Imagine

Sunday, June 09, 2024

SERMON: SORTING THE SHEEP

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 25:31-33

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

-- several years ago, Kim and I watched a show that quickly became one of our favorites of all times -- when it comes to TV and movies, we gravitate towards spies and mysteries and similar dramas -- this show was called, "The Americans" -- hopefully, you had the opportunity to see it yourself

-- to sum it up, “The Americans” is the story about a typical suburban family in Falls Church, Virginia in the early 1980's -- but this typical suburban family has a very non-typical secret -- you see, the husband and wife in this family are not what they seem -- they are actually Russian spies

-- as the story unfolds over the six seasons it ran, we learn that the husband and wife in this family are not really Americans -- they were recruited in Russia to give up their lives and to come to America to live a secret life -- to be married and to have children and to appear to be, for all intents and purposes, normal suburban Americans

-- they look like Americans -- they talk like Americans -- they go to work like Americans -- they socialize like Americans -- they take their kids to soccer practice and dance recitals and drop them off at the mall -- just by looking at them, no one can tell that they are actually undercover Russian agents

-- every time I read this passage and the parable of the wheat and tares from Matthew 13, I always think about this show -- you see, we have sleeper agents of our own right here in the church of America today -- actually, we have two types of sleeper agents in our midst that are revealed by Jesus in this passage

-- first, we have the secret agents in our midst who are unbelievers -- who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus and haven’t put their faith and trust in Him as their Lord and Savior

-- these are the people we associate with in our daily lives who look like Christians and talk like Christians and do all the normal things that Christians do -- they may go to our churches -- they may even put Jesus fish on the back of their cars -- but in reality, they are not believers in Christ

-- they are unbelievers who are living a lie -- they’re only pretending to be believers -- and it could be they've lived this lie so long they have started to think it’s true -- if you were to ask them if they were Christians, they would tell you, "yes," even though they don't have a personal relationship with Jesus

-- the other type of secret agent we have in our midst are the Christians who don't do anything -- they're Christians in name only with no evidence of their faith -- they've received Christ -- they come to church -- they read their Bibles -- they pray -- they spend time with God -- but they don't do anything else -- their faith is theological, not practical

-- Jesus said that the world would know us by our love, but because these people are not loving, no one knows they are Christians -- they are secret agent Christians

-- I see this at work a lot -- there are several of us there who are Christians, and we get together occasionally to talk about the Bible or to disciple each other -- one of the guys I meet with on a fairly regular basis asked if it would be okay to bring this other guy with him the next time he drops by -- when he mentioned this other guy, I was dumbfounded -- I said, "He's a Christian?" -- I had no idea -- there was no evidence of his faith -- his actions and his speech are no different than anyone around him -- if he's a Christian, he's a secret agent Christian, because he's not been living out his faith for all the world to see

-- if you get down to the basics of this passage, that’s what this is all about -- who's in and who's out -- who's a believer and who's not -- who's doing what Christ commanded and who's not

-- the big questions that we need to ask ourselves as we go through this passage are:

1) Where am I in this passage? -- Am I a sheep or am I a goat? -- Can I say I have truly received Jesus as my Lord and Savior or am I just going through the motions without ever having truly made a commitment and placed my faith and trust in Him?

2) If I am sure I am saved, then am I showing others Christ through my love and through my actions? -- just because we are saved doesn't mean we are serving God -- Jesus said "if you love me, obey me -- if you love me, show the world" -- works don't save us -- works won't get us to heaven -- but works are outward signs of an inward grace -- they prove our faith -- they are evidence of our faith -- they are the fingerprints of God in our lives

II. Scripture Lesson -- Matthew 25:31-46

-- we looked at this passage briefly during our study on Heaven, Hell, and Everything In-Between, but this morning, we’re going to give it a more detailed look

-- but even with that, keep in mind that we will never be able to fully mine the depths of God’s word -- every time you study familiar passages such as this, you’re always going to find something new that God wants to reveal to you at that specific time -- so, let me encourage you to always spend some time in the passages we look at in church and study them on your own, because you’re going to get more out of them each time you do so

-- so, let’s look at this together and see what we can learn from Jesus’ story of the separation of the sheep and the goats

-- verse 31

-- we learn here that the events of this passage will occur at the end of this age -- at the end of the Tribulation Period we have been studying in the Book of Revelation -- this is the scene at the judgment seat of Christ in Revelation 19 and 20 that will occur after the Tribulation -- after Armageddon -- after the defeat of the antichrist and his prophet and all the nations of the world that fought against Jesus and His army

-- so, this passage concerns the fate of the people who have lived through the Tribulation -- both saints and sinners -- both those who believe in Christ and have trusted in Him for their salvation and those who have rejected Jesus and refuse to repent of their sins and turn to Him for forgiveness

-- we read here that at that time, Jesus will be seated on His glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before Him -- and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats

-- as we will see, this will be the separation of the believers from the nonbelievers -- the righteous from the wicked -- but let me just make a point here

-- the Bible calls those who have not received Christ, “the wicked” -- but that doesn't mean these aren't good people -- that doesn't mean these people go around doing wicked and evil deeds -- that everything that they do is wrong -- the term, “the wicked,” means they are still in their sins -- their spirits are tainted with evil and their sins have condemned them -- they are wicked because they have rejected God and His offer of salvation -- they are wicked because they refuse to be cleansed through the blood of Jesus

-- we all used to be one of them -- maybe some of us still are -- that's what the cross is all about -- it's about forgiveness and righteousness and new life -- the cross is what separates the righteous from the wicked -- the believer from the unbeliever

-- Jesus says that when the nations are gathered before Him, He will separate them into two groups -- with the sheep on His right -- the position of honor -- and the goats on His left -- it's important to see here that the sheep and goats already exist -- they are already defined -- all Jesus does is separate them

-- and even though this passage is talking about the judgment seat of Christ at the end of the age, we need to recognize the truth that is captured in this passage -- we live in world that is intermingled -- we worship in churches that are intermingled -- the sheep and the goats are all together in this place -- just like the wheat and the tares from Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13

-- and, as we pointed out, sometimes it’s impossible to tell the difference between the sheep and the goats right now, because they resemble each other -- the goats aren’t walking around with “666” tattooed on their forehead -- they’re men and women just like us -- decent, good people -- but people who haven’t received Jesus as their Lord and Savior -- people who refuse His offer of forgiveness and eternal life and who stand guilty and condemned because of their sin

-- that’s why the Holy Spirit is constantly calling out to these people and convicting them of their sin and urging them to turn to Jesus for salvation -- He’s trying to get them to choose Jesus so they will be transformed from being goats to being sheep

-- the Spirit has done this throughout the history of the earth, and He will continue to do so until the end of the Tribulation Period -- when the people are forced to finally make a final choice and decide, once and for all, if they are going to turn to Jesus and put their faith and trust in Him or not

