dams, we construct 185 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,920 aqueducts, but every year countries all around the globe 186 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,000 are swamped by the power of surging storms against which 187 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:40,920 they have no power, and yet the waters of the earth bow to their 188 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,720 Maker. The Lord makes this point to Job 189 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,720 in many ways in Job chapters 38 through 42. 190 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:53,760 Sort of God's answer to all these potential criticisms. 191 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,920 Job 38 force is this, who shut in the sea with doors when it 192 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,200 burst forth from the womb, when it made clouds its garment, and 193 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,200 thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for 194 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,720 it, and bars and doors, and said, said, thus far you shall 195 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,920 come, and no further here shall your proud waves be stayed. 196 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,000 As a matter of fact, in Job 38 through 42, chaotic waters which 197 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,880 serve at the pleasure of Yahweh are mentioned no fewer than 11 198 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,600 times. 11 times water is used to demonstrate God's sovereignty, 199 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,640 His power, and and, and chapter 41, which is all about a 200 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,200 mythological sea creature called Leviathan. 201 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,360 God uses this entire chapter to demonstrate His authority, His 202 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:41,960 unrivaled authority over water. Water, which represents the 203 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:47,240 uncontrollable power of nature. The forces of nature, 204 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:49,400 particularly water, do not submit to us. 205 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,400 And yet when the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the 206 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,480 Covenant settle in the sandy banks of the Jordan, what 207 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,920 happens? It's it's flow is entirely 208 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:59,440 ceased, backed up miles upstream, as Joshua 3 tells us, 209 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:02,840 it's waters pile up in one giant heap. 210 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,920 Who is like our God, mighty in power. 211 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,800 But these stones are not just a sign of God's power, they're 212 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,280 also a sign of the certainty of His promises. 213 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,520 Think with me for a moment about the history of Israel. 214 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,360 In First King 6. We read that Solomon began 215 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:27,280 constructing the temple in the 480th year after Israel came out 216 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,120 of Egypt. Historians have used this data 217 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,880 from First Kings to work backwards to an approximate date 218 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:40,200 of Joshua 4, and they've come to about 14106 BC Israel left in 219 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,560 left Egypt about 40 years before that. 220 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,840 Without getting too deep into assigning A precise date for 221 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,160 exactly when Abraham lived, scholars estimate that he lived 222 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,920 about 600 years before that. I say all this to make this 223 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,440 point. Abraham was the first to receive 224 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,560 this promise of an earthly land a full 600 years before Israel 225 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,000 takes its first steps across the river. 600 years. 226 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:06,800 The promise has gone through many generations. 227 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,880 It was given first to Abraham in Genesis 12, then Isaac in 228 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,720 Genesis 26, Jacob 2 chapters later, Moses in Exodus 3, and 229 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,760 finally to Joshua in Joshua chapter one. 230 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,320 I've hard enough time keeping promises that I made yesterday, 231 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:24,600 Kids. You do too, don't you? 232 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,360 Kids are great at this, Mom. I promise I will never take my 233 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,880 brother's truck away again. And 5 minutes later, they're 234 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,320 screaming from another room because the older brother forgot 235 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,320 the promise that he made only moments ago. 236 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,360 But our God is a promise keeping God. 237 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,440 And in fact, he's the only one who can keep his promises 238 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,160 because so many of the promises that we make are contingent on 239 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,520 something. Think about this. 240 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,080 You say to your children, We're going to go to the park on 241 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,480 Saturday. I promise. 242 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,720 And then sure enough, Saturday, 8:00, your phone rings and you 243 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,160 have something at work that you forgot to do that you have to 244 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,320 get done. We make promises that are 245 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,360 contingent. You know, assuming everything 246 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,440 goes the right way, then we will do this. 247 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,280 But to God, nothing is contingent. 248 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,960 And so he alone can keep his promises, and he alone does. 249 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,960 And Israel gathers these stones in order to stand for them as a 250 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,680 monument forever, not only as a sign that God can keep his 251 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,360 promises, but that over the generations, the hundreds of 252 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,560 years after Abraham, God has not forgotten and he keeps them. 253 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,440 One more thing. These rocks are to be a sign of. 254 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,880 They're meant to be a sign of his preceding. 255 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:44,840 I probably could have found a better word, but it starts with 256 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:50,040 P promises, power and preceding. What I mean by that is his going 257 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,760 before, right? God goes before the waters of of 258 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,920 the Jordan were cut off, before the ark of the Covenant. 259 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,120 Of the Lord. In chapter 3, Israel is 260 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,800 commanded to follow the ark at a distance some half a mile or so. 261 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:08,160 2000 cubits worked out to be about .6 miles and behind, while 262 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,320 the priests who carry the ark walk into the water. 