Now we will hear the reading of Joshua chapters 3 and 4 from my wife Rachel.
Our reading is from Joshua chapters 3 and 4.
Early in the morning, Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
After three days, the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people.
When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.
Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.
But keep a distance of about 2,000 cubits between you and the Ark. Do not go near it.
Joshua told the people,
Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.
Joshua said to the priests,
Take up the Ark of the Covenant and pass on ahead of the people.
So they took it up and went ahead of them.
And the Lord said to Joshua,
Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel,
So that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant,
When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters,
Go and stand in the river.
Joshua said to the Israelites,
Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.
This is how you will know that the living God is among you,
And that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites,
Hittites,
Hivites,
Perizzites,
Girgashites,
Amorites,
and Jebusites.
See,
the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.
Now then,
Choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel,
One from each tribe.
And as soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord,
The Lord of all the earth,
Set foot in the Jordan,
Its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan,
The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.
Now the Jordan is in flood all during harvest.
Yet as soon as the priests who carried the Ark reached the Jordan,
And their feet touched the water's edge,
The waters from upstream stopped flowing.
It piled up in a heap a great distance away,
At a town called Adam,
In the vicinity of Zarethon,
While the water flowing down to the sea of the Ereba,
That is the Dead Sea,
Was completely cut off.
So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord
Stopped in the middle of the Jordan,
And stood on dry ground,
While all Israel passed by,
Until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,
The Lord said to Joshua,
Choose twelve men from among the people,
One from each tribe,
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.
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites,
One from each tribe,
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,
To serve as a sign among you.
In the future,
When your children ask you,
What do these stones mean?
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.
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.
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.
Now the priests who carried the Ark
Remained standing in the middle of the Jordan
Until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua
Was done by the people,
Just as Moses had directed Joshua.
The people hurried over,
And as soon as all of them had crossed,
The Ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side
While the people watched.
The men of Reuben, Gad,
And the half-tribe of Manasseh
Crossed over,
Ready for battle,
In front of the Israelites,
As Moses had directed them.
About forty thousand,
Armed for battle,
Crossed over before the Lord
To the plains of Jericho for war.
That day the Lord exalted Joshua
In the sight of all Israel,
And they stood in awe of him
All the days of his life,
Just as they had stood in awe of Moses.
Then the Lord said to Joshua,
Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant law
To come up out of the Jordan.
So Joshua commanded the priests,
Come up out of the Jordan.
And the priests came up out of the river,
Carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.
No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground
Than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place
And ran in flood as before.
On the tenth day of the first month,
The people went up from the Jordan
And camped at Gilgal
On the eastern border of Jericho.
And Joshua set up at Gilgal
The twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.
He said to the Israelites,
In the future,
When your descendants ask their parents,
What do these stones mean?
Tell them,
Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan
Before you until you had crossed over.
The Lord your God did to the Jordan
What he had done to the Red Sea
When he dried it up before us
Until we had crossed over.
He did this
So that all the peoples of the earth
Might know
That the hand of the Lord is powerful
And so that you
So that you might always fear the Lord your God.
This is the word of the Lord.
Do any of you have something
That has special meaning to you
Because of a story behind it?
It might remind you of a certain time
Or person or place.
Maybe it's a souvenir.
Maybe it's a gift someone's given you in the past.
Perhaps it's a family heirloom
That's been passed down to you
From generation to generation.
