HOW TO REMEMBER GOD’S MISSION PART 4
Text - Joshua 4:1-9
Introduction
Today is the first Sunday of the month which is our Theme Sunday when we emphasize our church goals and theme for 1992.
Each month this year we are emphasizing how to become a church with a mission.
We are doing this first of all through the word of God. On our theme Sundays I am preaching through the Book of Joshua on the mission God gave to Israel and how He has also given a mission to each one of us today.
So far we have seen in chapter one why our mission is so important.
In chapter two we learned how to carry out the mission God has given to us.
And in chapter three how to make what seems like an impossible mission, possible.
This morning our text is found in Joshua 4:1-9 and the title of my message is, “How To Remember God’s Mission.”
I am sure that each one of you have probably forgotten something at some time or another in your life.
I did this morning. Last night I forgot to set the clocks in my house ahead. I was the one who had it put in the bulletin and even announced it to everyone so noone would forget. But I forgot to do it last night. This morning my adrenalin was really in high speed. I usually try to get to church at least an hour before our Sunday School classes get started. But when I got here, I learned that instead of having an hour to relax and go over my notes, I really had no time at all. When I arrived at church this morning I saw all kinds of cars in the parking lot. On my watch it said 8:30 but in actuality it was really 9:30. What was even worse was I then remembered that I was supposed to wake my wife up at 8:30, but in actuality it was really 9:30 and she was still asleep in bed at 9:30. Boy do I have a lot of explaining to do today when I get home. So, please pray for me!
Here in Joshua chapter four God told Joshua and the Nation of Israel to remember some things about their mission. He told them not to forget what they had experienced.
An absent minded pastor went to a wedding rehearsal dinner. While he was there he observed a very interesting thing. The groom stood up and said, “I have a confession to make to my bride in front of all of you.” He looked at his wife in a very serious manner and then said, “Dear, I confess that before I married you, I spent many happy hours in the arms of another woman.” Then he paused. The people gasped and then the groom said, “My mother.” All the people at the rehearsal really enjoyed the joke and laughed. The pastor made a mental note of this and decided to remember what the man said so he could do the same thing at his 50th wedding anniversary the following week. On that Sunday, everyone from the church and community came to the special event in honor of the pastor and his wife. As everyone sat down, the pastor stood up at the main table to address the large crowd of people. He looked at his wife and said, “Dear, after 50 years of marriage I have a confession to make to you in front of all our friends. Before I married you, I spent many happy hours in the arms of another woman.” Then he paused. The people gasped and then the pastor said, “And for the life of me, I can’t remember who she was.”
There are some things we need to remember. God told Israel to remember the experienced they had and what God had done for them. He wanted them to remember how He had brought them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
We too need to remember what God has done for us. We need to remember the mission God has given to us and how God has brought us this far in our lives.
How do you do that? Here in our text we are given three ways to remember what God has done.