263 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,840 And the ark, as the Scripture makes clear, is a sort of throne 264 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,160 for God Himself, right? The golden mercy seat which sits 265 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,440 on top of or rests on top of the ark in the book of Exodus. 266 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,080 God says from there, from the mercy seat, I will talk with you 267 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,400 and it ends up being placed. The ark does ends up being 268 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,560 placed in the holy of Holies, the holiest part of the 269 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,800 Tabernacle. This is a throne for God 270 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,560 himself. Therefore when the ark enters 271 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,120 these waters, it is as though the Lord himself is walking 272 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,280 before Israel preceding going before his people. 273 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,480 Now God didn't make these promises over many hundreds of 274 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,880 years only to left leave Israel to figure out how to bring them 275 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,200 to pass by themselves. God goes before them into the 276 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,560 land. And in the many chapters of 277 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,120 Joshua to come, we will see God himself go before them into 278 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:02,240 battle. Right? 279 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,240 Just like King David didn't usually sit in Jerusalem while 280 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,240 his mighty men, his armies go out and fight the nation's wars, 281 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:12,920 so also Yahweh goes before Israel into the land I 282 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:14,920 mentioned. God knows the weaknesses of his 283 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,280 people. Earlier, God certainly could 284 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,119 have brought His promises to pass however He chose, but here 285 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,720 his kindness to Israel is made clear. 286 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,720 They need to see God going ahead of them because they're afraid. 287 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,280 I spent a lot of time hiking in the Adirondack Mountains in 288 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,800 upstate New York when I was a boy, and I'd love to be in 289 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,400 front. Partly because I wasn't carrying 290 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:39,520 anything, my dad was carrying all of it, but partly because I 291 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,640 was impatient and I wanted to see what was around every 292 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:44,120 corner. I was always excited to see what 293 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,480 the next clearing would bring until I saw a bridge. 294 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,760 Wasn't a big fan of bridges, particularly in the mountains. 295 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,360 Bridges are pretty rickety things. 296 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:53,760 You come up to them and you're not terribly sure which of these 297 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,040 boards is rotted, which of them will carry me. 298 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,680 And so I would get around to bend, and then I would sit and I 299 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,080 would wait. And I would look back and when 300 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,640 my dad came around the corner, he would know based on the 301 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,200 facial expression I was giving him, I needed him to go 1st. 302 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,760 And he would. And he would walk around the 303 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,640 corner. And if it was a pile of rocks we 304 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,760 had to traverse or a rickety old bridge, he would step first to 305 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,960 show me the way that I should go, to show me that it was safe 306 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:24,120 for me to go, to demonstrate how I should go. 307 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,400 That's what's going on here. Israel is. 308 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:28,320 Weak. They're outnumbered. 309 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,960 They're quick to doubt the goodness of the Lord, to doubt 310 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,880 His promises, and so God goes before them. 311 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,560 Lastly, the last P. This memorial. 312 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,800 Has a great deal to teach us about the provision of the Lord. 313 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,800 Most obviously, Yahweh's provision is made clear through 314 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,840 the miracle itself. Israel has no clear means of 315 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,640 getting across the river. They are the people who 316 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,680 construct boats. Sure, particularly strong 317 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,720 swimmers could make the trip, but for the average Israelite, 318 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,920 this raging river is a daunting thing to consider swimming 319 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,680 across, right? It's not just the warriors of 320 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,480 Israel that are going across. It's all of them. 321 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,560 It's men, women and children and all of their provisions. 322 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,760 It was God's work here that allows for the whole nation to 323 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,600 walk across on dry ground rather than having to arrange a way for 324 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,480 weak swimmers and the young and the old in the nation to get 325 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,840 across. God knows, and He provides for 326 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:31,200 the needs of His own. Consider also. 327 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,400 The way the gathering of the stones is presented to the 12 328 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,000 men chosen to fetch them. When your children ask in time 329 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,880 to come, what do these stones mean to you? 330 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,200 Implied in. This command is that they will 331 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,920 have children that they will have time to come. 332 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,040 That they have. Future. 333 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,800 It's easy to gloss. Over details like this. 334 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,480 But let's not miss miss this fact that on this side of the 335 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:01,600 Jordan River are years and years of fierce combat about which 336 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,720 surely many Israelites are anxious about. 337 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,320 It was this fear of this combat that caused Israel to doubt 338 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,680 God's goodness only a few decades ago, and their 339 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,000 faithlessness caused God to turn them around and send them back 340 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,800 into the wilderness. They're afraid. 