I have one of those things
I actually brought it
To Scotland with me from the States
It's actually just a brick
And though it's not particularly attractive
It has significant meaning to me
Because it actually comes from
My home church
In Greenville, South Carolina
And if you were to come to my house
And see this brick
Sitting on a shelf
And ask me what it's about
I would tell you
The story behind this brick
I'd tell you the story of my home church
My church in the States
Was downtown Presbyterian Church
It was founded in 2005
When several local families
Felt the Lord's calling
To love and serve downtown
By planting a church there
For the first several years
That it met
The church didn't have a building
And we were eventually able
To purchase an old auto body shop
Which served as our church building
For a number of years
But we eventually outgrew
The size of that building
And rather than trying to renovate
We realized it was going to be
Cheaper and easier
Just to demolish the building
And build a new one
And so these bricks
Were collected after the demolition
And were given to church members
Primarily to remind us
Of God's faithfulness
How he uses flawed people
Who didn't know what they were doing
To plant a new church
And to symbolize
How God had blessed the church
By growing us in numbers
By allowing us to be a light
In the city
By allowing us to even
Plant other churches
And so when I look at this brick
As it sits on my shelf at home
I am reminded of God's goodness
And his faithfulness to me
And to my church family
In Greenville
And so as we look at our passage tonight
And we see the people
As they crossed into the promised land
Through the Jordan River
We see emphasized God's faithfulness
And his desire for his people
To remember his faithfulness
And we see that God gives them a memorial
After they complete their crossing
So those are the two things
I actually want to focus on tonight
Is the miracle
And the memorial
The miracle of God performing
That God performed by parting
The Jordan River
For the Israelites
To walk on dry ground
And that memorial
That God instructed them
To build from rocks
Gathered from the dry riverbed
So let's first look at that miracle
Now we heard from the last couple weeks
From James as he preached
That the book of Joshua
Joshua starts with God's commissioning
Of Joshua
Moses who had led the Israelites
Out of Egypt
And through the wilderness
For 40 years
Has died
And now it's Joshua
Who would lead them
Into the promised land
The land of Canaan
And so as we read in chapter 1
Joshua gave a notice
Throughout the camp
That they would be crossing the river
In three days
Joshua had sent spies to Jericho
They had made contact with Rahab
And they had returned
With a good report
That the Lord
Had truly given them
Or was going to give them
The land
All the lands of Canaan
Into their hands
And so now it was go time
After 40 years
Of wandering in the wilderness
God's promise
Was about to be fulfilled
So you can imagine
Their excitement
And their anticipation
Maybe you've experienced
These same emotions
In thinking about our family
We actually went on a trip
To Disney World last year
And it was a gift
That was given to the kids
At Christmas time
Although we didn't actually go
Until mid-February
And so we had two months
Of this building excitement
And anticipation
It was every day
The kids would ask
You know
How many more days
Till we leave
When can we pack our bags
And that day finally arrived
And we boarded our plane
And flew to Orlando
And we drove under that archway
When you get on Disney property
That says welcome
To Walt Disney World
And the kids were ecstatic
So you think
How much more
Were the Israelites
How much more
Would they have been excited
About this prospect
They weren't merely going
On a holiday
They were moving
Into the land of milk and honey
That had been promised to them
They were no longer
Going to be living as nobads
They would live in a house
In a city
They would have farmland
Where they could raise
Their families
The time had finally arrived
And so we see
How Joshua commands them
To get ready
But it's not
With instructions
That you might think of
As we would think of
When we prepare
To go on a trip
He didn't tell them
To pack their tents
Or fashion any sort of raft
To cross the river
He told the people
To consecrate themselves
And this was actually
The same instruction
That God gave
The people of Israel
At Mount Sinai
Before Moses received
The Ten Commandments
It would have actually
Involved the people
Washing their clothes
Abstaining from sexual relations
It was intended
To help prepare them
Spiritually
God wanted them
To be focused
And clear minded
He wanted to remove
All distraction
So that they could
Fully appreciate
The amazing things
The Lord
