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[0:00] A warm welcome to church this morning. It's good to see everyone and it's good to have some visitors with us as well this morning. You're especially welcome. Stay if you can at the end. There's tea and there's coffee and a time to enjoy a cake or two and a chat.

[0:15] So if you're able to stay behind them, please stay. Good to have some, not so much visitors, but returning friends, students back with us today as well. And you also are especially welcome. So the evening service this evening will be at 6pm and will be conducted by myself, God willing.

[0:32] It's the evening service from 6 to 7. Young people, be encouraged to keep on coming. The elders will meet for prayer at the manse tomorrow night to Kailas at half past 7.

[0:44] So please take note of that to the church session. The ladies Bible study meets at 8 on Monday as usual. First Fruit Fellowship meets at half past 7 on Tuesday in the Church of Scotland Hall.

[0:56] And Road to Recovery meets on Tuesday at 8 here in the Community Centre. The prayer meeting is on Wednesday at half past 7 and it will be in the Community Centre this week. Apologies to anybody who came here on Wednesday past.

[1:08] I'm conscious one or two didn't get the message that had been moved to the Council offices. So if you're one of them, apologies. We'll go back to the Community Centre here on Wednesday at half past 7.

[1:23] All are welcome to that. Services next Sunday at 11 and 6 as usual. Taken by myself, God willing. WF Emblemen for Mission will have a meeting including a very brief AGM in the Scalper Community Centre on Friday, 7 October at half past 7.

[1:40] Usual thing, bring and buy table. All ladies welcome to attend and lifts are available if you're interested to speak to Mary. Also, if you're able to still help at the manse, there's a lot of progress this week that's gone on.

[1:55] So we're thankful for those who did help. For those who are able to still help, there's still lots to do. So please come along if you've got time and there's usually a couple of people who can give direction.

[2:08] We're going to begin and we're going to worship God and sing to His praise. And we lift our eyes to the God who is great, beyond our minds, beyond our measure.

[2:20] And we sing for Mission Praise 506, the words also on the screen. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hand hath made.

[2:31] I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sends my soul, my Saviour God to thee, how great thou art.

[2:42] Thank you God in prayer. Now let's join you in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this new day, for this new morning. And we thank you for the song that you've put in our hearts.

[2:57] A song of praise to our God. We thank you that you are the God who lifts us from the mud and from the mire of our sin.

[3:08] We thank you that you are the God who, as we come to the burdens and the concerns and the cares of this world, and we look to you, you lift us from the realm of time into eternity within our minds.

[3:28] We thank you that we are the Lord. We thank you that we are in time and yet we are enabled to meditate upon eternal things. And Lord, we acknowledge that the grass fades and the flowers wither.

[3:44] And we ourselves are dust. And yet, Lord, we give you praise that your word stands forever. And we thank you that your gospel is a gospel which causes us to look to Jesus as broken, lost sinners in time.

[4:04] And as we do so, as we look in faith, we are promised that not only will the risen Saviour be with us in time, but he will take us from time into eternity to that place that he has prepared for those who love him.

[4:22] We thank you for the reminder in the last verse that we sung of the fact that Christ woke up with shout of acclamation. And we pray that each one of us here, on that day, when he comes or when he calls us from time into eternity, we pray that we would have joy in our hearts.

[4:47] And we thank you that we are able to have joy in our hearts because we are called this morning and each morning to look to Christ as our Saviour and as our Lord.

[4:58] We thank you for all that has been done to make it possible for us to have the assurance of salvation. And when I think that God, his son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in.

[5:17] What a wonderful gospel that we are given to see and to respond to and to share.

[5:38] What a blessing to know that no matter how heavy the burden is that sits on our shoulders, no matter how dark the past experiences of our lives may have been, no matter how wicked we may see our hearts, we thank you that Jesus died gladly bearing the burden that we are called to hand over to him.

[6:09] And so Lord, we pray at the outset of this day, at the beginning of this new week, that we would be those who know that we are forgiven.

[6:21] We pray that we would be those who know that we are saved. We pray that we would be united by that faith in Christ and that assurance that we are saved eternally.