-- so, as this passage opens, that’s where we are at -- the point of no return -- if someone has made it through the Tribulation up to this point and they still haven’t turned to Jesus, they have made the final decision to reject God and to refuse to turn to Him for forgiveness -- at this point, it's too late -- goats can no longer become sheep

-- their fate is sealed because when Jesus returns again, your choice has already been determined -- either you've chosen to be a sheep or you've chosen to be a goat -- and Jesus will separate you based on your choice

-- this separation is solely based on the cross -- it's based on salvation -- it’s based on whether you have a personal relationship with Jesus or not

-- Christ called Himself the good shepherd and He calls His believers His sheep -- so, the sheep are the righteous ones -- the sheep are the ones who accepted the forgiveness of sins offered by Christ through His death on the cross -- the goats are the ones who did not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior

-- I heard a radio spot on WAFT a few years ago that really speaks to this separation -- this man dies and goes up to the person at the gates of Heaven to be judged -- The man at the gate opens a book that records all the deeds of this man -- he tells him that his place in eternity will be determined by what the book says

-- The dead man says, "Does it say I believed in God in there? -- I hear that's important up here." -- The man with the book says, "Yes, it does say you believed in God." -- he reads a few more minutes and then he tells the dead man to go stand with the group over on his left.

-- The man starts to head over there and says, "Wait a minute. Is that Satan in my group?" -- The man with the book says "Yes." -- The dead man says, "But I believed in God. I shouldn't be in that group."

-- The man with the book says, "Satan believed in God, too. It takes more than belief to be saved. You must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and ask Him to forgive your sins."

-- vs. 34

Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

-- now we learn what characteristics separate the sheep from the goats -- the righteous from the wicked

-- in verse 34 Jesus describes those on His right as those "blessed by My Father" -- what does it mean to be "blessed by My Father?" -- this is a reference to those who have been saved by grace, through faith, not of works but through the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary -- these are the ones who have a personal relationship with Jesus, and who prove their faith by their righteous lives and righteous deeds

-- salvation is never based on what you do -- salvation is based solely on receiving forgiveness for our sins through faith in Jesus -- but, as this passage shows, works are important in the life of a Christian because what is in your heart will show through what you do

-- the sheep in this passage were commended by Jesus because they had fed him when he was hungry -- they gave him something to drink when he was thirsty -- they invited him into their homes -- they gave him clothes when he needed them -- they looked after him when he was sick -- and they visited him in prison

-- the sheep had done great things -- they had done powerful works in the name of Jesus -- but works alone do not save -- they are merely evidence of a saving faith -- as James 2:17 says, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

-- but look back at vs. 37

Matthew 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

-- what a wonderful passage -- these verses show the heart of these sheep -- they did all these things -- they fed him and gave him something to drink -- they clothed him and visited him and took care of him -- and they didn't even realize they were doing something special -- they were doing it out of love -- they were doing it from the heart

-- what is in your heart will show through your actions -- here's a quick test -- want to see what is in your heart -- take your hand and hit it with a hammer -- the words that fly out of your mouth will tell you what's in your heart -- now, I'm just kidding about that, but the principle is true -- we are what our heart is

-- if you have Christ's love in your heart, it will come out -- it will show through your actions and through your service to others, even if you don't recognize what you are doing at the time, just like the sheep in this passage

-- you do these things because this is who you are in Christ

-- there's a couple of other things we need to think about here

-- in verse 40 Jesus says whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me

-- who does He mean by "these brothers of mine?" -- some think Jesus is referring to the world, meaning that we should serve the world and show them His love in a real and tangible way just as the sheep are commended for in this passage

-- and while I would certainly agree that Jesus intends for us to share His love with the world He died for, in this case it seems Jesus is referring specifically to the church

-- in Luke 8:19-21 Jesus tells us that His mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice -- in other words, "these brothers of mine," seem to refer to the church and seem to imply that our resources should first be used to minister to God's people before we minister to those around us

-- the other thing that is interesting in this verse is that Jesus says what we do for these brothers of mine, you did for Me -- that's the same thing He told Paul on the road to Damascus -- as Paul was going forth persecuting the church and putting believers in chains, Jesus asked him, "Why are you persecuting Me?"

-- the church is not a denomination -- it is not a building -- it is not a philosophy -- the church is the body of Christ -- and when we minister to those in the church, we are ministering to Christ Himself

-- as Mother Teresa used to say, "In the poor we meet Jesus in his most distressing disguises." -- likewise, it is in the church we meet Jesus at His best when the church ministers in His name out of love

-- so, this is who the sheep are -- this is what they look like -- but, unfortunately, sometimes sheep don't act like sheep -- sometimes sheep act like goats -- they don't serve like they should because the love in their hearts has grown cold -- they're secret agent Christians who are selfish in their faith

-- we're not going to have time to go into this in detail today, but know this -- the Bible tells us that there will be another judgment after the great white throne judgment we see in this passage

-- this second judgment will be the judgment of the sheep -- not a judgment of sin -- not a judgment of salvation -- but a judgment of our works -- the Bible says that we are Christ's workmanship, created in Him to do the good works that He planned for us before time began -- Christ will judge us and reward us based on what we have and have not done for Him -- our salvation will not be in jeopardy, but our eternal rewards will be dependent on our obedience as shown through our works

-- knowing this, as we look at the next few verses about the characteristics of the goats, ask yourself which animal you more closely resemble -- and which one you should be striving to be like

-- verse 41

Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

-- Jesus looks at the group of people on His left and calls them the cursed of God -- there's only two choices in life -- either you are blessed of God or you are cursed of God -- and the blessing only comes through the cross

-- these people lived their life apart from Christ -- these people depended on themselves for salvation and rejected the only true source of salvation and now find themselves separated from God for all eternity

-- Jesus rebukes them for failing to live as the sheep -- for failing to know and live the love that comes through the very presence of God in our lives -- for failing to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty -- for failing to give clothes to those in need and failing to visit those sick and in prison

-- Basil the Great wrote, "The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor."

