Preached at Wright’s Chapel Methodist Church
150th Anniversary -- 15 October 2023
I. Introduction
-- before
we turn to God’s word, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this
invitation to come and speak this morning -- it is truly an honor to be here in
this place -- I left here in 2012, and I find it truly amazing that when I look
out at all of you, you’re all still sitting in the same seats you were in ten
years ago!
-- and, honestly, it’s truly nice
to see that -- I know that there are several who have passed away over the
years and have gone on to be with the Lord, but when I look at, I still see
them -- sitting in their same old seats, just like they always did
-- and it’s nice to look out and
see a few new faces here and there and to see how all those children that were
here back then have grown up to be such remarkable young men and women -- I know
a lot of them have moved on to other churches and other communities of faith,
but they are part of the history and legacy of this church -- and it’s
heart-warming to know that the legacy of this church continues, even after all
these years
-- so, it is good to be here with
you this morning as we look back at where this church has been and as we
celebrate 150 years of faithfulness in this community and as we look forward to
where God may be leading us in the future
-- so, with
that, let us turn now to God’s word -- if you have your Bibles, please join me at
Joshua 4:1-9
Joshua 4:1-9
New International Version
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.
-- I wanted
to begin this morning by showing you this rock -- just a regular, old rock --
big enough to fit in the palm of your hand, with a little indention on the side
that fits your thumb just perfectly -- the surface is smooth, like it has been
in a river or been shaped by a current of some type -- its color is just plain
grey -- nothing to make it stand out -- I happened across it while taking a
walk at Moody AFB one day -- and I picked it up -- and I’ve had it ever since
-- you
might look at it and think there’s nothing special about it, but for me, this
rock is significant
-- you see,
at the time I found it, I was going through a crisis at work -- I had been
falsely accused of violating an employee’s rights and an EEO complaint had been
filed against me alleging that I had taken retribution against him because he
wasn’t a Christian -- the employee reported to management that I was persecuting
him and seeking to have him removed from his position because he wouldn’t join
a voluntary Bible study I hosted at work and wouldn’t come to the church I was
pastoring at the time
-- the
allegations were unfounded -- none of them were true -- the employee was
actually in a short-term position that was ending, and I had reminded him that
the term on his contract was coming to an end and that he needed to try to find
another job -- that we would not be able to keep him on at the base after the
end of his contract
-- instead of trying to find
another job, he came up with a plan to get me fired and take my position -- and
this guy knew how to spin the truth in just the right way to make his case seem
valid to our superiors and turn them against me -- not only was my credibility
and honor at stake, but if the case went against me, the threat of getting
fired and destroying a 20-year career at that time was very real -- and with an
EEO complaint against me, it would be hard to get another position in the
Government -- I was in a very precarious position
-- to make
things worse, rather than ending this employee’s position when the term was
over, the Government was required to keep him in place until the EEO complaint
was settled and it was determined whether I had treated him unfairly or not
-- so, this guy continued to work
in my office after he began his smear campaign against me -- I had to see him
and work with him and continue to supervise him daily -- which was difficult to
do since I knew that anything I did or said would be twisted to provide more
evidence against me -- I walked on egg-shells with him for months
-- as the case was pending a review
by the installation Judge Advocate -- the head lawyer on the installation -- and
as we were going through legal depositions, I found myself very depressed and
just worn out -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually -- I needed a break
-- so, one day at lunch, rather
than eating at my desk as I normally did, I just went outside and took a long
walk -- I spent the time praying and asking God for help -- as I was walking
along, my foot hit this rock -- which was weird enough -- all of you know that
we don’t have rocks like this just laying around in south Georgia -- so, it
caught my attention
-- I bent down and picked it up --
like I said, it fit perfectly in my hand -- it seemed like it was made for me
-- and as I stood there contemplating this stone, I heard the Lord speak to me
-- He called my attention to how smooth the stone was -- like it had been
shaped by wind or waves -- and I heard His voice speaking in the depths of my
heart: “This stone has been through a storm, just like you are going through
now -- but the storm shaped it and formed it and made it better -- you will
come through this storm in the same way, too”
-- while I was standing there
holding this stone, a verse came to mind -- Psalm 18:2-3 -- “The Lord is my
rock, my fortress, and my deliverer -- My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge
-- He is my shield and the horn of my salvation -- my stronghold -- I call to the
Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies”
-- at that moment, peace washed
over me, and I knew everything was going to be okay -- whether I was vindicated
and the charges found to be false, like I knew them to be, or whether I ended
up losing my job -- I knew God was going to take care of me -- I took this rock
back to my office, and it has sat on my desk in front of me ever since until
this morning, when I brought it to share with you
-- I bring
all this up to make a point -- all of us have moments like these in our lives
-- times when God has touched us -- spoken to us -- guided us -- or led us in
the direction He would have us go
-- perhaps
they occurred during the midst of a storm, like mine -- perhaps it was a
special moment with God in a worship service or ministry retreat, like the Walk
to Emmaus or a church revival -- perhaps it was during a life-changing moment
with your family or friends when you experienced the grace and presence of God
in a miraculous way