[6:34] And we pray that we would be united by that faith in Christ and that we are saved. And we pray that having responded to the gospel, we would not hoard it, we would not be silent about it, but we would share it.

[6:46] And respond to the commission that Jesus himself gave to all his disciples to go and make more disciples by pointing everyone to him.

[6:59] And so we ask, Lord, that this morning Jesus would be lifted up in our worship. In all that we sing, in the word that we read, in the prayers that we bring, in the meditations of our mouth and our hearts.

[7:14] We pray that Christ would be lifted up. And that each one of us would be drawn to him. Lord, there are some here who have not yet trusted. Some who have not yet come to faith in Jesus.

[7:26] You still carry that burden of sin. And we pray that this morning would be the day that marked the removal of that burden and the beginning of a walk with you which goes on eternally.

[7:40] And there are others who have been walking for many years. And Lord, we pray that we would walk closer. We confess the sin that so easily entangles us.

[7:52] We confess our shortfalls, our failings, our inconsistency, our hypocrisy at times. And we ask, Lord, that you would wash us afresh in that blood that was shed to make sinners clean, purified from all unrighteousness.

[8:08] Lord, we thank you for this place. And for the opportunity and the desire that you have given us to be present in this hall this morning.

[8:21] And we ask, Lord, that you would meet with us. We thank you for your provision of this place over these last two years almost. And we acknowledge that you are the God who is faithful and you are the God who provides.

[8:35] And as Gordon mentioned to us, another step along the way this week, we pray. And we continue to pray that as we acknowledge you, that you would guide us. And that we would not get ahead of you, that we would not fall behind you.

[8:49] But that we would follow. We pray for all who have been in this hall over these last few days. And we ask for your blessing upon them.

[9:00] Thank you that you are the God who is with us in the celebrations and the joys of our lives. And you are with us in the sorrows also. And for those who have been married in this place, in this village, and celebrated it all over the last few days.

[9:15] We pray your blessing upon them and upon their marriage. For those, Lord, who are celebrating new life. With babies being brought into the world in the last few days and weeks.

[9:29] We pray your blessing upon their families and the young ones. We pray for those who are carrying children even now. You are the God who knows us in the womb. And we ask for your protection over them and the young ones they carry.

[9:43] We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings that you give to us in life. And we pray that we would be aware of your presence in these days of great joy. We pray also for those who are struggling.

[9:56] Those who battle with addiction. Those who have fallen even the last few days in the week and who are struggling. We pray for those who are feeling that enduring sense of loss.

[10:08] Of loved ones passing from time into eternity. And we ask, Lord, that you would comfort them. We thank you for the young ones that we hear. We thank you for the blessing that they are to us in this place.

[10:20] And we pray that they would remember you and come to know you in the days of their youth. We pray for those who are absent this morning. Some who have been taken into hospital. Others who are housebound.

[10:31] And we pray that you would draw near to them where they are. And Lord, we thank you also for those who have been absent for a long time and who are back with us. And who are recovering.

[10:42] We thank you for our students. Some of whom are back with us also again today. And we pray your blessing upon them. And your blessing upon those who are in the different cities that they study. And that they would settle and find themselves to be in a fellowship of your people.

[10:57] That will bring them on their walk with you. We pray, Lord, for this country. We continue to ask that you would cause us to repent. And to trust in you.

[11:07] We pray for a world broken in so many ways that we are not even able to bring the details of it to you in this moment. But Lord, as we see such turmoil and such fragility in politics and military and different situations.

[11:26] We see a world which groans under the weight of sin. But we thank you that Jesus is our Redeemer. And we ask, Lord, that increasingly we would see more and more turning to him.

[11:40] We ask now, Lord, that you would continue with us. Go before us in all things. Cleanse us from our sin. And enable us to fix our eyes upon Christ.

[11:50] And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please? How's everybody today? Everyone's fine.

[12:04] A mixture of fine and good. Everyone's good. That's good. Now, I thought I would ask you a few questions today. Have you got your thinking caps on? Alistair just put his on.

[12:20] Thank you, Alistair. Here's a question. Why do we use calendars? Tell me, what's a calendar?