Was about to accomplish
And so we
Similarly we do
This ourselves
When we prepare
For worship
Each morning
And each evening
During our worship
Time together
We did it today
Where we read
A passage
Perhaps it's
A responsive reading
And it's intended
To prepare us
To experience
The goodness
And the greatness
Of God
It's intended
To help us
Put aside
Any distraction
That we can
Settle our hearts
And focus our minds
In order that
We can be sincere
In our worship
And we have
The same struggle
When we think
Of serving the Lord
Too right
How often do we say
We are doing
The Lord's work
But we end up
Relying on our own
Planning and our
Own execution
We may give
God lip service
Or pray occasionally
But our focus
May remain on
Ourselves and
Our own ability
We may have
The best of intentions
But how often
Do we really pause
To acknowledge
Our need for God
That it is God
Who must work
In us
And through us
To accomplish
His purpose
And so that's the reason
Why God paused
And had them
Consecrate themselves
Prior to telling him
Of his plan
And so we see
After they
Consecrate themselves
God reveals
How he is going
To bring them
Into the promised land
He has devised
A plan
Where there will be
No mistaking
By the people
Of Israel
Or the people
Of the land of Canaan
The power
And the presence
Of God
And so we read
That in chapter 3
Verses 9 through 13
I'm going to read
Them again for us
Joshua said
To the Israelites
Come here
And listen to the word
Of the Lord your God
This is how you will know
That the living God
Is among you
And that he will
Certainly drive
Out before you
The Canaanites
Hittites
Hivites
Perizzites
Girgashites
Amorites
And Jebusites
See the ark
Of the covenant
Of the Lord
Of all the earth
Will go on
Into the Jordan
Ahead of you
Now then
Choose twelve men
From the tribes
Of Israel
One from each tribe
And as soon
As the priests
Who carry the ark
Of the Lord
The Lord
Of all the earth
Set foot in the Jordan
Its waters flowing
Downstream
Will be cut off
And stand up
In a heap
We see that God
Just like God
Parted the Red Sea
For the people
As they were escaping
The Egyptians
Who were pursuing them
God was going to do
The same thing here
He was going to
Part the waters
Of the Jordan
For his people
To enter
The land of Canaan
And so what's even
More impressive about
Though
This is what is noted
In verse 15
That the Jordan
Jordan River
Was overflowing
At that time
Because it was
The time
Of harvest
And so this crossing
Would have actually
Occurred in the springtime
Possibly
March or April
And due to
The spring showers
The melting snow
From the north
This would have
Turned the Jordan
Into this raging river
Typically the Jordan
River was probably
About a hundred feet
Wide in most places
But in this case
During flood season
It could have been
As much as
A mile wide
And the water
Spilling out
Across the plain
Of Jordan
There's certainly
No one who
Would have expected
A person
Much less
A whole nation
Of people
To cross the river
At this location
And at this time
Of year
So God is making
Abundantly clear
That it is He
Who is asserting
His power
Over creation
But it's not only
God's power
That's emphasized
In this passage
It's actually
His presence
The main focus
Of this narrative
If you look closely
Is actually
The Ark of the Covenant
As we know
The Ark
Was created
To be a symbol
Of God's presence
Among his people
And we see
Repeatedly
That each time
That God
Or Joshua
Gives instruction
To the people
It involves
The Ark of the Covenant
It's the Ark
That's carried
By the priests
That pass on
Ahead of the people
It's the Ark
That's carried
To the river's edge
Causing the waters
To stand up
In a heap
It's the Ark
That remains
On dry ground
In the middle
Of the river
As the people
Pass through
And it's the Ark
That's carried
Out of the river
On the opposite side
Of the Jordan
Causing the waters
To return
To their flood stage
As before
God is clearly
Showing that
He is with
His people
And that He
Is solely
Responsible
For this miracle
And so
It's worth asking
Why did God
Choose to act
In this way
What was the purpose
Of this miracle
I mean
God certainly
Could have had
His people
Travel further north
Where it would have
Been easier
To cross
The Jordan River
He could have
Just simply
Waited a couple
Months
Until the flood
Season had ended
I mean
They've been traveling
Around the wilderness
And wandering
For 40 years
What difference
Would a couple
Months make
At that point
Right
But God
Chose to do
The impossible
By stopping
A raging river
For an entire
Nation to cross
On Jai ground
And we see
The reason
That God
Gives for this
At the very
End of chapter
4
In chapter 4
Verse 24
It says this
He did this
Speaking of God
That all the
People of the
Earth might know
That the hand
Of the Lord
Is powerful
And so that you