-- it is for this the goats are rebuked

-- now keep in mind that the goats are the people you pass everyday -- these are the men and women you share your lives with -- the people in line with you at the grocery store -- the people sitting next to you at the restaurant -- the people gathered around the water cooler at work

-- these are people who may give to charities -- who drop coins into the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas -- who do good things in this world

-- but in the eyes of God, all their good works are tainted by the evil within -- as it says in Isaiah 64:6 our good works are like filthy rags -- and as Paul pointed out in Philippians 3:8, all that we consider good is nothing more than rubbish

-- when a person is not a believer -- when they are still living apart from God with a stained soul -- everything they do is stained -- that is why works cannot save -- our works, even though they look good to the world, are not good enough for eternity

-- I find verse 44 interesting -- when Jesus rebukes the goats for not doing the same as the sheep, their response is the same -- they use the same words, but they don't have the same meaning -- it takes on a different tone than that we saw in verses 37 and 38

-- look back at verse 44

Matthew 25:44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

-- the response of the goats seems to be, "If we had known it was you, we would have done it!" -- the sheep did all of this out of love without even being aware of what they were doing -- it is the nature of a sheep to serve and to love others because they have been loved by Jesus, just as it is the nature of a goat to serve others only out of selfishness because that is all they have known

-- my mother used to complain about the kids in school -- She would be teaching them and some of them would ask, "Will this be on the test?" -- The ones who truly wanted to learn never asked this question -- it was those who were looking out only for themselves who did

-- in the same way, the goats ask the question, "When did we not do this?" because they didn't realize it was on the test -- “if only we had known, we would have done this for you, too”

-- before we end our study in this passage, let me call out one more thing to your attention -- notice the actions and inactions that brings Jesus’ commendation and rebuke here in this passage

-- these are not religious activities -- His commendation and rebuke is not for church stuff -- Jesus doesn't tell the sheep, "You read your Bible every day -- you came to church every Sunday -- you had a quiet time every morning" -- these are means of grace, by which God's Spirit is imparted to us -- these are the ways we relate to God -- we come to know God -- we become one with God

-- the works commended in this passage are what we call the social graces -- practical ministry -- putting hands and feet to our faith -- they remind us that Christianity is not about church -- it's not about religion -- it's about life -- it's about doing life together -- it's about loving others because Christ loves us -- that's really what this passage is all about -- that's really what separates the sheep from the goats

IV. Closing

-- I want to close by sharing with you a story from Dr. Fred Craddock, who was a professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory -- Dr. Craddock had stopped at a deli to get something to eat -- he said the place was packed but people moved over and made room for him at the counter -- Many people had come in just in to get out of the cold for a few minutes

-- not long after he got there, a rather unkempt woman came in, and a couple of people made some room for her -- a large man with a greasy apron came over and asked in a loud voice, "What do you want?" She said, "I'll just take a glass of water."

-- He sat the water in front of her and said, "Now what do you want?" -- She said, "The water is fine." -- He said, "Look, lady, there are paying customers in here. Either you going to have to order something else or get out."

-- She said, "Can I just stay in out of the cold?" -- He said, "No, you have to order something or leave." -- Slowly she scooted out of her seat and started to leave. -- But when she did the person on her right and left also got up to leave, too -- then the people on each side of them got up to leave -- pretty soon everyone started to leave because of what the cook said to the lady

-- seeing what was going on, the man in the greasy apron said, "All right, come on back. You can stay." -- She sat down and everyone else took their seats again -- finally, the owner grudgingly gave the woman a bowl of soup for free

-- Craddock asked the man beside him, "Who is that lady?" -- The man said, "I don't know, but if she's not welcome, I'm not welcome."

-- Craddock said, "You know, as I started to eat that soup, it wasn't so bad -- matter of fact it reminded me of something I had eaten before, and I couldn't figure out why it tasted so familiar as I ate"

-- but, as I left that little deli and I looked back at that woman sitting there in that atmosphere, I remembered what that soup tasted like -- it tasted like the bread and wine of communion."¹

-- when the world shows this kind of love, it is easy to recognize that this is what the Father had in mind all along -- this is what separates the sheep from the goats -- this is what makes us Christians, and this is what should compel us to go forth and serve others in His name

-- this is what we should remember this morning -- too many of us look at Jesus and the cross as only an escape ladder from Hell -- as a ticket to Heaven -- and we think that once we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we’re done

-- but there is more to this Christian life than just punching your ticket to Heaven -- Christ loved us so much that He died for us, and He calls us to share His love with others by telling them about Him and by caring for them, as He would

-- this means taking His body and His blood and His love and passing it on to those who are hungry and thirsty -- cold and sick -- strangers needing a friend or those in prison -- that is what we should seek to be like every day of our lives

-- this is the real message from this passage and this is the real call of His church in the world today

-- so, let us leave here as the sheep Jesus has called us to be -- let us leave here as those determined to share His love with the world around us

-- let's pray

1 Illustration modified from a sermon by Jeff Strite, Love Me Nots, 2/21/2011 -- http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/scripture/illustrations-on-matthew-25+31.asp

Sunday, June 02, 2024

SERMON: DESPERATE

Naylor Community Christian Church

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Luke 5:17-26

Luke 5:17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

-- how many of you know who Albert McMakin is? -- well, then let me tell you the story of Albert

-- Albert grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the 1930's -- like most young boys in his day, he spent his days playing baseball with his friends, going hunting and fishing, and in the springtime, helping tend his neighbor's garden -- really nothing that would make him stand out above the crowd

-- but Albert had something in common with the men in the story we just read from Luke -- he was a believer in Christ -- and he was desperate for his friends to come to know Jesus in the same way that he did -- he would share the story of Jesus with them -- he would tell them about what Jesus had done for him -- but they just weren’t interested -- as young men, they had other things on their minds

-- there wasn't much in the way of excitement or things to do in rural North Carolina in the 1930s -- so when a fiery traveling evangelist named Dr. Mordecai Hamm showed up in town, Albert started going to listen to him every night

-- in those days, revivals didn't just last three or four nights -- they went on for weeks -- and Albert went every single night -- he kept trying to get his friends to go with him, but they never would -- they were more interested in other things than Jesus

-- all the while, Dr. Hamm just kept on preaching and getting more and more in the town's business -- one day, he pointed out in his preaching that the town had a house of ill repute and then proceeded to name the townspeople who frequented there -- well, this just set off the town folks, and several of those that Dr. Hamm had mentioned by name decided to go to the tent where Dr. Hamm was preaching and confront him

-- this was the chance that Albert was waiting for -- he went to one of his friends who had been steadfastly refusing to go see this preacher and asked him if we wanted to go see a fight -- that the townspeople were coming and were going to call the preacher out

-- this got the other boy interested -- he said he might just go to see a fight -- Albert then sealed the deal -- he said, "If you go, I'll even let you drive my truck to the meeting." -- so off they went, Albert and his friend

-- well, even though Albert's friend had grown up in church and knew the story of Jesus, he heard the gospel in a new way that night -- Dr. Hamm presented it as he had never heard it before, but still he balked -- he just couldn’t go down front -- he didn’t want to be saved

-- so, Albert kept bringing him back night after night -- finally, one night, something about the message just gripped Albert's friend and shook him to the core -- he found himself desperate for Jesus -- he found himself desperate for forgiveness and love and the peace that Dr. Hamm talked about

-- after struggling within for some time as the last hymn was played, he finally made the decision -- Albert watched as his friend got up, went down front, and committed his life to the Lord

-- while you probably haven’t heard of Albert McMakin before, you’ve probably heard about his friend -- Dr. Billy Graham -- arguably, the most famous evangelist outside of the Apostle Paul and John the Baptist