[12:32] Jono. Have you got any calendars in here? No, I do. No. Why do we use calendars? What is a calendar, first of all? Caitlin?

[12:49] Tells you which day it is. What else does it tell you? Tells you when it's Christmas. Christmas. Yeah?

[13:00] When it's my birthday. Tells you when it's your birthday. Uh-huh. Anything else, Bethany?

[13:13] Tells you the date. Of the stuff that's on. Yeah? Bella? Tells you the month. Anna?

[13:26] Pardon? You can write on the calendar the stuff you're doing. Yeah? Sean? Not sure?

[13:38] All right. There's lots of answers. Lily? Do you have an answer? Yeah. Calendars there. There's lots and lots of different things.

[13:50] I know my favourite calendars. I know my favourite calendars are chocolate calendars. Your favourite calendars are chocolate calendars. I think that's connected with Christmas, isn't it?

[14:02] When it's morning. When it's morning time, chocolate calendars, Christmas, yeah. So, calendars, they tell us the month. What's the month? What's the day today?

[14:13] What's the date today? Emma? It's the 2nd of October. And the calendar will show us. It helps us to see that. So, the calendar tells us the day, the date, the month, the year.

[14:27] The calendar helps us to remember when it's your birthday. When's your birthday, Dale? I think March. You think March. That's a good start.

[14:40] Jono? It tells you Christmas. It tells you stuff that you can write in it. Lois? Tells you when it's lunchtime.

[14:51] The bottomless pit of Lois, yeah? Lunchtime lasts a long time. Most of the day, in fact. Tells you lots of things. Calendars. You can see a watch tells you stuff as well.

[15:03] Tells you the time. I've got to wear a watch to remind me. And you can watch timers. What else do we have that helps us to remember stuff?

[15:14] Why do we have this? Why does Adrian print these things out every week? I don't know. So they can set the door in a big pile from one week to the next.

[15:27] No, tell me why. Why does he print that out? I don't know. You don't know? Why does he print it out, Bethany? Tells you what's happening at church.

[15:43] So you can look at this and say on Wednesday, Oh, it's the prayer meeting tonight at half past seven. I must remember. You know what I almost forgot this morning?

[15:54] I was out the door. And I'd forgotten this book. Do you know what's in this book? My sermon notes. And if I didn't have my sermon notes, I would be forgetting what I prepared to say.

[16:09] And so there's lots and lots of different things that we have. Calendars, watches, sermon notes, alarms on your phone, tie the knot in your hand key.

[16:20] All these things you can, they help me to remember. Boys and girls, little story. We story. In the chapter that we're going to read in a few minutes, you can speak about this with your folks at lunchtime.

[16:35] Joshua and all the children of Israel, they're crossing over the Jordan River, big, fast, flowing river, and they're going to cross over it. And God takes them across, but he gives them a special instruction.

[16:49] And he says to them, I want you to pick up 12 massive, big, all acts of stones. And carry them from the middle of the river, which God dried up so they could get across.

[17:06] And eight miles all the way up a hill. And I want you to take these stones, says God. And he says, I want you to stack them up and make them into a big memorial so people will see them when they're walking along the road.

[17:22] And then what will happen? Why did God ask them to carry these huge, big stones out in the middle of the river and put them on the hill and make them into a pile?

[17:33] Why do you think? Well, I tell you. Because God said, in the years to come, when your boys and girls are walking along the way, they're going to see these stones.

[17:55] And they're going to say, why are the stones there? And what to put them there? And what day was it they were put there? And how did they get there?

[18:07] And how did they carry? And what were they for? And who said? And why? And why? And why? Because you guys love to ask questions, don't you?

[18:19] And God said to the mums and dads, when your children ask these questions, you tell them to remember God. And you tell them to remember the amazing thing that he did on that day in saving them and taking them across that river that was impossible to cross.

[18:44] And so that big thing that was designed and put in that chapter was there so that the boys and girls of one generation, another and another and another would all ask, why, why, why, why, why?

[18:57] And the mums and dads would say, let me tell you about how good God is and how you should remember him. And boys and girls, I want you to do one thing this week.

