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Making a Monument Out of Your Miracle, Pt. 4
Joshua 3:7-17 (NASB) says, “7Now the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. 8“You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11“Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12“Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13“It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”
14So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, 15and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), 16the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
Joshua 4:1-7 (NASB) says, “1Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
Once the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant, Joshua gave a commandment to the children of Israel. There was to be a representative of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and they were to carry a stone from the middle of the Jordan River where the priests stood to their lodging place. At this lodging place on the other side of the River, with these twelve stones, they were to erect a monument so that generations later people would be able to ask what these stones represent, and they will be taught about the miracle that God worked as the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness to the promised land. On the other hand, Joshua took twelve stones and put them back into the Jordan to replace what had been taken from the Jordan to be used as a monument. The reason was because it was time to make a monument out of their miracle!
Each stone taken from the Jordan River was a representation of a tribe of Israel. *The tribes (denominations) must come together as one in order to prepare the way for Jesus to be exalted, the windows of heaven to be opened, the voice of the Father to be sounded, and the Holy Spirit to be descended upon us. If it seems like heaven is shut up above us, God’s voice is not being heard, and the Holy Spirit is not moving, then it is become we are not operating in the spirit of unity and our common purpose being to seek the face of Almighty God. The sweetest anointing that we read of in scripture is that of the spirit of unity. It is sweeter than the oil that went from Aaron’s head, ran down his beard and covered his garments. It is sweeter than the dew of Hermon. (Psalm 133) When we become united under a leadership that truly represents God and is seeking to only please Him, then the anointing that is upon the leadership will get to the body. Christ is the head of the church, and we are the body of Christ. If we want to operate in the same anointing as Christ, we must be equipped with the mind of Christ and be totally in tune with His mission, plan and purpose for us as the church. Jesus prayed over His disciples, saying, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21). If we want the world to believe upon Jesus Christ, we must come together in unity. *We must come together as a church to make a monument out of our miracle, but the problem with this generation is that we have made our monuments idols. We must smash our idols and use our monuments to testify to the next generation the greatness of our God! Some of you are in idolatry because you are only memorializing what happened years ago and are now serving a dead God, but I am glad to know that my God is alive and well. If He is not healing and saving any more, then you have vacated from the God of eternal hope and glory. It is time to get out of the wilderness, cross your Jordan and enter into you promise!
The stones that were to be established as a monument were to be placed at their lodging place. You need to rest, free from worry, fear and stress, because of the iracouls works that God has accomplished in your life. Whether it is salvation, healing or deliverance, never forget what God has done in your life, and rest in that place. Be secure in your faith in God, knowing that He is Jehovah Shalom, your peace! *You rest in the memorial of your miracle, but do not let your dreams stop there. There is so much more available for you! Too many are sitting idly by, always dreaming, but now is the time to wake up out of your slumber and make your dreams become a reality. God wants to use your talents, character and careers for His glory. It is time to be awakened out of your sleep and go to work for the glory of God!
*God instructed a monument to be erected in their lodging place, but Joshua wanted a monument in the Jordan River, stones that were stacked so high that certain seasons people would be able to see and remember where in the Jordan River this miracle took place. It signified new beginnings! However, by faith, Joshua knew that this was more than just replacing the other stones, but it was laying the foundation for greater events in the Bible to take place. *Elijah would part the Jordan River and would lead the prophet Elisha across on dry ground to the place where Elijah would be caught up in a whirlwind and chariot of fire until heaven. Then, Elisha would take the mantle of Elijah, hit the Jordan River, and walk back across on dry ground. What would become the last miracle of Elijah would become the first miracle of Elisha, as he would pick up from where the prophet Elijah left off and would operate in a double portion of his anointing. *Naaman, who was a general in the army of Syria, was bound by leprosy and in desperate need of a healing. Elisha sent a messenger to him, telling him to dip in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed. His initial reaction was that Elisha should have met him at the door of his house instead of sending a messenger, and the rivers of Damascus were so much better than the Jordan, but after some convincing from his servants, he finally decided to obey, and he would become completely cleanses. *Finally, it is believed in the Jewish culture that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River at the same place where the stones were placed in the Jordan by Joshua. So, this miracle and monument are in connection with a transfer of anointing from Elijah to Elisha, the healing of the captain of an army, and Jesus entering into His ministry. *Just as Joshua, church leadership today must lay the foundation for greater miracles to take place. We do not just need a monument of one miracle that happened, but we need stones of praise that are a setup for any miracles to happen. *Too many people in church leadership are trying to replace the stones of praise with the stones of religion. If we want to see God work miracles once again, we must keep Jesus at the center of all, and we must build a throne with our praise, carrying His presence wherever He goes!
Today, you may feel like you have been spiritually stuck in the wilderness for years, but now is the time to move under the leadership of Jesus Christ and go into your promise land. You do not have to wait to die to get to heaven, but heaven can come down to you as you live out His will and purpose for your life. It is time that we lay down the gossip, complaining and pride that has been hindering us for so long and focus our attention on becoming the royal priesthood of God and being carriers of His glory too. It is time to move beyond our human limits and follow God! Don’t just have a Red Sea experience, but a Jordan River one. It is time to make a monument of your miracle! Don’t allow that monument to become an idol, but through the spirit of unity, let it become a set up for greater miracles that is out ahead! The best is yet to come, and now is the time to step into that realm! The harvest is ripened, and the banks are overflowing, and so we must no longer be lazy and just dreaming, but it is time to wake up and get to work. Christ is returning, and we do not want to go before Him empty handed. Let’s lay down our sin, and let’s get to work!