-- the message this morning is not so much about Billy Graham and what he did in his life -- the message this morning is about the Albert McMakins of the world -- those individuals who are desperate for Jesus -- who are desperate to see their family and friends come to know Jesus -- who just go through life quietly -- never making a name for themselves -- just being content with living out the true gospel message in their lives and introducing their friends to Christ

-- people like the ones we see in this passage here in Luke Chapter 5-- let's look back at this passage in some more detail now

II. Scripture Lesson -- Luke 5:17-26

-- look back at verse 17

-- in this familiar story that we find in all four of the gospels, Jesus is in the middle of His Galilean ministry -- He has already delivered the Sermon on the Mount -- and the authority of His preaching -- combined with the miracles and the healings -- have caused people to come from everywhere to hear Him and to experience a miracle through Him

-- as this passage opens, we find Jesus sitting inside a house somewhere in Galilee -- people have come from all the villages of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem to hear Him -- the house where He is sitting is full -- and the people are standing around outside -- straining to hear Him through the open door and windows -- desperately seeking a glimpse of Him

-- as part of that crowd, four men showed up, carrying their paralyzed friend with them on a mat -- obviously, they had heard of Jesus and were desperate for Jesus to heal their friend

-- they tried to get into the house where Jesus was, but there was no way -- the crowd was too thick and the people just wouldn’t move and let them through -- they were faced with a dilemma

-- they could wait until Jesus was done preaching and hope to catch Him as He left -- they could leave and try again another day -- or they could just give up and say, “Well, we tried”

-- but these men obviously cared about their friend -- they were desperate to see him healed -- and they knew Jesus was their only hope -- there was no way this man was ever going to walk again unless Jesus healed him -- and they were not going to give up

-- even though the door was closed and the windows blocked, they were not going to give up -- they were determined to find a way, not matter what it took

-- most houses in first century Palestine had flat roofs, with ladders that led up to them -- because of the heat, the people would seek refuge up there in the evenings and would even sleep on the roofs, because the night wind would keep them cool

-- we don’t know whose house Jesus was in on this occasion, but it appears to be the house of a wealthy man since the roof had tiles above the normal straw and clay that most people used

-- when the four men could not get in the house the normal way -- not even through the windows -- they carried their paralyzed friend up the ladder to the roof and began removing the tiles above the place where Jesus was

-- after removing the tiles, they then dug down through the hardened clay and straw that formed the inner roof -- and made a hole large enough for their friend and his mat to fit

-- I’m sure that all the people knew something was going on -- they heard the commotion on the roof -- they probably saw clay and straw falling down as the men dug -- all eyes were on that spot above Jesus -- and everyone watched as daylight broke through, followed by the paralyzed man on his mat

-- the four men -- desperate and determined to see their friend healed -- lowered him right in front of Jesus and watched through the roof to see what Jesus would do

-- verse 20

Luke 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

-- “When Jesus saw their faith” -- whose faith?

-- the faith of the men who brought their friend to Him -- when Jesus saw the paralyzed man being lowered in front of Him through a hole in the roof, He knew the faith of those men -- He saw their determination -- their desperation -- their belief that He was the only hope for their friend

-- their faith was expressed through their extraordinary actions -- through their determination and their desperation -- and Jesus saw that and honored their faith

-- He turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven”

-- these four men had brought their friend for a physical healing -- but Jesus knew his real need -- He knew this man needed the healing of his heart -- He knew this man needed the healing of his soul -- so, Jesus spoke forgiveness in his life and brought salvation to this man because of the faith of another

-- have you ever been that desperate for Jesus? -- have you ever been that desperate to bring a friend before Jesus?

-- every Sunday, we pray for our family and friends to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus -- we pray for their salvation -- we pray for their healing -- but, too often, we stop there

-- we say the words -- we ask for healing of bodies and hearts and souls -- and then we go home and wait to see if He responds

-- Jesus healed this man of his sins because of the faith of his friends -- He healed this man because they acted with determination out of their desperation

-- they knew Jesus could heal -- they believed that above anything else -- and they knew that if they could just get their friend in front of Jesus, that Jesus would heal him

-- here’s the questions before us this morning -- are we as desperate for Jesus in the same way as these four men? -- are we as desperate to see our friends healed and forgiven as they were?

-- if so, then what roof do we need to tear apart to bring them to Jesus? -- what actions should we take that will bring them to the cross and to the place where they can be healed and forgiven, as the paralytic man was?

-- let’s go on and finish this story -- verse 21

Luke 5:21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

-- when Jesus told the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven, we read that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves that this statement was blasphemous -- that no one could forgive sin except God -- implying, of course, that there was no way that Jesus was God

-- I think it’s interesting that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were in the room -- they were there with Jesus even though they had no faith in Him -- they didn’t believe He was God -- as we see in the gospels, they didn’t believe in Him or His teachings at all -- they thought they knew all the answers -- and they didn’t need Jesus for anything

-- how common is that in our day? -- how often do we think we have it all together and don’t need Jesus for anything? -- how often do we become so comfortable and complacent in our religion that we can be in the presence of Jesus and not even know who He is or comprehend what He can do?

-- at the same time, those who are desperate for Jesus are often left outside our churches -- they want Jesus -- they need Jesus -- they just can’t get to Jesus because others are blocking the way

-- we need to know these people -- we need to find these people -- we need to help them to find Jesus and to know Him so that they can be healed and experience the saving grace and mercy He offers

-- knowing the thoughts of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sin by physically healing the paralyzed man -- He tells the man to get up, take his mat, and go home -- and the man got up, and left the room, praising God for all that had been done to Him

-- this is a reminder to us of what the miracles and healings in the Bible were -- they were given as signs to affirm the deity and authority of Jesus -- the miracles were not just performed because Jesus could do them -- they were performed to point people to Jesus -- to lead them to the truth -- to lead them to salvation and the healing of their hearts and souls

-- I think it’s important for us to notice here that the physical healing was given only as a sign -- the true healing that was given because of the faith of his friends was the forgiveness of sins

-- too often, we seek healing of the body above healing of the heart -- we seek a physical healing in place of a spiritual healing -- desperation and determination will always cause a response from God, even if the response is not what we want or what we are hoping for

-- God is always going to give us what we need -- He’s always going to give us His best -- even if we don’t recognize it at the time

III. Application

-- so, what is the take-home message from today’s story of the four men and their paralyzed friend?