Might always
Fear the Lord
Your God
God wants
His greatness
To be known
By all
And he craves
The loyalty
Of his people
As this passage
Says
And so what
Better way
Of doing that
Than by exposing
The helpless
Condition of those
Who saves
God's power
And his presence
Is always most evident
When we are
At our weakest
And maybe you've
Experienced that
Yourself
Just like the
Israelites
Where God
Has put us
Put you
Into an
Impossible
Feeling situation
Where the
Circumstance
Around you
Make you feel
Like the outcome
Is so bleak
That you are
Without hope
You know
Maybe a family
Member
Has passed away
Maybe you've
Experienced a
Cancer diagnosis
Or you have
A rebellious
Child
Perhaps a
Horrible boss
In a dead
End job
Or some
Sort of
Financial
Hardship
Maybe it's
The isolation
And loneliness
That you're
Experiencing
During this
Lockdown
That doesn't
Ever seem
To have
An end
In these
Hard times
It's important
That we
Recognize
That God
May bring
About these
Difficult
Situations
For the
Intended
Purpose
Of revealing
Our limitations
To reveal
To us
That our
Deliverance
Only comes
Through the
Power
And the
Presence
Of the
Lord
And when
We recognize
This it's
Important
God notes
That it's
Not just
His people
That recognize
This but
It's something
That is to
Be recognized
By all
The people
Of the
World
The revelation
Of God's
Might and
Glory is
Missional
In nature
It draws
The attention
Of the
Unbelieving
World
When the
Unbelieving
World sees
God work
In us
And through
Us
Despite
Our
Impossible
Situations
Around us
It compels
Them
It compels
Those who
Have rebelled
Against God
To turn
And embrace
Him
And to be
Saved
And further
God says
In this
Reasoning
Here
That when
We acknowledge
His power
And his
Presence
We will be
Compelled
To fear
Him
This means
That we
Want to
Give him
Our whole
Hearted
Loyalty
When we
See his
Goodness
And greatness
We desire
To be
Drawn
Closer
To him
Because we
Recognize
That it's
He alone
Who's
Worthy
Of our
Praise
And our
Worship
And so
That's why
God
Performed
This miracle
In this
Way
This is
Why God
Continues
To intervene
In our
Lives
Today
That he
May reveal
His power
And that
He may
Attract
The loyalty
Of his
People
And so
If that's
Why God
Performed
The miracle
Then let's
Consider this
Memorial
That he
Creates
Instructs
The Israelites
To assemble
After this
Miracle
Is performed
Hope
You know
We've
My family
Has been
In Edinburgh
For over
Four months
Now
And though
There hasn't
Been a lot
We can do
With everything
Closed down
One of the
Things we've
Really enjoyed
Doing is
Is going
On walks
Where we
Have been
Able to
See a
Number of
Monuments
And memorials
It's truly
One of the
Things that
Makes Edinburgh
So distinct
And especially
For myself
And my
Family
That's
Americans
We come
From a
Country that
Doesn't have
This long
Of a history
To come
Here and
See such a
Rich history
Is such a
Neat thing
For us
Where we
See these
Monuments
Or memorials
That are
Constructed
For poets
Or theologians
Or politicians
For war heroes
Whatever it may
Be
They really
All serve
The same
Purpose
To preserve
And to
Promote
The memory
Of a person
Or an event
And so that's
What God
Instructs Joshua
To do here
After the
People of
Israel had
Passed through
The river
Onto dry
Ground
Joshua
Instructs
The leaders
From each
Tribe
To take
A rock
From the
Riverbed
To form
This
Memorial
And so we
See it
If we look
In Joshua
4
Verses
5
Through 7
It says
This
Go over
Before the
Ark of
The ark
Before the
Ark of the
Lord
Into the
Jordan
To serve
As a sign
Among you
In the future
When your
Children ask you
What do these
Stones mean
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
So we see
That even
Though God
Had just
Revealed
His power
To his
People
By this
Miracle
He
Recognizes
Our
Tendency
To forget
In fact
Back in
Deuteronomy
He warned
The Israelites
While they were
Still in the
Wilderness
Not to
Forget
In Deuteronomy
6
10-12
He says
This
When the
Lord your
God
Brings you
Into the
Land
He swore
To your
Fathers
To Abraham
And Isaac
And Jacob
To give
You
A land
With large
Flourishing
Cities
You did
Not build
Houses
Filled
With all
Kinds
Of goods
That you
Did not
Provide
Wells
You did
Not dig
And vineyards
And olive
Grows
You did
Not plant
Then
When you
Eat
And are
Satisfied
Be careful
That you
Do not
Forget the
Lord
Who brought
You out
Of Egypt
Out of
The land
Of slavery
In fact
God goes
Even further
Than giving
This warning
Because a
Few chapters
Later
Chapter 34
Of the
Book of
Deuteronomy
God actually
Predicts
That his
People
When they
Experience this
Wealth and
This comfort
In this
Promised land
They will
Rebel
And they
Will break
His covenant
And so I
Imagine when the
Israelites heard
This news
When they
Were told
That they
Would rebel
In the future
That they
Might find it
Unimaginable
Right?
