The Importance of Memorials by Brother Curtis Hansen

                 We are going to begin this morning's message with a definition. The definition is for memorial. A memorial is something, especially a structure, established to remind people of a person or event. There are holidays designated through the calendar year which we observe as memorials for things. Memorial Day, Veterans Day, 4th of July. What we need to be reminded of is that memorials are something we pass down to the next generation. 

        There are two points to look at and examine. The reason for memorials and the point of them. Our scripture reading is in Joshua chapter 3 and starting at verse 9. A quick recap as to what is getting ready to happen. Joshua and the children of Israel are getting ready to cross the Jordan River. They have just left Shittim.

        9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.

        10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

        11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.

        12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

        13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the water of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap.

        14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

        15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

        16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

        17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

        Let's briefly look at this spectacular miracle. In verse 12, Joshua is told that one man out of each of the twelve tribes for a task. This entire miracle is completed by adherence to the strict instruction God gives and the obedience to follow through with the task. The crossing over is a demonstration of water baptism, similar to the time the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. As is recorded in verse 17 of chapter 3, the people were passed clean over Jordan. The Jordan River was about a mile in width and there were quite a few people of the 12 tribes to cross so consider two things. 1) The time it took for every man, woman, and child to cross the river bed. 2) The floor of the Jordan River being completely dry for the tribes to cross with their possessions. Most of the time when bodies of water dry up, there's considerable effort that has to be made in getting across the body. We will pick up now at Joshua chapter 4 and verse 1.

        1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,

        2 Take you twelve men our of the people, out of every tribe a man,

        3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

        4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

        5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD, your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of tribes of the children of Israel:

        6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ue by these stones?

        7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, when it passed over Jordan, th waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

        8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

        9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

        Memorial had never really been discussed or written about the nation of Israel until this point. The whole reason and point for the memorial is in verse 6. When you answer them... verse 7, not the priests, nor the Levites but you yourself. This memorial was created for future generations. If a home doesn't take and train its children in the right and proper ways, the world will do that job for the home.

        The idea of setting memorials come from God. All the festivals Israel has are memorials that designate different points in their history. You need memorials. You need these stones as a witness for your life. Men of the house are designated leaders in God's eyes. There are moments where you can speak or witness in the name of Jesus but consider the fruits you may bear.

        Milk and honey. The promised land was flowing with prosperity and wealth. When you come into this life, these are the benefits of the kingdom. Think of the stones God has given you in your life. Do you truly know those stones? It is your job to testify and spread the word about your memorials. It is our need to build these memorials. Moments like your baptism, call to repentance, receiving the Holy Ghost, overcoming a generational curse, overcoming temptation. These are memorials worth sharing. The great majority of the New Testament is about staying on the path, It is easy to fall in love but staying in love is the hard part.