-- the big take-away is that we have to learn to be desperate for Jesus, just as these four men were desperate for Him -- it is in our desperation -- it is in the moment of our need -- that we truly turn to Jesus for who He is -- that we truly turn to Jesus for healing and help

-- we need to learn to seek Jesus first -- to long for Him -- to long for His presence in our lives and in the lives of our family and friends above all else

-- in Psalm 63, David wrote, “You, God, are my God -- earnestly I seek you -- I thirst for you -- my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water…your love is better than life”

-- David understood what it meant to need God desperately -- his soul thirsted for God in the same way our bodies thirst for water in a dry and parched wilderness

-- David was so desperate for God -- he desired God so much that without Him, he would perish

-- this needs to be our perspective on God, too -- we need to desire God -- to seek God -- to be desperate for God

-- to want Him and cry out for Him and to need Him in just such a way -- we need to remember why we are here -- we need to remember that God is the most important thing -- and we need to learn to seek God and trust Him as David writes about in Psalm 63 and as the four men in this passage displayed in their determination to see their friend healed

-- Francis Chan wrote, “I also believe that the Spirit is more obviously active in places where people are desperate for Him -- humbled before Him -- and not distracted by their pursuit of wealth or comforts (like we are) -- God delights in showing up when His people are in desperate need of Him, because that means no one else can steal His glory -- I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through.”

-- that is the desperation and faith that we see in these four men who were willing to break down walls and tear through roofs in order to get their friend before Jesus -- because they knew that Jesus was the only hope he had

-- I think it’s important, too, to recognize that these men had made friends with someone who had problems -- they made friends with someone who had needs in their life -- who didn’t have it all together -- with someone who needed help

-- with the way the world is today, our first instinct a lot of the time is to withdraw -- to pull back into safe communities of faith and to isolate ourselves from the world -- from those who think different from us -- who look different from us -- who have obvious need for healing and forgiveness in their lives

-- we need to remember what the Bible teaches -- that we are to be in the world, just not of the world -- we are to be ambassadors in this foreign land -- representatives of the Kingdom of God -- those who know Jesus and are desperate for Jesus above all the world has to offer

-- that means that we need to go out into the world and make friends with those who are not Christians -- with those who are not like us -- with those we may not even like, but who we are called to love

-- and once we have made friends with them -- once they know that we love them and genuinely care for them and would dig through a roof for them -- then we need to do whatever we can to introduce them to Jesus -- to be desperate and determined to get them to Jesus -- so that He can make them better and heal them of all that is wrong, just as He has healed us of our sins and sicknesses, too

-- and, finally, we need to keep in mind that the world and the devil are going to throw up obstacles in our path to keep us from carrying our friends to Jesus -- just like in this passage, when these men tried to carry their sick friend to Jesus, they were faced with an obstacle -- the crowd was too big -- they couldn't get through the door -- there was no way for them to get their friend to Christ

-- what would you do in a situation like that? -- what would you do if you were trying to get your friend to come with you to meet Christ and things got in your way and the path got difficult?

-- would you just shrug your shoulders and say, "Well, I tried. If God wanted it to work out, He would have made a way."

-- what are we going to do when we invite our friend to church for the umpteenth time and they say, "Nope, not today." -- are we going to give up? -- or are we going to do like these men with their paralytic friend? -- are we going to do like Albert McMakin -- are we going to be persistent and determined and desperate to bring our friend to Christ?

-- we need to realize that when we try to bring our friends to Christ, obstacles are going to come up -- Satan doesn't want us to succeed in our quest, and he is going to do anything he can to keep our friends away from Jesus -- the world is going to try to lure us away with its siren song of wealth and power and prestige -- but if we trust in the power of God -- if we pray with all our hearts for our friends to be able to hear the gospel and to receive the gospel, then miracles will happen

-- miracles happen and hearts are healed and sins forgiven when we refuse to let a few obstacles in our path keep us from carrying our friends to Jesus -- when we persist with the knowledge that this is the will of God -- that all should be saved and come to put their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior

-- when we step out on the promises of God, knowing that with Him all things are possible -- then our friend will meet Christ and He will see our faith and miracles will happen before our eyes

-- I've seen it myself -- I have seen lives changed and marriages mended, and broken hearts healed, all because a good Christian friend persisted in bringing the sick to the Savior

-- we can never give up -- even if that means we have to tear a hole in the roof to get our friend to come in the church --even if that means we have to let our friends drive our new truck to the revival -- whatever it is -- we can't give up, because our friends need a touch from the Master's hand

IV. Closing

-- if we are to truly find Jesus and live for Him with our lives, we have to be desperate for Him -- we have to want Him more than anything else -- we have to have a desire for Him and a desire for others to come to know Him more than anything else

-- it’s like Natalie Grant sang in her song, “More than Anything”:

“Help me want the Healer, more than the healing

Help me want the Savior, More than the saving

Help me want the Giver, More than the giving

Oh, help me want You, Jesus, More than anything”

-- that’s where we need to be in our lives -- that is the place where Jesus wants us to be

-- so, let us leave here seeking to be desperate for Jesus and for those who don’t know Him -- desperate to live our lives wanting Jesus more than anything -- and desperate for those around us to know Him more than anything, even if that means we have to tear our roofs apart to see it happen

-- let us pray

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Thoughts and Advice to Our Younger Selves (Borrowed from Dave Black)

One of the bloggers I read on a regular basis is Dave Black, a Christian, professor of Greek, and farmer from Virginia.

This week, Dave posted a blog entitled, "Advice to My 22-Year-Old Self." You can find it on Dave's blog by clicking here, and while you're there, look at his other posts.

Here are Dave's thoughts and advice to his younger self:

Life is full of surprises. It's not likely to turn out in any way that you imagined. It will be hard and it will hurt, but it will always be worth living. So stop trying to predict the future. It's something you will figure out as you go. Enjoy the weird craziness of life now.
Appreciate your friendships. Some will last and others won't, but for now they are your friends. Be there for them.
Even if you can't comprehend it now, disease and suffering will enter your life. So appreciate and be grateful for every day of health God gives you.
Use sunscreen.
Never be afraid to follow a different path than everyone else.
Don't make yourself small in a crowd. Speak up when you need to. You have as much right to express your opinion as everyone else.
Drink lots of water.
You are not the size of your house.
Not every email deserves an answer.
Never worry about the opinions of people you don't respect.
Breathe. REALLY breathe. Inhale for 4 seconds, then exhale for 4 seconds. Do this several times a day.
Avoid consumer debt like the plague.
Save, save, save. Just a little bit, but do it all the time.
Ladies, if a guy ever treats you badly, don't stand for it, not even for a minute. If you need to, literally get up from dinner and walk out.
Own your own bad choices.
Choose a career that allows you to have the life you love, not a career that is your life.
Call your grandparents.
Be patient with yourself. A watched pot never boils.
Go outside every day no matter how you're feeling.
Do what you love in life. Do what makes you forget time because you're so caught up in it.
Stop being such a perfectionist. Looking perfect is great for a while, but what people ultimately want in relationships are humor, kindness, and loyalty.
Hang out with people who make you feel valued.
Be who you are.
Read books (even the ones made out of paper).
Don't be embarrassed to be on antidepressants. I needed them for 2 years after my wife died.
Don't do anything you're not comfortable with.
If you're in a situation where you can't be kind, at least practice civility. You are not in control of other people's emotions. If they're annoyed because you can't do something, that's not your fault.
At some time or another you will be betrayed and deeply wounded by someone you loved and who you thought loved you. Let them go.
Pay your bills.
Always go with your gut.
For everything you want, you will have to give up something else. Most of life is about trade-offs.
Brush and floss like it's a religion. It will save you tons of dentist bills.
Count your blessings. Every. Single. Night. They are many.
Live alone at least once in your life. It's a powerful thing knowing that you can enjoy your own company.
At times it's okay to put your own needs before other people's.
Spend time with the Lord every day.
Pick your battles carefully. You don't always need to be right.
Don't be in a hurry to find a spouse. You'll find the man or woman of your dreams when the time is right and it will be worth every second of waiting.
Finally, be humble. I'm not talking about acting humble. I'm referring to being humbled by God. It is not until the self-sufficiency of our hearts is shattered that we will begin to understand the deep things of God. The bruising experiences of life are so designed by God that he uses them to shape us, to prepare us, and to move us into places of his service. As you decrease in weakness, he increases in strength. "It is doubtful that God can use any man greatly until he has hurt him deeply" (A. W. Tozer).