341 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,640 Everyone in this land is huge. We are tiny. 342 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,440 We're outnumbered. But the promise. 343 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,840 Included here in this command itself is that they will 344 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:31,320 succeed, that their people not only will survive but grow, that 345 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,320 their warfare, though fierce, will not result in defeat but 346 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,560 victory. I'm not sure about. 347 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:38,920 This illustration, but I'm going to make it. 348 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,200 I'm not sure how many of. You are Marvel fans, but it's 349 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,720 been several years since the last two films came out, so you 350 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:48,640 should know the general flow of them, I suppose. 351 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,080 But in the last two films, the superheroes are battling an evil 352 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,280 villain named Thanos, and there's one hero whose name is 353 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:57,840 Doctor Strange. He can see the future. 354 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,240 Not only can he see the future, he can actually see all possible 355 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,160 futures, right? In other words, depending on the 356 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,360 circumstances, which way this could possibly go, he can see 357 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,560 all possible ways that this battle against Thanos is going 358 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:12,440 to go. And he makes eye contact with 359 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,440 Iron Man in the second to last film, I believe. 360 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,160 And he and he tells Iron Man, he says, I've seen the millions of 361 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,400 possible ways this could go, and we're only going to win one of 362 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,040 them. In the last. 363 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,280 Film Iron Man is battling Thanos one-on-one and Iron Man is 364 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,400 losing, and he happens to see Doctor Strange from across the 365 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,240 field and Doctor Strange holds up one finger to him, 366 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,400 illustrating. This is the. 367 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,680 One circumstance up until that point, Iron Man is getting 368 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,400 destroyed. It's not even close. 369 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:47,160 But seeing that sign from his friend, he rebuilds his courage, 370 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,960 takes the decisive action, keeps fighting, and he wins. 371 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,560 Because he knows. What will happen? 372 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,480 Because. Yahweh is faithful to Israel 373 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,800 because he provides for their needs, because time and time 374 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:05,920 again He is merciful to them. Israel is reassured. 375 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,320 Now. This text has a lot to teach us, 376 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,680 specifically as we consider those four things, His power, 377 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,480 his promises, his proceeding, and His provision. 378 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,360 First, let's let's think about each of them first with his 379 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,360 power. I'm reminded here. 380 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,720 Of that wonderful story captured in Mark two of the paralytic who 381 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,000 is lowered through the roof in front of Jesus. 382 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,080 He's he's sitting and teaching in a relatively full house. 383 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,240 Hence the four men carrying the paralytic go up to the roof 384 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:39,160 instead of the front door. The man is lowered in front of 385 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,960 Jesus, and Jesus then pronounces that this man sins are forgiven 386 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,360 him to the incredulous stairs of the scribes sitting around the 387 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,320 table. They say in their. 388 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,520 Hearts, Mark 27 says. They say in their hearts. 389 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,200 Why does he speak like that? He's. 390 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:57,040 Blaspheming Who can forgive sins but God alone and Jesus knowings 391 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,640 their hearts says why do you question these things in your 392 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,160 hearts? Which one is easier to say to 393 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,080 this man? Your sins are forgiven or. 394 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:08,360 Rise Pick. Up your bed and go home. 395 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,320 Anybody can. Say your sins are forgiven. 396 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,760 There's no objective way to demonstrate that. 397 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,920 But if I take a paralyzed man. And pronounced. 398 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,280 That he is healed and he stands up, that's objective evidence 399 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:27,240 for everyone in the room. Which is easier? 400 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,480 To say your sins are forgiven or to say rise, take up your bed 401 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,760 and walk. But I I say so that so that the 402 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,680 son of excuse me, let me start that over. 403 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:35,600 It's a very important quote, but. 404 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,360 So that you. May know that the Son of Man has 405 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,600 authority on earth to forgive sins. 406 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,840 And he turns to the paralytic and says, rise, pick up your bed 407 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,040 and go home. So that you. 408 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,320 May know that the Son of Man has this greater authority. 409 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,720 I will exercise a lesser authority. 410 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:58,920 No one sitting. There can restore health to this 411 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,520 man. And so by doing this, Jesus 412 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,440 teaches us that the greater authority, the forgiveness of 413 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,680 sins, is his to wield. Jesus is. 414 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:08,960 Able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God 415 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,640 through Him. And we are so. 416 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,800 Often prone to doubt, to self condemnation, to think God 417 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,400 doesn't want to have anything to do with me right now, I'm too 418 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:20,840 sinful. Let me. 419 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,760 Go do a. Few good things to make up for 420 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,240 what I've done wrong. And then, and then I'll repent 421 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,760 once I've cleaned up my ACT. So many of us struggle to 422 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,800 believe that God can forgive our sins, or that he even wants to. 423 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,000 We doubt the. Mighty arm of the Lord, which is 424 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,440 able to deliver us from sin and transfer us into the Kingdom of 425 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,840 His beloved Son, in whom there is redemption. 