-- all of
us have experienced moments like these -- and these special times with God
occur in both our individual lives and in our churches
-- in a
very real way, that is what today is all about as we gather to celebrate
Wright’s Chapel’s ministry in this community over the last 150 years -- for
this is a time that we look back at where this church has been and what this
church has done -- when we look back and remember the times God has spoken in
this church -- when God has moved in the life of this church -- when God’s
presence and power has been felt in ways that changed people’s lives forever
--
remembering these times is important -- and regardless of when or how you or
this church experienced such a special moment with God, it’s important for us
to intentionally make an effort to record them -- to remember them -- to
remember Him -- and His goodness and His grace and His mercy
-- when we record these moments --
when we mark them down as remembrances in our lives and as we share them with
others -- they serve as witnesses and testimonies of God’s grace and goodness
in our lives for us and for those who follow behind
-- there are many ways to remember
these moments -- to set them in stone, if you will -- and one way to do so is
to set aside memorial stones or spiritual markers in our lives commemorating
these events -- reminders of God’s hand and presence in our lives
-- this
rock is a memorial stone -- a spiritual marker -- in my life -- it represents a
time when I had an encounter with the living God -- a burning bush moment I
experienced that was no less real and no less life-changing than the one Moses
experienced in the desert of Sinai
-- this rock reminds me of the
moment when God reached down into my life and spoke into the midst of a storm
at just the right moment to give me strength and courage to carry on -- it is a
reminder of God’s faithfulness in my life -- and that is why I have kept it
with me ever since
-- since
today is about remembering the experiences this church has had with God in its
150-year history, I wanted us to look together at this passage from Joshua 4
that shows the importance of erecting memorial stones and spiritual markers in
our lives and in our churches and in our communities and how they are important
as we continue on in our walk with Christ in the future
II. Scripture Reading/Lesson
-- before
we look at the text again, 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 1-3
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.”
-- 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 leading the nation into the Promised Land, He wanted to make sure that
the people didn’t forget Him and His mighty works again -- this time, He gave
them a physical reminder of His power and grace
-- God told
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 -- and He told each of them to take a stone from the middle of the
river and put the stones down at the place where they would spend the night
-- verse 4-9
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.
-- so,
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
our lives
-- that
night, Joshua set up the stones in the midst of all the people, and 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 representation 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
generation
III. Memorial Stones
-- this
story expresses to us the importance of having memorial stones and spiritual
markers in our lives, because, like the Israelites, we sometimes have a problem
with short-term memory loss
--
sometimes when we are in the midst of a storm, we can forget how God has helped
us in similar situations in the past, so we start 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 that
place -- of the miracles and the moments that occurred in the past -- and the
promises that God will meet us there again, if we but trust Him and seek with
all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength
-- memorial
stones keep us from forgetting -- they stand as reminders of who we are and
where we've been -- and the stories of these stones 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
-- just
take a moment and look at the windows around this sanctuary -- these stained
glass windows are not just mere decoration -- they are memorial stones --
reminders of God’s hand and ministry in the lives of the Apostles -- of God’s
grace and mercy in the lives of others
-- we can
look at these windows and be reminded of the stories of faith -- of the stories
of how God called men and women in the past to serve Him -- and to know that if
He did that for them, He can do the same for me and for you and for those
around you
-- 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 on 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
-- and 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 His hand led our family to this church -- how it was His plan for
us to be here and to share our lives with you for the time we were together -- for
that season -- and how our time here helped us grow spiritually and how it
prepared us to go on to minister in different places and in different ways
-- 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 -- that is why I am such a
proponent of them -- this is why I support days like today -- times when we
gather to remember moments with God as we look forward to where He is leading
us in the future
-- 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 this rock is
for me -- find those reminders and keep them in a place where you can see them
regularly -- some days, I just hold this rock and give thanks because it is a
reminder of God’s presence in my life -- then and now
-- 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 Wright’s
Chapel? -- what stories about you have others heard, and how has it inspired
their own journeys of faith?
-- you 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
IV. Closing
-- memorial
stones are important reminders of who we are -- as churches -- as communities
of faith -- and as individuals called by God
-- spiritual memorial stones serve
to remind us of God’s faithfulness -- they stand as living monuments of hope as
they point to His promise for the future
-- In this
passage from Joshua, it was time for the Israelites 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
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 document 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 in a basket up here -- 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
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