Once again, you can find Dave Black's blog at this site: http://blog.daveblackonline.com/

SERMON: TO KEEP A MEMORY ALIVE -- Memorial Day Message

Naylor Community Christian Church

26 May 2024

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Joshua 4:1-9

Joshua 4:1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 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.”

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 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, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 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.”

8 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. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been 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.

-- in her song, “The Way We Were,” Barbara Streisand famously sang these words:

“Memories

Like the corners of my mind

Misty watercolor memories

Of the way we were

Scattered pictures

Of the smiles we left behind

Smiles we gave to one another

For the way we were

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time rewritten every line?

If we had the chance to do it all again

Tell me, would we, would we,

Could we, could we?”

-- one of the most precious and distinct attributes of human beings is our capacity to remember -- to remember what has been -- to remember who has been -- to know who we are and what we have done -- to remember and to be remembered -- to know and to be known

-- our personalities -- our lives -- our being -- are wrapped up in these memories -- we are who we are today based on what happened in the past -- on the experiences we have had -- and our memories of ourselves and those around us -- especially loved ones -- and the memories of our shared experiences direct our paths in the future in ways we don’t fully understand

-- memory is important -- remembering is important -- that is why dementia and Alzheimer's are such devastating diseases -- it’s because those memories that Barbara Streisand sang about are slowly erased and can cause us to lose who we are

-- “[several years ago,] BBC Radio 3, the U.K.'s primary classical music station, ran a fascinating series of articles on music and memory -- Adam Zeman, a Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, [was one of the authors and] wrote about amnesia and memory loss and their relationship to epilepsy.

-- “Zeman mentioned two patients, Peter and Marcus, who described their amnesia in very similar terms. -- One said: "My memory of my past is a blank space. I feel lost and hopeless. I'm trying to explore a void."

-- “Both [patients] described how disconcerting it is to look at photos. Even though they recognize themselves, they have no recollection of the moment. One said that it's like "reading a biography of a stranger." He's conscious of recent memories slipping away from him, like ships sailing out to sea in the fog, never to be seen again.

-- “Two things stand out in Zeman's essay -- First, without memory, it's hard to cling to an identity. -- [As] one of the patients said: "I don't have the moorings that other people draw on to know who they are." -- Second, it's hard to have hope when we don't know our past.

-- As Zeman explained, "The inability to invoke the past greatly impedes their ability to imagine a future."¹

-- because our memory is so important, God advises us in His word to remember -- to remember Him and the mighty acts that He has done for us -- to remember our community and those in our community -- and to remember ourselves -- who we are in Christ and who we are in His story

-- we see this call to remember all the way back in the Old Testament -- in Numbers 15:37-41, God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites to add tassels on the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel -- so that, when the people look at the tassels, they will remember the Lord God Almighty -- they will remember the commands of the Lord and obey them and not turn away from them -- they will remember who they are in the Lord -- and how He brought them out of Egypt to be their God -- they will remember they are the people of God

-- we see a similar call to remember here in this passage from Joshua 4:1-9 -- one of my favorite passages in the Bible -- let’s look at this together and see what we can learn about remembering through this story of the Israelites crossing into the Promised Land

II. Scripture Reading/Lesson (Joshua 4:1-9)

-- as we start, let me give you the background and context of this passage so you can better understand what is going on

-- the events of the Book of Joshua take place after God led the Israelites out of Egypt through the Red Sea -- because of their lack of faith and trust in Him, God had prevented them from entering the Promised Land until that entire generation had passed away -- so, because of God’s wrath and judgment on them, Moses led that faithless generation in the wilderness for 40 years without any of them ever going into the Promised Land

-- the Book of Joshua opens in a time of transition -- it begins with the death of Moses -- the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness are now over, and the time has come for the nation of Israel to finally cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land

-- Joshua has taken Moses’ place as the leader of the nation, and he has them all assembled on the eastern bank of the Jordan River -- right where their forefathers’ faith had failed 40 years earlier

-- at God’s direction, Joshua has the people of Israel consecrate themselves in preparation for entry into the Promised Land -- he tells them to cleanse themselves from their sin and renew their relationship with God -- to symbolically show their faith and trust in their Lord God -- with that final step, the nation of Israel is ready to enter the Promised Land

-- God directs the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant and step out into the river ahead of the people -- a symbol of God going before them -- and as soon as the priests entered the water, the river quit flowing -- the Bible says it "backed up and the waters stood up in a heap" -- allowing the rest of the Israelites to cross the river on dry land, reminiscent of the moment God had brought their forefathers out of Egypt on dry land by parting the Red Sea

-- which brings us to our passage this morning -- Joshua Chapter 4 -- if you would, look back with me at verse 1

-- the nation of Israel had a memory problem -- they kept forgetting what God had done for them -- all the way back to when Moses led the people out of Egypt, the Israelites continually forgot what God had done and what He was doing for them

-- when they first left Egypt and were headed towards the Promised Land, they ran out of food and water there in the wilderness -- so, the people complained and told Moses they should never have left Egypt, because life was so much better for them there -- quickly forgetting how they had suffered under the yoke of bondage and how God had led them out of Egypt and out of slavery in such a miraculous way

-- and when the nation of Israel first made their way to the Jordan River and God directed them to go in and take the land, they refused because they were scared of the inhabitants of the land -- they had forgotten the mighty power and working of God against the Egyptians -- they forgot about the parting of the Red Sea -- and they didn’t trust that God was able to deliver them against their enemies

-- God did miracle after miracle with the nation of Israel, but they kept forgetting what He had done, and they kept turning away from Him, time and time again

-- so, this time, as God is once again preparing the people of Israel to finally enter the Promised Land, He wants to make sure that the people didn’t forget Him and His mighty works again -- this time, He gives them a physical reminder of His power and grace -- of His presence in their lives -- of how He defines who they are

-- God tells Joshua to send twelve men -- one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel -- back into the Jordan River where the priests were standing with the Ark of the Covenant -- He tells each of them to take a stone from the middle of the river and to put the stones down at the place where they would spend the night

-- verse 4

Joshua 4:4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 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, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 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.”