426 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,840 The Lord is. Mighty to save, Mighty to 427 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,560 deliver. There's no tribulation or 428 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:54,720 distress, persecution or famine or nakedness or sword or danger 429 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,560 or ruler or power, height or depth or anything else in all 430 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:01,040 creation that can separate you from His love. 431 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,320 No one is able to snatch out of God's hand what He has picked 432 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,840 up. Our God is not so weak as we 433 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,680 faithlessly imagine Him to be often times. 434 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,640 Accordingly. You can also trust God's 435 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,680 promises, the certainty of God's promises. 436 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:22,600 This is the. Will of him who sent me, Jesus 437 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,760 said that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but 438 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,800 raise it up on the last day. My sheep. 439 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,160 Hear my voice, John 10 And I know them, and they follow me. 440 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,800 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no 441 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:37,240 one will snatch them out of my hand. 442 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,240 Do you believe that? Do you believe? 443 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,200 In the certainty of God's promises. 444 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,720 Do you believe that they. Are sure because of him who made 445 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,640 them, to whom nothing on earth is contingent. 446 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,640 And indeed also. In that verse we recognize his 447 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,640 proceeding. We trust in God's proceeding, 448 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,400 for just as we read the sheep follow the shepherd, the 449 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,360 shepherd goes first. Christ is the Good Shepherd who 450 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,800 has entered into the eternal rest promised for promise to 451 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:09,920 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by faith. 452 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,840 And we have that as a sure and steadfast anchor of the whole. 453 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,680 Excuse me, of the soul. A hope that enters into the 454 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,520 inner place behind the curtain where Jesus has gone as a 455 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:23,480 forerunner on our behalf. Because Jesus is seated right 456 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,400 now at the hand of the throne of God. 457 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,440 The Saints believing in Christ and trusting Him, trusting in 458 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,200 Him, know that we shall be accepted into glory by his 459 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:36,640 blood. And lastly, friends, we are 460 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,280 called to trust in the provision of God. 461 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:45,960 Of of the. Four. 462 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,320 I think this is probably the hardest for me. 463 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:56,040 To do, I think there's two. Ways that we need to rest in the 464 00:26:56,040 --> 00:27:00,640 Lord's provision, first for the earthly, temporal things and 465 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,640 secondly for the spiritual, the eternal things. 466 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,640 Let's think about the physical things. 467 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,440 We need to trust in God's provision for our health, for 468 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,120 our finances. For. 469 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:14,880 All those things which concern our bodies. 470 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,440 And we are called. Not to be anxious about our 471 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,720 lives, as Jesus says in Matthew 6. 472 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:23,720 Not to be concerned about what you will eat or what you will 473 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,200 drink or about your body, what you will put on. 474 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:29,280 Look at the birds. Of the air. 475 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,120 They don't sow. Reap. 476 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:34,920 Gather into. Barns. 477 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:37,360 Yet your heavenly. Father feeds them. 478 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:39,760 Aren't you more valuable than they? 479 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,080 Consider the. Flowers of the field. 480 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:45,320 They don't toil. Or spin. 481 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,960 And yet not even Solomon and all his glory is arrayed like one of 482 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,400 these. If God so cares for the grass 483 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,440 which is today alive and tomorrow thrown into the fire, 484 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,880 won't he care for you, O you of little faith? 485 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,040 That doesn't mean. We don't pray for things if we 486 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,080 don't make wise decisions as best we can. 487 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,800 Of course it means we should be wise in how we steward our 488 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:12,680 bodies, our finances, our children. 489 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,800 And yet we are called ultimately to put our trust in the Lord to 490 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,680 provide for all that we need. God has. 491 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,000 Given us wise doctors an incredible medicine to trust, 492 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,040 excuse me, to heal all manner of disease and to remedy countless 493 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,680 physical ailments. He's given the. 494 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:32,200 Church generous Saints and faithful deacons to steward the 495 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,600 finances of the Church well in order to help those who need. 496 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,600 He's given us. Faithful and godly parents and 497 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,000 family members and friends to shape our hearts, raising our 498 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,320 children in the instruction of the Lord so that when they are 499 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,520 old they will not depart from Him. 500 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,040 And often. Times The means of God's 501 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:56,120 provision is often one another. We are used by God to meet the 502 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,440 needs of the Saints, and so often we are instruments of His 503 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:05,800 mercy toward each other. But here's why it's. 504 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,960 Difficult. We see a lot. 505 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:17,200 Of suffering, our hearts say, What if my health is taken away? 506 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:20,400 What if we? Lose a child? 