Even if they
Admit they
Kind of grumbled
A lot in
The wilderness
Because they
Just didn't
Have any
Shelter
Any permanent
Place to
Live
They were
Eating the
Same food
Every day
They would
Have thought
Hey you
Get us to
The promised
Land and
We are going
To be so
Thankful
There's no
Way we are
Going to
Forget your
Goodness and
Your faithfulness
But God
Obviously knew
Them and he
Knows us
Better than
We know
Ourselves
And he
Knows that
One of the
Greatest
Enemies to
Our faith
Is our
Forgetfulness
Some have
Described it
As spiritual
Amnesia
We see
This cycle
Repeated by
The nation
Of Israel
We see it
Repeated in
Our own
Lives
That God
Provides
For us
He proves
His faithfulness
To us
And we
In turn
Show our
Gratitude
And our
Praise
But as
Time passes
We lose
Focus
We face
And when we
Come to face
New challenges
Or difficulties
Then we
Grow to
Worry again
And we
Grow anxious
And we
Completely
Forget about
How God
Has cared
For us
And has
Provided for
Us in the
Past
So God
Gives his
People
This sign
To remember
His faithfulness
And the
Importance of
The sign
Is twofold
Not only
Does it
Point
Backward
At the
Miracle
That God
Performed
It also
Is intended
To point
Forward
You know
You may
Know people
Who love
To reminisce
About old
Memories
They always
Talk about
The good
Old days
Right
But the
Criticism
That they
Often receive
Is that
They are
Living in
The past
But by
Instructing
His people
To build
This memorial
Of stone
God
Is not
Wanting his
People
Simply
To live
In the
Past
These stones
Are meant
To signify
A much
Greater
Reality
They reveal
God's
Character
As a
Covenant
Keeping
God
He is
Telling them
That
I
As I
Was faithful
To you
In the
Past
I am
Faithful
To you
Now
And I
Will be
Faithful
To you
In the
Future
And that's
The good
News that
We see
Throughout
The scriptures
Right
That God
Always
Remains
Faithful
To his
People
And so
Just as
That memorial
Served as
A sign
To the
People
Of Israel
God
Has given
Us signs
As well
That we
Use today
One of
Those signs
Is the
Lord's
Supper
When we
Take communion
Together
And although
We haven't
Been able
To participate
In this
Sign for a
While due
To COVID
It's important
For us to
Remember the
Sacrifice
Of Jesus
That when
We break
Bread
And drink
From the
Cup
We are
Remembering
How the
Body of
Jesus
Was broken
How his
Blood
Was shed
On the
Cross
So that
We can
Be rescued
From the
Punishment
Of our
Sins
And be
Presented
Pure and
Holy
Before God
The Father
By sending
His son
Jesus
God
Was actually
Fulfilling a
Covenant
That he
Made to
Abraham
Long ago
Abraham
As you know
Was considered
The father
Of the nation
Of Israel
And a
Part of
That same
Covenant
Is what
God
Fulfilled
Through
Joshua
Here
God
Had also
Promised
To give
Abraham's
Descendants
The land
Of Canaan
And so
It's worth
Noting
This parallelism
That we
See between
God's
Parting
The Jordan
And God's
Providing
Jesus
And we
See this
Specifically
In the
Person
Of Joshua
As I
Mentioned
It's Joshua
Who is
Now
The leader
Of the
Israelites
Who is
Leading them
Into the
Promised Land
And we
See what
God
Says to
Joshua
Specifically
In chapter
Three
Verse
Seven
He says
This
Today
I will
Begin
To
Exalt
You
In the
Eyes
Of
All
Israel
So
That
They
May
Know
That
I
Am
With
You
As
I
Was
With
Moses
Joshua
Had
Proved
Himself
To be
A
Faithful
Servant
And God
Said
That
Through
His
Presence
He
Was
Going
To
Make
Him
A
Great
Leader
Now
I
Think
It's
Interesting
To
Note
The
Name
Joshua
Means
God
Saves
And
If you
Remember
From our
Advent
Series
Last
Month
It's
The
Same
Name
That
Was
Given
To
The
Child
Born
Of
The
Virgin
Mary
Jesus
Yeshua
God
Saves
And
So
In
The
Same
Way
That
God
Exalted
Joshua
He
Also
Exalts
His
Son
Jesus
We
Read
This
In
Philippians
2
9
11
Therefore
God
Exalted
Him
To
The
Highest
Place
And
Gave
Him
The
Name
That
Is
Above
Every
Name
That
At
The
Name
Of
Jesus
Every
Knee
Should
Bow
In
Heaven
And
On
Earth
And
Under
The
Earth
And
Every
Tongue
Acknowledged
That
Jesus
Christ
Is
Lord
To
The
Glory
Of
God
The
Father
Yoon
This
People
Man
Goes
Everyone
Where
了
Hindus
their river by themselves. And we see Jesus who comes to save us in our helpless, hopeless
condition and bring us into relationship with God. And we see instead of building a memorial of stones,