-- Joshua did exactly what the Lord told him to do -- he sent the men he had selected out to retrieve the stones and told them the reason why God had commanded them to do so

-- in verses 6-7, Joshua explains that they were to do this so that "in the future, when your children ask you "what do these stones mean?", they would be reminded of God’s miracle at the Jordan and could share this experience with the next generation -- telling them how God stopped the flow of the Jordan when the priests carried the ark of the covenant into the river -- and how God had led them into the Promised Land on dry land, just as He had led them out of Egypt on dry land by parting the Red Sea

-- these stones were to be a physical reminder of God’s faithfulness on behalf of Israel -- it was to be something that the people could look at and touch as they remembered how God led them from the wilderness and across the Jordan River to the Promised Land -- it was to be their burning bush moment with God

-- so, the men did as Joshua directed

-- now ponder this: why do you think God had one man from each tribe get the stones? -- why didn't He just have Joshua do it or just send out a couple of guys to gather up the twelve stones for the entire nation? -- wouldn’t that have been easier?

-- it’s simple -- it’s because each tribe needed to remember that moment -- each tribe needed to erect a spiritual marker of their own -- by sending someone from each tribe to gather a personal stone, God ensured that the story of His miracle that day would be preserved forever, passed on from generation to generation -- if any tribe had been left out, the story might not have continued to be passed down through the members of that tribe

-- this is a reminder to us that our faith and our experiences with God are personal, too -- our spiritual lives cannot be based on the faith of others -- on what God did through them -- our spiritual lives are formed as God touches each of us, individually, and as He moves in our churches in the communities in which He has placed them

-- that is why it’s important for all of us to pick up our own memorial stones to remember how God has touched us personally and individually

-- that night, Joshua set up the stones in the midst of the people, and they all looked at the standing stones -- at the memorial to God’s mighty acts -- and remembered

-- in verse 9, the writer of the Book of Joshua records, “and they are there to this day”

-- these twelve river stones became a permanent physical reminder of an experience of the nation of Israel with God -- a reminder of God’s faithfulness in bringing the people into the Promised Land

-- it was a place for the next generation and the ones to follow to learn the stories of faith -- to see and touch the stones that Joshua and the 12 tribes of Israel had erected -- to know the truth of God’s grace and mercy and faithfulness -- and to be encouraged by their remembrance as they walked forward in faith with God in their own generations

III. Memorial Stones

-- this story expresses to us the importance of remembering -- of keeping the past alive -- of using reminders like memorial stones or blue tassels or other spiritual markers in our lives -- so that we won’t forget -- because, truthfully -- just like the Israelites -- we sometimes have spiritual memory problems, too

-- sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of a storm -- battling trials and tribulations -- and we take our eyes off God and we forget the past -- we forget all the times when God was there for us -- all the times that God helped us in similar situations in the past -- and this forgetting can cause us to lose hope

-- or sometimes we find ourselves experiencing blessings in our lives, and we forget how God has led us to this very place and moment, and so we forget to praise Him for His blessing and grace and mercy in our lives

-- sometimes we just see our churches as buildings -- as places or locations that we go to on Sundays and Wednesdays -- and we forget the sacredness of this place -- of the miracles and the moments that occurred in the past

-- how many lives have been changed at this very altar? -- how many relationships were healed in this place? -- how many people experienced the presence of the Lord God Almighty right here?

-- and, if we forget to remember what God has done here in the past, we can also forget the promise from God that He will never leave us or forsake us -- that He is here today and will be here in the future -- that He still transforms lives and hearts in this place -- if we will but remember and trust and believe

-- that’s why God encourages us to have symbols of remembrance in our lives -- things like these memorial stones that Joshua and the Israelites erected on the other side of the Jordan

-- memorial stones keep us from forgetting -- they stand as reminders of who we are and where we've been -- and the stories these stones represent become a legacy of God’s faithfulness in our lives and in our churches that we can pass on to our children and those who follow in our footsteps

-- I heard a story from a missionary one time about how he gave a Bible to a congregation in Africa that didn’t have one -- he presented it to the pastor and the pastor held it up and showed it proudly to the church

-- and then, to the horror of the missionary, the pastor proceeded to rip the Bible up -- the missionary had no idea what was going on, but he watched as the pastor handed out pages and sections of the Bible to his members -- for none of them had a Bible, either -- and he wanted his people to have God’s word in their homes and in their lives

-- after the service, the missionary was talking with some of the members -- and he asked one excited man what passage he had gotten -- “Lamentations,” he proclaimed -- and the missionary thought, “Lamentations -- that’s like the worst book -- how depressing is that” -- and so he told the man, “Let’s see if we can get you something else -- maybe something from the gospels”

-- the man replied, “No, this is what I want -- it says right here, “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah” -- and if the word of the Lord could come to Jeremiah, then it can come to me, too”

-- that is the power and the promise of memorial stones -- to remember the past and look to the future

-- another benefit of memorial stones is that they can help direct our path and our ministry in the future -- we need to always remember that God doesn’t want us to just live in the past, but He wants us to continue in faith by moving forward and doing great things for Him

-- memorial stones can help us continue on in our walk with Christ because they show us where we have been -- they help us to see how God was leading us in the past -- and they can be a road-map to show us the direction He intends for us to travel in the future

-- when the Romans conquered England, they built roads throughout the country -- along each road at regular intervals and at each intersection -- they put these large marker stones to help travelers find their way -- these stones are six to eight feet in height -- you can still see them today in the English countryside

-- travelers could go down one of these roads and as they were walking, they could look back and see the markers behind them and they could line these markers up and it would show them the correct way to go, even when they couldn't make out the path in front of them

-- our memorial stones -- our markers -- do the same for us and for our families and our churches -- they help us line up our lives and keep us from veering off the path that God intends for us to travel

-- when I learned about this idea of setting up memorial stones and spiritual markers in my life, I went back and tried to record all the major times God had touched my life -- how He saved me from dying in an accident when I was a child -- the moment I gave my life to Jesus -- the experiences I had with Him at a Promise Keepers event in Tennessee and through Bible Study Fellowship -- how He led Kim and I to join the Methodist Church in Morven -- and how that led to me teaching Sunday School and Bible Study and then hearing the call to go into ministry