507 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,680 What if my? Son or my daughter walks away 508 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:25,200 from the faith when they grow up. 509 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,480 See, we know. What suffering is like? 510 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,240 What it is to? Cry in the dark, asking for a 511 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,120 miracle, asking for mercy, and we know what it is to hear the 512 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:41,440 answer. No, it's a hard. 513 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,520 Thing. Sorrowful thing. 514 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:45,840 It's not a light thing or a trivial thing. 515 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,960 Suffering is a pain, often unbearable, for people whose 516 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,360 Bibles have not heard the longings of their hearts. 517 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,320 In these times. In particular, we need to both 518 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,680 keep a clear eyed vision of God's provision for us as well 519 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,880 as to soak in it, trusting that as He has been faithful, so He 520 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,400 will continue to be. And even if. 521 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,720 The answers are no to our prayers, especially then we 522 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,520 cannot charge God with wrong, for He has done no wrong. 523 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:21,320 God is not. At fault for our sin, not at 524 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,240 fault for the brokenness of this world we are. 525 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:30,400 When we went through. Marriage counseling. 526 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,960 One of the parting pieces of advice that our pastor gave us, 527 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,480 Pastor Tom Winger was a wonderful man. 528 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:38,600 He said don't ever say. I know I just said don't ever. 529 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:43,200 But he said never say you never do this or you always do this. 530 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:50,040 And his idea was we exaggerate. My wife does not always do this. 531 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,640 Sometimes I do not always fail to do that. 532 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,800 Sometimes I do. But we exaggerate and we turn 533 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,160 our spouse into someone who always neglects to do this one 534 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,920 thing or always does this thing that bothers me. 535 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:07,000 And we say things like that. My children are not yet 536 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,080 teenagers. But when they. 537 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,000 Are if they're anything like their father. 538 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:16,800 I suspect one day I will hear you always or you never to me. 539 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:30,100 And the foolishness of that, they don't know it. 540 00:31:30,100 --> 00:31:31,820 Yet. But every. 541 00:31:31,820 --> 00:31:35,180 Single night for the first year, 18 months of their lives. 542 00:31:35,860 --> 00:31:40,500 We woke up to feed them, to change them, to comfort them. 543 00:31:42,180 --> 00:31:46,380 And every minute since then has been about providing for them, 544 00:31:46,780 --> 00:31:51,520 loving them, teaching them, showing them you have a child, 545 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,760 your life changes, you have a great responsibility. 546 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,400 And when my child at 13 years old turns to me and says you 547 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,280 always or you never. It will be much. 548 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:07,480 More obvious to me than it is now how foolish that is. 549 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:14,120 And. Yet we do that. 550 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,640 How could you not? Give me this, Scott. 551 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:26,000 Why would you let that happen? And our sufferings are real, 552 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,920 right? They're they're hard, they're 553 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:33,800 painful, but God has been faithfully providing for you 554 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:34,960 every. Minute. 555 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,240 Of your life. He has been. 556 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:42,400 Faithfully caring for you every minute of your life, The breath 557 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,920 in your lungs is a testimony to God's kindness. 558 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,680 Let us not. Charge God with wrong. 559 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,800 But even in. The dark times when it feels as 560 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,840 though sorrow does not lift. Remember Joshua, for the Lord 561 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,040 has provided for us, often in ways that we don't understand, 562 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,840 and His Providence often leads many broken hearted sons and 563 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:14,080 daughters to glory. Consider. 564 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,080 God's spiritual provision for you. 565 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:21,800 Pastor Harper did a tremendous job. 566 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,720 Of setting up. This whole sermon to be about 567 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,440 this idea. We have been blessed. 568 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,000 In Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 569 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,280 in Christ, we have already obtained an inheritance, having 570 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,920 been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all 571 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,120 things according to the counsel of His will. 572 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:42,880 We have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the 573 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,560 guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of 574 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,400 it to the praise of His glory. His divine power has granted to 575 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:53,880 us all things, all things that pertain to life and godliness. 576 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,360 Who can be? Against us? 577 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,840 Paul asks. He did not spare His own Son, 578 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,720 but gave Him up for us all. How will He not also with Him 579 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:10,280 graciously give us all things? Has God justified you by faith, 580 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,440 made you right in His sight by faith? 581 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,159 Then will He remove that gracious promise from you, 582 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,120 undoing His own gracious covenant, rejecting the Son's 583 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,480 work on your behalf that He once accepted? 