"GENERATIONS!"
TEXT:
Joshua 3:9-4:9
INTRO: If you have
ever traveled to our Nation's capital you will quickly notice that everywhere
you go there are monuments! We have
monuments to celebrate individuals like
What is the purpose of these memorials
and monuments? They exist to remind
each new generation of the sacrifices and deeds done in the past for the freedom
and joys we experience in the presence, and to warn us to avoid repeating
mistakes made in the past that were costly! They serve to help pass on from
generation to generation great truths and great experiences that must not be
forgotten!
After traveling a lifetime through a
tough wilderness
For generations this pile of stones
stood as a silent witness of God's power to fulfill His Word to His people, to
make His promises come true ... each generation that visited the site would see
this monument and ask what it meant, and so the children would be told the story
so that they too would worship the same God!
What monuments are we leaving behind
for our children? Have we carried
the "Rock of ages" to the shores of
our life to erect monuments of God's presence in our life ... do our children
know the history of their father and mother's faith? How are you leaving a witness to your
legacy of faith and the journey you have taken with
God?
PROP.
SENT:
The Bible teaches us that it is important to build memorials as a
teaching tool to the next generation of God's presence in our
life.
I. PROBLEMS OF LIFE
3:9-13
A. Fearful
3:9-10
1. The journey had not been an easy
one, it had been full of tough times!
a. There had been times of great
losses!
b. There had been times of
confusion!
2. Life is like this as a journey
still!
a. The life of faith is not always an
easy one!
b. There are times of struggle where
faith is tested just like
ILLUS: IN MY
FAMILY, MY SISTER LINDA NEARLY DIED AS A YOUNG CHILD, MY MOTHER ALMOST DIED
SHORTLY AFTER MY BROTHER GARY WAS BORN.
MY MOTHER HAS FACED CANCER TWICE, I ENDED UP IN A COMA FOR A WEEK AND WAS
NEARLY KILLED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT, I HAD GRANDPARENTS WHO DIED OF CANCER
AND DISEASES, AND THE DEATH OF MY BROTHER GARY WHEN HE WAS ONLY 26 YEARS OLD AND
A WIFE WHO WAS 6 MONTHS PREGNANT AT THE TIME! EACH TIME FEAR GRIPPED OUR HEARTS, BUT
FAITH ALWAYS TRIUMPHANT! – DENNIS
MARQUARDT
3.
a. Here at the end of the journey
there are still enemies to face!
b. The enemy seems strong, they look
overwhelming! How can they be faced
and beaten?
4. God proposes one thing that will
give them the courage to know that even these last enemies will be
overcome!
a. The Ark of the Covenant! The visible presence of God was
represented by this ark:
(1. This symbolized Christ: 3 things were in it:
(a. The Laws of
God ... the written Word
(b. The budded High
Priest's limb -- Aaron's rod
(c. And the
Manna … the bread of life or heavenly
bread!
(2. Each of these 3 things represented the
Messiah that came in Christ!
(3. The
b. God's presence would make the
difference … and His presence would conquer their
fear!
B. Floods!
3:11-13
1. This was not a good time to
cross! There were terrible floods
this time of the year, the snows were melting from
2. The floods that trouble us however
are no match for God's power, if He is present!
a. The priests were to carry the ark
right into the floodwaters!
b. In other words we are to carry
Christ right into the floodwaters of our life too!
c. We are not to just stand on the
shore lamenting the conditions that seem impossible; we are to move forward in
faith!
3. There will always be seasons of
floods, but they are no match against the great God we
serve!
a. God does not stop the rains, nor
the melting snows ... they continue!
b. But His presence in the flood
waters will make a difference!
4. It was up to man to carry God's
presence into the floods however!
II. PRESENCE OF THE LORD
A. Faith
1. You will notice that faith required
action! Note that the people broke
camp fully expecting that what God said would be true even before it
happened!
a. Their faith is expressed by the
fact that they broke camp first!
b. They relied on His Word to be true
although scientifically it didn't make much sense that simply walking into the
water with an ark would cause the floods to subside!
2. In this day and age there would
have been those who would have said, "as
soon as I see the waters part, I'll join you and break
camp."
a. We need people today who have solid
commitments to God and His church before they see the
miracles!
b. Too many spectators in the church,
not enough participants!
3. Faith trusts in God's Word before you see
the results!
a. Notice the priests went ahead of
the people first with the ark of God's presence ... GOD DOES NOT ASK US TO GO
WHERE HE HASN'T FIRST GONE!
b. It is important to not journey
where Christ hasn't first journeyed!
c. There are too many people
fighting to get God back in the schools when He hasn't yet shown up in their
home ... Christ is trying to break into our homes
first!
B. First!
1. God entered the floodwaters first
... He'll never ask us to travel somewhere that He hasn't arrived at first ...
when you are there, you will find Him already standing in the middle of the
floodwaters!
a. The priests stood in the middle of
the
b. They were able to walk over on dry
ground ... to do the impossible simply because God's presence was right there in
the center of it all!
