The children of Israel had made their share
of mistakes. Forty years prior to the
time of our text they had refused to listen to the Godly report of Joshua and
Caleb. Instead they listened to the 10
frightened spies, and become fearful and unfaithful to God's command to possess
the land of Canaan. They wandered around
in the desert for forty years like a man who won’t ask directions; meanwhile a
whole generation passed off the scene.
By this time Moses has died and Joshua is
their new leader. A new spy contingent
has looked over the land, and this time the people are going to go ahead with
conquering what God has already declared is their possession.
It was a new
day, a new time to serve. God's people
took their heritage that stretched back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
·
They carried their memory of Joseph and
Egyptian bondage, and also an ark with remembrances of wanderings in the
wilderness.
·
They carried the taste of manna, supernatural
food with which God had fed them for forty years.
·
They wore sandals and robes that hadn’t
worn-out for generations.
With a kind
and gentle hand God had prepared them for a new day. Now it was time to leave the past and enter
their destiny. It was time to cross the
Jordan River and step into the Promised Land.
today’s
new beginnings
To some
extent God’s plan can be seen in the way the United Methodist Church does
things; just as Moses and Joshua led for a period of time, clergy today are
itinerant as leaders for a season.
I might
remind us that, just as certainly as Moses and Joshua were different, they led
for specific reasons God had chosen. But
they both
pointed God’s children to the same Promised Land.
Leadership
style should never be confused with God’s purposes! Style is simply the
difference in human personality, while God’s purposes are eternal, immutable
and Kingdom-centered…they have nothing to do with the way a pastor parts his or
her hair.
Every pastor
you’ve had in this church’s storied 137 year history has been different, and
that will be the case when Rev. Dixon begins her ministry here next month. Her leadership style will most likely be very
different from mine, as mine was from those who preceded me here. United Methodists are experts at this change
of leaders; we’ve been doing it for two and a half centuries.
The question
before the house today is…How do you enter the promised land of God’s favor? Notice the spiritual principles Israel
observed as God instructed them:
You
must Take a Stand
‘When you come to the edge
of the waters of the Jordan, you
shall stand still in the Jordan.’” Joshua
3:8b (NRSV)
The kind of
"stand" that is represented here is the stand of faith. The priests were told to take the ark into
the midst of the river. As their feet
touched the edge of the river the waters rolled back as they had forty years
prior at the Red Sea. This was a
revisiting of the power of God, visible for all the people of God to have their
faith strengthened.
Notice that
the priests "stood firm" on dry
ground in the midst of Jordan (3.17). A firm stand isn't belligerence, it is merely
the confidence that God's way is best, and you will do things His way, no
matter whom it may please or displease. No
matter who may be the leader here, take your stand for Christ.
You
Must Remember the Stand 4:1
1When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the
LORD said to Joshua: 2“Select twelve men from the people, one from
each tribe, 3and command them, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of
the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood, carry
them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.’”….When
your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7then
you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the
ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of
the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial
forever.” ….then you shall let your
children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23For
the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed
over… Joshua 4:1-3, 6b-7, 22b-23 (NRSV
The priests put up a memorial of
stones where they crossed over as a sign of their obedience to the Lord. Putting up memorials is a good way to
remember where you've been, and what great things the Lord has done in your
midst.
Memorials of
this nature help us to not repeat mistakes of the past. God's children did not want to act without
faith as they had forty years prior.
Notice
please that they were very careful to teach their children the meaning of this memorial. Sometimes we are good at teaching rituals
without conveying to the world the meaning.
That is what is wrong with some liturgy and worship in churches. Everything is done for the congregants in a
"holy huddle" while the average pagan, or even the children of the
saints look on with puzzled looks.
Teaching the
stand has to do with communicating the "God" in the middle of our
ritual. Crossing over Jordan on dry land
is an exciting event in the life of a whole nation.
· It is like
the "shot heard round the world" in Colonial America.
· It is like
the wall coming down in Berlin.
·
Or like watching the statue of Saddam Hussein
in Baghdad being pulled-over by the people with ropes.
No matter
who the pastor is here, take a stand for Christ, and teach that stand to your
children and the world.
Take a
stand, teach the stand, but most importantly…
Go
forward – You Must NOT Stand Still
Too often we
let the stones (those things God has done for us, and even our own
accomplishments) keep us chained to yesterday. Beloved, God
never sanctified sitting still. Notice…
they Laid
Down the Stones and so should we Joshua 4:8
The
Israelites…took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan…carried them
over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there. Joshua 4:8 (NRSV)
Memorials
are for seeing. First we see them to
remember – then we see them in the rear view mirror. It is impossible to go forward when you only
look backward. (You bump into things
that way!)
they Prepared
for spiritual warfare and so should we
About forty thousand armed for
war crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for battle. Joshua 4:13 (NRSV)
Spiritual warfare is done with
the Gospel of peace, righteousness, truth, the shield of faith, helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. The
Israelites never lifted a metal sword…it was God who took down those walls of Jericho.
they Responded
to the Upward Call and
so should we
“Command the
priests who bear the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.” Joshua
4:16 (NRSV)
Once you've
laid down the memorial stones and taken up the tools of spiritual warfare,
there is nothing left but to move out in faith.
Scripture (5:1) tells us that when God's people did those
things, the enemies' hearts melted. God
gave victory to the people who did things his way.
Let me
encourage you, people of God... Take a stand for Christ, Teach that stand to
the community, and then...Don't stand still -- lay down the stones, pick up the
tools, and move up and on for Christ!
how
shall we lay down the stones here?
Stones were
used for many purposes in ancient times.
·
They were used to build altars such as the
monument Joshua had the priests construct as a symbol of their united
purpose.
·
They were used to build dwelling places for
families to be protected and knit together.
·
And, sadly, stones were also used to kill those
who violated important laws; they called it “stoning”!
It certainly
can be that way in church life also; we are no different than the people who
marched in circles in the desert for forty years. Today we don’t use stones much for physical
building or monuments, or even executions.
But we do have our will, our pride and our tongues, stones with which we
can and do destroy each other.
When you
came into the sanctuary today you were given a stone. Hold it up before you now, and imagine it as
representative of that power each of us possesses to either stone our neighbor
or build an altar to God. See that stone
as a building block for God’s house of prayer and love.
I want to
suggest that we serve communion differently today. When the table is prepared, and prayer of
thanksgiving has been offered, let’s lay down the stones before we receive this
grace. Come up to the chancel and lay
your stone before the altar.
Let this laying
down of a stone be a sign and vow before God that this church will move
forward, standing for better than pride and selfishness. You will stand strong and be courageous for
the crucified and risen King of Kings. Will
you do it for Christ’s sake?
In the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
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