584 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:25,120 Or are God? 'S promises, sure, because the 585 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,360 one who made them is faithful. He is provided. 586 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,840 For you not only the blood of His only begotten Son, but His 587 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,239 Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to convict us of sin, encourage our 588 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,199 faintness, strengthen our weakness, humble our arrogance, 589 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,120 and to bring to completion the work He has already begun, the. 590 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:45,960 Problem isn't that. We don't know all these things. 591 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,639 Problem is not that we don't understand these things. 592 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:52,880 We have God's word in our hands. We have another copy in our 593 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,600 pockets. We have paintings and signs in 594 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:55,880 our homes with scripture on them. 595 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:58,720 We spend our whole lives reading, surrounded by God's 596 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:02,400 word, and we know what it says. The problem is not that we don't 597 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:03,640 know enough. It's this. 598 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:14,020 We forget it. Israel is told. 599 00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:17,620 To gather these stones, because in a short time, just like when 600 00:35:17,620 --> 00:35:20,380 they departed Egypt, they will forget. 601 00:35:21,140 --> 00:35:25,420 They will forget God's power, His promises He's proceeding, 602 00:35:25,420 --> 00:35:28,220 and His provision. They forget that. 603 00:35:28,220 --> 00:35:30,980 God is mighty that His promises are sure that He is leading them 604 00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:34,680 to eternal life, having secured everything necessary. 605 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,480 That's what Joshua Ford is calling us to be on guard 606 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,240 against. Israel is given this sign 607 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:43,600 because they forget. OK, So what? 608 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:46,200 The sign is now why it's necessary. 609 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,440 I appreciate that. We read all of Deuteronomy 8. 610 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,120 Earlier it's a. Whole chapter devoted to this 611 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:57,480 one idea, as Joshua Ford largely is, Do not forget the Lord. 612 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,840 Says this. You shall remember the whole way 613 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,160 the Lord your God has LED you these 40 years in the 614 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,440 wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to see what is 615 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:08,800 in your heart. God reminds. 616 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,040 His people, He gives them a history lesson. 617 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:16,240 I delivered you from slavery. I fed you not with, you know, I 618 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,320 didn't provide wild game on the ground for you to hunt. 619 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,520 I made it rain food from heaven every day. 620 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:26,120 I brought water. Out of a rock. 621 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,600 Your clothing. Exposed to the elements 24 hours 622 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,120 a day didn't wear out. The soles of. 623 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:39,080 Your shoes didn't develop holes. It's meant to teach Israel to 624 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,840 have a great humility as well as a great certainty. 625 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,760 God has been caring for them constantly despite their 626 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:49,800 backsliddings, and because He has established a track record 627 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:51,840 of providing for them. So you can trust in the 628 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,920 certainty of His future provision. 629 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,280 Consider also the 10 Commandments, which begin with 630 00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,240 another history lesson. I am the Lord your God, who 631 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:01,920 brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of 632 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:03,280 slavery. Here's who I am. 633 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,520 Here's what I have done. That's why you should obey me. 634 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,160 That's why you should trust me. It's a statement. 635 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:13,160 Of historical reality, this foundational fact of the nation 636 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,280 that God delivered them from slavery. 637 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:19,440 From the beginning of the Israelite nation to the end, the 638 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,400 call is the same. Remember the Lord, remember who 639 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:25,920 He is and what He has done for you. 640 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:34,560 Now I think we have a. Lot of enemies to our faith, but 641 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:36,240 chief among them, I think, is this. 642 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,200 It's forgetfulness. I think we. 643 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:45,720 Sin in large part because we forget we lust because we forget 644 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:48,920 that God alone can satisfy us. We. 645 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,280 Steal because we forget that God provides for us. 646 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,480 We covet because we forget His incredible generosity and giving 647 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,360 to us what we have. We're bitter and we hold grudges 648 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,720 because we forget his incredible mercy and forgiveness toward us. 649 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,040 We lie because we forget that God's approval is what we yearn 650 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,920 for. We sin because we forget God, 651 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:14,440 who he is and what he has done. Take care, Deuteronomy 811 says. 652 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:19,120 Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his 653 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:22,000 commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command 654 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,840 you today, lest when you have eaten and are full, and have 655 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,200 built good houses and live in them, then your heart be lifted 656 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:29,680 up, and you forget the Lord your God. 657 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:34,240 Forgetting is the. Enemy. 658 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:39,560 One of the really cool things about Joshua 4 is how Israel is 659 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:41,760 prompted to remember all this stuff. 660 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:47,360 In verse 6 and 21, Joshua says to Israel, when your children 661 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,280 ask in time to come, what do these stones mean to you? 662 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,680 Kids need no excuse to ask questions. 