Jesus is called the one who performed signs and miracles. He himself is our sign. In fact,
the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the living stone. In 1 Peter 2, 4-8, it says this,
As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him,
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in the scriptures it says,
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will
never be put to shame. Jesus is our living stone, and as our living stone, he is the foundation of
our faith. He is the embodiment of God's faithfulness to us. And the neat thing about this passage, not only
is he is he the living stone, but it says that those who trust in him are also like living stones.
We, the church, are his temple. We are considered the Lord's holy priesthood.
And so just like the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan, we ourselves
carry the Holy Spirit who indwells us.
And so if you are discouraged and if you are in need of reminding of God's faithfulness,
we can look to Christ as our sign. We can look to Christ as our rock and our salvation. We can remember
that once we were rebels against God, but now have been made children of God. We can be encouraged by
the Holy Spirit who lives within us. There is a YouTube video that I really love. It may be one
that you've seen before. It's a number of years old. It's a recording of an old lady who's lying in bed,
and she has Alzheimer's. And her adult daughter is lying next to her in bed. And the daughter says to
her mother, I love you, mama. And the mother says, I love you too. The daughter asks, but mama,
you don't know who I am, do you? And this old lady who had, because of her Alzheimer's disease,
had previously forgotten who her daughter was. During this video, she has that light bulb moment.
And she responds, yes, you're Kelly. And the daughter is just visibly shocked. And she says,
yes, mama. And the mother continues, and I named you Kelly. And I love you, Kelly.
The daughter smiles and replies, I love you too, mama. And the clip ends with the mother saying,
she says, oh, isn't it wonderful?
Isn't it wonderful for us? Isn't it wonderful when we remember the faithfulness of God?
Isn't it wonderful to remember how he loves us and how he has saved us and how he continues to care for
us? But the reality is, just like that old lady who likely forgot her daughter again,
we don't always remember. Just like the people of Israel, even with signs and memorials,
we too are prone to forget the faithfulness of God. But we can take comfort in this because
our salvation is not based on our memory. Our salvation comes through the power of a covenant
keeping God who never forgets. Our salvation is achieved by his son who promised to never leave us
or forsake us. Psalms 105.8 says this, that God remembers his covenant forever.
The word he commanded for a thousand generations. And so if you are in Christ, you can take comfort in
the security of your salvation. And you can have faith. You can rejoice in the faith that is given to us
through Christ.
If you are not a believer, I pray that you will recognize the power and the presence of God, that
you will recognize the hopelessness of your condition, that you cannot save yourself. But it's Jesus who
comes to us, who offers us life, who offers to carry us into relationship with God through faith.
And so as we close, I want to actually leave you with some lyrics from a song that our family
really loves. It's actually a kid's album put out by a musical artist, Ellie Holcomb. And it's just a
whole album that overflows with wonderful gospel truths. I'd recommend it to anyone who has kids and
even those who don't. And the song is entitled, Don't Forget to Remember. And though the lyrics are
simple, its message is powerful. And the chorus goes like this,
Don't forget to remember you're never alone, no matter if you are up high or down low. And as sure
as the sun will keep rising above, don't forget to remember that you are dearly loved.
The song ends like this,
Let the whole earth remind you of what God has said, from the moment you wake up till you go to bed.
Oh, and even on days you forget what is true. Don't forget to remember that God won't forget you.
You pray with me.