[19:12] Do you want to throw it to me? Thank you. I want you to do one thing this week and not just this week but the week after and the week after and the week after. Do you know what it is?

[19:23] I want you to ask your mums and dads and your grannies and your shenners and your uncles and your aunties lots and lots of questions about who God is and what he has done for you.

[19:40] Because that's how you learn how amazing it is. And mums and dads and grannies and shenners and uncles and aunties when they ask questions put your phone down put the iPad away switch off the television don't huff, don't puff but tell so that they will remember and that they will grow up knowing and trusting the God who loves you and who wants you to be close to him.

[20:11] We pray. Lord God we thank you that you love us we thank you that you call us to trust you we thank you that we have so many things that we can speak about as we remember your goodness and Lord we pray that you would help the boys and girls to keep on asking these questions that they'll know more and more about you and we pray that you would help us mums and dads and grannies and shenners and uncles and aunties and friends of the children to keep on telling them about who you are and how much you love them.

[20:44] Help us to keep remembering and telling the old, old story which never gets old of Jesus and his love and we pray this in Jesus name Amen. We're going to sing now and we're going to sing the words on the screen and it's mission praise 628 Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

[21:06] Well if you could please turn your Bibles to Joshua and chapter chapter 4 Joshua chapter 4 we're actually looking at chapters 3 into chapter 4 as I'll say just in a few minutes but I'm conscious time is moving on so I'm just going to read chapter 4 today Joshua chapter 4 and reading at verse 1 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 stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the right place 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

[22:08] 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

[23:12] 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 over to the other side while the people watched the men of Reuben Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed in front of the Israelites as Moses had directed them about 40,000 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 revered him all the days of his life just as they had revered Moses then the Lord said to Joshua command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony 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 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 fathers what do these stones mean tell them

[24:36] 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 just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had all crossed over he did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and that you might always fear the Lord your God Amen and may God bless us that reading of his word Father is now going to lead us in prayer in Galilee and may God That thejas, the God of the king, made up the sins of the sins and potential cooks for the desperate conditions.

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[33:28] May I see my thoughts all the time to see me and turn to my feelings. We now have no day to keel that I entered as much. We give the sun to my eyes.

[33:40] Rudolph claimed Kabul and claimed capsule work급. Then prayers lots. Amen. We sing now to God's praise from Psalm 119.

[33:57] Psalm 119 and from verse 105 of the psalm. The words should be on the screen.

[34:07] Thy word is to my feet, a lamp, and to my path alight. I swore and have and will perform to keep thy judgments right. I think we'll just sing the one stanza of Psalm 119.

[34:23] 105 to 106. One stanza. The word is to my feet, a lamp, and to my path alight. And will remain seated to sing. Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'hoj.

[34:35] Salas van de heil ko'pia. Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'hoj.

[35:07] Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'hoj. Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'hoj.

[35:21] Zawar and ha'ka'kobirta ma'hoj. Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'haj. Zawar and ha'kobirta ma'hoj.

[35:31] Thank you.

[36:01] Thank you.

[36:31] Thank you. Thank you.

[37:03] Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Take a watch off because I need this to remind me that it's 5 to 12 and I won't keep you too long.

[37:17] I was looking at a picture online a week or two ago and it was an amazing shot. The likelihood is, at least some of you will have seen it because it's one of these pictures that began on some scientific website and it did the rounds and it went for wide coverage.

[37:36] It was a 360 degree panoramic shot. I can't remember how many billion megapixels it was and it was on Mars. Can we see that? No?

[37:47] Just me? I've got much more time on my hands than you, obviously. But anyway, it was this crystal clear panoramic shot of the surface of Mars and you could go in and you could zoom in in different areas and focus on this amazing shot.

[38:09] And I've gone back to it four or five times and looked at this same shot. And the first time I looked at it, I just saw this vast panorama of the surface of Mars, which looked a whole lot like Kylo's Scalpy, I have to say.

[38:24] And the second time I went in, I went in and looked more at the details of different parts of the surface. The last time I looked at the picture, I actually looked at the spacecraft and all the intricacies of the design of the craft.

[38:39] But it's the same picture, but I've gone back to it four or five times and zoomed in in particular areas and come in at it from different angles.