663 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:56,680 They love to ask questions. And why not? 664 00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:58,760 They have a ton to learn about nearly everything. 665 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:01,000 They especially have a lot of questions. 666 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:03,120 There are a lot of things they need to learn about God and 667 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,200 about His Word. And how are they supposed to 668 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:09,120 learn about the faithfulness of the Lord apart from asking you, 669 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,160 asking a pastor, unless they hear about it week after week 670 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,120 from this pulpit? How are they supposed to learn 671 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:17,720 about God's kindness and mercy apart from questions? 672 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,080 So how beautiful are the feet of parents and pastors and friends 673 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,600 and family who bring them the good news? 674 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,520 2 points of application here. First, parents, teach your 675 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,120 children. You have this. 676 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:33,680 Extraordinary responsibility. If you remember here. 677 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,320 Or another Reformed Church. You took this vow when you 678 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,480 baptized them to raise them in the nurture and admonition of 679 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,000 the Lord. Do not neglect this calling on 680 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,880 your life. Being a parent is indeed a high 681 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,000 calling. Teach them how. 682 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,200 To read their Bible, shape their worldview according to its 683 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,080 teaching, and encourage them to meditate on it day and night. 684 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,440 That they may be careful to do according to all that is written 685 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:59,040 in it. And part of this means you have 686 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:01,920 to know the answers yourself to understand it well. 687 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:06,200 Great students, excuse me, great teachers, start off off as great 688 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,000 students. To become a faithful student of 689 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,720 God's Word, devote yourself to its reading, its memorization, 690 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:17,400 to understanding its theology as much as you have time for, and 691 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:19,640 then retain it. Learn how to retain it by 692 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,920 teaching others. For these are the. 693 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:23,760 Words of eternal life. There's nothing in the world 694 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:29,800 more important to your children than to hear these truths. 2nd. 695 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,600 Kids, ask your parents questions. 696 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,640 Ask them about names, places, dates, about the life of Jesus. 697 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,600 Ask them why we baptize children. 698 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:41,440 Ask them why we take the Lord's Supper. 699 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:44,960 Ask them what the bread means, what the wine means. 700 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:47,480 Why do we pray before bed? Why do we pray before meals? 701 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:50,600 Ask them anything. And if the answer is I don't 702 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,080 know, that's OK. We are all. 703 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:56,680 Students of God's Word, there are things we do not understand 704 00:40:56,680 --> 00:41:00,080 or know perfectly. Maybe that's an opportunity for 705 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:01,760 you to go and try and find the answer yourself. 706 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:06,040 This is the call. Of Joshua 4. 707 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,320 We need to be a. People who remembers. 708 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:13,400 And in so doing, we imitate God himself, because God doesn't 709 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:16,440 forget. I've compiled. 710 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:20,120 An extremely long list of verses that teach us that. 711 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:25,880 I'll only read some of them. I will remember my covenant that 712 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,000 is between me and you. And every living creature in the 713 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,400 waters shall never again become a flood. 714 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,160 Genesis 915. God heard their groaning and 715 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,080 remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 716 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,960 Exodus 224. I have remembered my covenant, 717 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,040 Exodus 65. I will remember my covenant, 718 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,840 Leviticus 2642. I will remember the covenant, 719 00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:45,840 Exodus 2645. You will not be forgotten by me, 720 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:47,760 Isaiah. Isaiah 4421. 721 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:51,040 I will remember my covenant with you, Ezekiel 1660. 722 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:55,240 It's all over the place, God remembers. 723 00:41:57,840 --> 00:41:59,600 So even though we. Are faithless, he remains 724 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:01,880 faithful, for he cannot deny himself. 725 00:42:07,300 --> 00:42:10,180 Yeah, but for the. World, this is a dangerous thing 726 00:42:11,260 --> 00:42:13,500 because God doesn't forget sins either. 727 00:42:18,220 --> 00:42:21,820 So what do we do with that? Well, God can't. 728 00:42:21,820 --> 00:42:24,540 Forget things because his mind is not like your mind. 729 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:27,880 Our minds are finite in capacity. 730 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:30,720 I can only remember a certain number of quotes from the office 731 00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:34,200 before I start dumping old ones. I can only. 732 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,400 Remember a certain number of historical facts about the Civil 733 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,360 War to recite them in front of you before my mind starts 734 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,240 letting go of them. But God is. 735 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:45,920 Not like that. His mind does. 736 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:47,960 Not lose things. He doesn't have to search 737 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:52,400 through the halls of his mind to to find answers to questions. 738 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:58,600 God doesn't forget things. How does God, how does the Word 739 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:04,200 of God talk about our sin then? Hebrews 8. 740 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,640 Quoting Jeremiah 3134 says this. I will be merciful toward their 741 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:13,040 iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. 742 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,440 It's not forgetting, It's not remembering. 