-- and looking back at these moments with Him, I could see a clear path -- a direction that God had been leading me all those years -- at the time, I couldn’t see it

-- when I was walking that path, I didn’t know where God was leading -- but because I had set up spiritual memorial stones in my life, I was able to look back and see how God had been with me the whole time -- leading me and directing my steps and my path all along the way

-- I can see now how He led our family to this church -- how it was His plan for us to be here and to share our lives with you -- and how being here has grown our faith and our trust in God because of our shared experiences with you

-- because I had set up spiritual markers and memorial stones in my life -- because I intentionally remembered the moments when I had experiences with God -- I could sense where He wanted me to go in the future

-- that is the power of memorial stones and spiritual markers -- it is important for us to remember these moments -- and that’s why I want to encourage you to take some time to identify these burning bush moments in this church and in your own lives so that you can see the faithfulness and the hand of God that has been with you all along

-- to begin setting aside memorial stones and spiritual markers, the first thing we should do is sit down and try to remember the moments in our lives and in this church -- times when we had an experience with God

-- these are events like your baptism -- the day of your salvation -- the time when God answered your prayers and healed a loved one -- the day God comforted you in the loss of a family member or a friend

-- the day when God called you to a special ministry -- the day when God used you to do something important for the Kingdom, such as sharing the gospel and leading someone to Christ

-- as you sit down and try to remember these moments, it might be helpful to write them down or to make a timeline of your life and mark these moments on that timeline to help you see how God has moved in your life over time

-- as you know, I volunteer from time-to-time with a prison ministry called Kairos, and this was one of the exercises we led the prisoners through back in the early days of Kairos -- we had them make a timeline and history of where they had been and where they were headed -- physically and spiritually

-- and it helped them to see how God was with them early in their lives and it gives them hope that He would be with them in the future -- even though they may have made choices that led them away from Him and into prison, this timeline of spiritual stones reminded them that God was not through with them -- and that He would continue to reach out to them no matter where they were

-- seeing God’s hand in your life and noting the moments with Him on a timeline can help you see how God has led you in the past and where He is leading you now

-- additionally, these markers can serve as reminders of God’s faithfulness -- if He worked in your life in a mighty and powerful way in the past, then you can face anything in the future in the knowledge that He will be there for you again

-- perhaps you have a physical reminder of a special moment with God, like the memorial stones that Joshua raised up for the nation of Israel -- like those rocks that Roger is always giving out to people

-- find those reminders and keep them in a place where you can see them regularly -- so that you won’t forget -- so that you will remember

-- I am also a firm believer that churches need to document these spiritual markers in their history by putting up memorial stones, too

-- the stories of God’s hand and work in a church community are powerful and can remind everyone of the great things He has done and will do in the future

-- times such as the day when this church gathered around one of its own -- to share in someone’s joy -- to share their burdens -- to help them in times of sorrow and loss

-- we need to remember the faithfulness of the founders of this church -- we need to tell the stories of the lives that have been changed through the ministry of this church -- of the salvations and the baptisms -- of the remembrances of lives well-lived -- of times of fellowship and sorrow and joy -- of ministries that have occurred

-- we need to note the important dates and events that occurred in this community, because these stories will inspire greatness and increase faith and trust in God and point the way for the next generations

-- the Apostle Paul routinely wrote in his epistles that he had heard of the faith of the churches that he was writing to -- he had heard of their experiences with God because they had shared the stories with others

-- what are the stories of faith that come from this church? -- what stories about you have others heard, and how has it inspired their own journeys of faith?

-- we need to remember those stories -- write them down -- put up memorial stones and tell the next generations about them -- because we all need to remember how God has moved here in this place and in your individual lives as we look forward to where He is leading in the future

-- and, finally, tomorrow is a reminder to us that countries need memorial stones, too -- tomorrow is Memorial Day -- the day we remember those who sacrificed their lives for our country -- who believed so much in the idea of America that they were willing to give their lives for that dream

-- our country is broken right now -- it is more divided than I have ever seen it -- we are hurting as a country -- and it is time for us to remember our past -- to remember how God blessed this country from the beginning and how God used America to change this world and the lives of so many people for the better

-- these stories need to be remembered and told, just like the stories of our spiritual lives need to be remembered and told -- and the headstones of our veterans should serve as important reminders for us of who we once were as a nation and where we need to go in the future

IV. Closing

-- as we bring this to a close, let me share with you one more thought -- I was listening to an interview with John Swinton on the Good Faith podcast this week -- Swinton was discussing how to live in the memories of God -- focusing on the theological aspects of dementia

-- too often, we look at those with dementia or Alzheimer’s and we only see them slipping away -- we see how they no longer can remember who they are or who we are -- how their memories of the past that were so important in defining who they were are slowly being taken from them -- that’s why some have called their experiences with loved ones going through these diseases as “the long goodbye”

-- but Swinton pointed out something in this interview that I felt was profound -- as long as someone else remembers, these people still live -- as long as someone else remembers who they were and what they did -- the shared experiences they had -- then their stories are not lost -- they are remembered and are kept alive as part of the family and the community of faith

-- even though the person may have forgotten, our remembrances of them keep them whole

-- that’s why memorial stones are so important -- they are reminders of who we are -- as churches -- as communities of faith -- and as individuals called by God

-- we are called to remember -- to remember God -- to remember His faithfulness -- to remember who we are in Him -- Jesus Himself made that point when He instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion -- He told us to do this in remembrance of Him -- that by remembering what He had done, we would remember the story and our part in His death and resurrection

-- spiritual memorial stones serve to remind us of God’s faithfulness -- they stand as living monuments of hope to help us remember and they point to God’s promises for the future

-- In this passage from Joshua, the Israelites needed to remember what God had done for them in the past so they might have the courage to stand on His promises in the land in which they were entering

-- because of the memorial stones God had them place across the Jordan River, they knew that they could trust Him to help them in this new land -- and where their ancestors had failed because of a lack of faith, this time the Israelites succeeded because they remembered -- they remembered God’s work in their past and trusted Him with their future

-- as we leave here today, I want to encourage you to take some time to remember and think about the spiritual markers in your own lives and in the life of this church so that you might be encouraged in what God has done in the past and have hope in what He will do in the future

-- to help you being this journey of remembrance, I have a rock for each of you up here on the altar

-- they’re nothing special -- just a small rock -- small enough to carry with you in your pocket or your purse -- a reminder of God’s faithfulness and what He has done in this church and what He has done in you and in your life -- so, I would encourage you to pick one up on your way out today

-- with that, let me encourage you to take a moment right now to remember who you are in Christ and what He has done in your life so that you can face the future in hope and faith and share your legacy of faithfulness with those who follow

-- let us pray

1 Modified from Mark Meynell, "The Pulpit and the Body of Christ," Covenant Seminary 2017 Preaching Lectures