2. How do we handle the floods in our
lives? Look for God's presence and
walk close to Him, keeping Him in the very center of the ordeal and you will
pass through the worst floods on solid footing!
a. How do we find God's presence
today? IN HIS WORD! This is the Ark of the Covenant now, and
the Word was made flesh in Christ!
b. The flood waters did not recede
until God's presence made contact through His servants with the
waters!
c. Then immediately the waters parted
as long as they carried God's presence with them!
3. Dads and Moms, as the priests of
your homes, are you carrying God's presence for your children to
see?
a. If you are, they will see the
floodwaters part when your walk takes you into contact with the floods that come
in life!
b. Our children will be willing to
walk if they see us as parents holding the presence of God in our lives in the
midst of the storms!
c. We must go first ... to step
in first with God's presence, and then they will
follow!
ILLUS: MARTIN
RINCKART WAS A PASTOR IN
ILLUS: H.G.
SPAFFORD WAS A CHRISTIAN WHO LOST ALL HIS WORLDLY GOODS IN THE GREAT CHICAGO
FIRE, AND THEN AS HIS WIFE AND 4 CHILDREN WERE TRAVELING BY BOAT, THE BOAT THEY
WERE ON COLLIDED IN THE OCEAN AND QUICKLY SANK ... THE 4 CHILDREN WERE LOST AT
SEA, MRS. SPAFFORD WAS FOUND FLOATING NEAR THE SUNKEN BOAT STILL ALIVE AND WAS
TAKEN TO WALES. THERE SHE CABLED
HER HUSBAND, "SAVED ALONE."
HE LATER FRAMED THIS CABLE AND PUT IT ON HIS WALL AND HE SAT DOWN AND
PENNED THE WORDS TO THE GREAT HYMN, "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!" HIS MONUMENT TO GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE
MIDST OF THE FLOOD! EACH GENERATION
WHO SINGS THIS SONG SHOULD KNOW THE STORY ... IT IS A MONUMENT TO TELL THE STORY
OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN CROSSING FLOOD WATERS! IT SHOULD BE HEARD AGAIN! – SOURCE
UNKNOWN
4.
What monuments are we building that show our children God is first ...
that we carry Him before our children?
III. PASSING ON THE LESSONS 4:1-9
A. Faithfulness
4:1-5
1. You will notice here that it is
NOT the priests that are chosen to build the monument, or to gather the
stones ... the priest's job was to hold up God's presence, it was the laymen of
Israel that were chosen to build the monument!
a. It was after they all had crossed
over that these men were sent back to the middle while all watched the gathering
of the stones!
b. They were to gather stones that
were right at the spot where God's presence was held up by the
priests!
c. These were ordinary rocks that had
been touched by God's presence! Now
they were to form a memorial that would remind all generations of what God had
done!
2. What ordinary events in your life
have been touched by God's presence?
Do your children know about these, have you saved these ordinary "rocks"
to build a memorial so that each new generation will know what God has done in
your family?
a. We are losing this in our fast
moving world!
b. We need these memorials of God's
presence and our faithfulness to pass on!
3. The whole Bible is a giant memorial of
the stories of men and women who took ordinary things that were touched by God's
presence and preserved these in a book so that each generation can be encouraged
by this record!
4. These 12 laymen were to each gather
an ordinary rock that was touched by God's presence out of the floodwaters to
bring back on shore to build a record or memorial!
a. It was a memorial to show God's
faithfulness to His people!
b. It was to be a memorial of God's
people faithfully obeying too!
c. It would inspire each new
generation who looked upon it ... and asked what it
meant!
5. There was nothing extraordinary
about this monument, it was not like those we build today out of polished stones
and beautiful to the sight!
a. It was so plain as to be almost
ridiculous!
b. Yet it was so profound that it was
needed!
c. You might not think the stories of
faith in your family are spectacular or flashy but that is unimportant, that
they are told to your children is vital, perhaps the world may think they are
not attractive, but what you are giving the next generation is
profound!
B. Future!
4:6-9
1. The future is built on the
past!
a.
b. These were necessary for the next
generation to know!
2. In time the monument would become
old, perhaps a little shifted out of place, maybe even seen as plain or ordinary
... but the message it conveyed was critical for each
generation!
a. As the story gets old some will
view it as silly or unimportant!
b. It might even be scoffed
at!
c. But its message is always
important even if it doesn't look as good when it
ages!
ILLUS: AS BABE
RUTH AGED, HIS GAME GOT WORSE. AT
THE END OF HIS CAREER HE WAS STRIKING OUT MORE OFTEN THAN HE GOT HITS, OFTEN
COMMITTING ERRORS. AT ONE SUCH GAME
IN
3. We need to leave monuments to tell
the story to the future generations!
4. What monuments have you built, and
what have you built them out of?
CONCLUSION: Every generation has a story
to tell, each builds a memorial that tells a story! What kind of memorials are you
building? Build it from the "Rock of Ages!" He is faithful to go before us and to
remove the flood waters that come against
us!