743 00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:21,440 It doesn't slip his mind. Our sins don't slip God's mind. 744 00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:23,600 They are banished from God's mind. 745 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:28,920 You won't have to worry. Walking through the halls of the 746 00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:33,240 Celestial City that God may look up and remember that one sin he 747 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:36,720 forgot about. He doesn't forget your sins. 748 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,760 They're banished. From his mind forever. 749 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,000 Why? Why can God do this? 750 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:48,160 How can God do this? Because judgement for that sin 751 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,760 is already remembered. Sin requires judgement. 752 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,360 It's a natural pairing. Right wine. 753 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:55,680 And cheese, while sin and judgement. 754 00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:00,680 Sin has to be judged. But once it. 755 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:04,320 Is judged. There no longer remains A 756 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:10,200 sacrifice that is necessary. And here Paul gives us this 757 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,360 great wisdom of instruction. Second Timothy 28 Remember Jesus 758 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,720 Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of David. 759 00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,960 If we have died with him, we also will live with him. 760 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:29,520 I don't know if you. Noticed this back in verse 9, 761 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:31,560 but there's actually 2 sets of 12 Stones. 762 00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:35,400 Verse 9 says. This Joshua set up 12 Stones in 763 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:37,680 the midst of the Jordan. Where the feet? 764 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:39,640 Of the priest bearing the Ark of the Covenant had stood. 765 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,240 It's the second set of stones, a second memorial. 766 00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,680 A miracle worth duplicating. Perhaps so. 767 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:48,960 There's one set. Being carted off to be stacked 768 00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:51,960 at Gilgal in these 12 which Joshua sets up by himself on the 769 00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:54,120 river. Why does he do that? 770 00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:59,640 Well, consider what the Jordan River represents. 771 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,760 The Jordan River. Represents A barrier, the last 772 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:08,200 barrier between the wilderness. And the promised. 773 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:10,520 Land. This. 774 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:15,640 This is the last barrier between this life, this one life and the 775 00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:19,360 next, between Exodus and the consummation of God's promised 776 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:21,680 deliverance. That's why so many people have 777 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:24,000 come to view the Jordan as a picture of death itself, a 778 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,760 barrier between this life and the life to come. 779 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:30,040 One such. Man. 780 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,960 Named John. Bunyan, author of Pilgrims 781 00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:35,720 Progress, wrote about the Jordan River this way. 782 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,800 Between the pilgrims and the gate was a river, but there was 783 00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,200 no bridge. The river was. 784 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,720 Very deep and at its sight the pilgrims were stunned. 785 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:46,600 But the men that went with him said you must go through. 786 00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:50,320 There's no way. Around you have to go through. 787 00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:53,680 So they enter the. Water and Christian exclaims, My 788 00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:56,000 friend, the sorrows of death have encompassed me about. 789 00:45:56,440 --> 00:45:58,600 I will not see the land that flows with milk and honey. 790 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:00,680 And a great darkness fell about him. 791 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,640 Joshua sets up the second monument in the midst of the 792 00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:10,200 river, where it is deepest, where the building waters miles 793 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,880 upstream are gathering, waiting to be released by the one who 794 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:15,080 made them. And when the priests bearing the 795 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:18,200 ark come out out of the midst of the Jordan, the soles of their 796 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:22,040 feet are lifted onto dry ground. The waters of the Jordan 797 00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:25,920 returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as 798 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,120 before, returned as perhaps the softest way that could have been 799 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:30,920 written. They thundered. 800 00:46:31,720 --> 00:46:32,760 They. Crashed. 801 00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:34,760 Down. And they covered. 802 00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:38,440 This second memorial. Why does God? 803 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:43,440 Not remember your sin. Why is he cast them as far as 804 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:49,000 the east is from the West? Because the judgment waters have 805 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:52,600 been poured out upon Christ in your place. 806 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,960 The one who knew no sin became sin for you. 807 00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:00,640 So that we might. Become the righteousness of God 808 00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:04,520 in Him. As surely as. 809 00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:07,560 We see in our mind is the floodwaters of the Jordan 810 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:09,440 cascade over this second memorial. 811 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:13,680 So clearly do we see the cup of the Lord's wrath poured out upon 812 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:17,360 Christ and drained to the last drop, so that our feet will pass 813 00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:20,760 this river on dry ground. This memorial. 814 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:24,400 Stands forever as a sign of who God is and what He has done. 815 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:31,960 Let us take care to remember it. Let's pray, Father, we thank 816 00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:34,880 you. For your Word, for demonstrating 817 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:37,680 for us your steadfast love and the fulfillment of Your promises 818 00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,480 to us in Christ. We pray that you. 819 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:42,840 Would cause us to be a people who long for this city, whose 820 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:46,560 designer and builder is God, and who remember Jesus Christ, that 821 00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,240 we may not stumble, but run the race set before us with great 822 00:47:49,240 --> 00:47:51,560 endurance. All these things we pray in 823 00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,120 Christ's name, Amen.