[38:50] And that's a bit like Joshua chapter 3 and Joshua chapter 4. Two chapters that we've looked at over two weeks, but we're looking at one scene. Same circumstances, but it's the two chapters, then across two chapters, but it's the one scene.

[39:08] And in these two chapters, it's as if the divine camera zooms in at different points at different times in order that we will notice some of the details of what happened so that our attention will be drawn to particular points.

[39:27] And so that's what I'd like to do this morning. It's just with you very briefly, zoom in at six particular areas in this panorama of Joshua chapters 3 and 4.

[39:41] So the bad news is it's six points this morning. The good news is there'll be six short ones. Dan asked me yesterday when we were at the bonfire, what are you preaching on tomorrow? And I gave him, I think, four of the six points that I could remember.

[39:54] He says, you shouldn't be telling anybody you've got six points. No one will come. I'm grateful you came. Six points. First point is presence.

[40:06] Six words that I want to just hinge our thoughts on. The first word is presence. And what we cannot fail to see in this scene, in these chapters, is the ark.

[40:19] If you want to know the significance of a passage, if there's one word or one phrase that's repeated, it's repeated not by accident, it's for emphasis. So that we won't miss it.

[40:31] We have 16 times in two chapters the reference to the ark. The camera zooms in and draws our attention back and back and back and back again to the ark of the covenant.

[40:45] So what was the ark of the covenant? Well, in physical terms, the ark of the covenant was a small gold-plated chest. It was about four foot by two foot by two foot.

[41:00] And it was gold-plated. But in the spiritual sense, this was a symbol. In the physical sense, that's what it was. Small box. But in the spiritual sense, this was a symbol of the presence of God.

[41:17] That was at the heart of the children of Israel and the company who gathered. The ark was the means through which the Lord himself made himself known to and related to the people of God under the old covenant.

[41:35] So what we have to see as we see this ark is that the people of God, their focus, the focal point in these two chapters is on the ark.

[41:51] And nothing else. It's not on themselves. It's not on the circumstances that were traumatic. But the overwhelming focus of this chapter is the ark.

[42:05] Or more precisely, the God of the ark. They fixed their eyes upon him. And when the ark moves, the people move.

[42:20] And when the ark stops, the people stop. When the ark, the presence of God touches the waters of the Jordan, the waters give way.

[42:34] Such is the power of God. And that in itself, that miracle that happened on the Jordan on that day, that gives us some understanding as to how the ark relates to us.

[42:52] Because we're living in a different world. We're living at a different time. We do not have an ark in our congregation this morning. There is no little box that we're all focused upon.

[43:04] So what has this got to do with us? Well, the miracle, I think, goes some way to helping us understand how this ark relates to us.

[43:14] We don't look to the ark, but we look to the one whom the ark points to. And that's Christ. Think even about this one point.

[43:26] As the priests carried the ark, and they touched the waters, the waters had to give way to the presence, to the command of God.

[43:36] What does that make you think of? Surely that makes us think of Christ. And as the storm raged, and as the disciples feared for their lives, one word from Jesus.

[43:51] And such is the power that he held, that the waters had to comply with his command. And so under the old covenant, God related to that mass of people through the ark.

[44:08] And we've got to see that. That was the focal point. God himself was the focal point. But under the new covenant, God relates to us, not through the box, not through an ark, but in and through Christ.

[44:22] The God-man. You know that in the ark, there was the law, the tables of the law. And in the ark, there was the mercy seat.

[44:32] In the ark, there was such hope and such demonstration of salvation. And all that we see symbolized in that, we see crystallized in Christ.

[44:49] He is the one who came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law for us. He is the one who has done everything that was necessary for us to be able to come to God and receive mercy, not judgment.

[45:08] He is the one who is our salvation. And so we fix our eyes upon Christ. Because he is the author.

[45:20] And he is the perfecter of our faith. And just doing a very gritty application. If we step back from this and we look at our own lives, what's the very practical lesson?

[45:34] Well, the very practical lesson is that we do not make any object or any other thing or any other person or ourselves.

[45:45] We do not make any of these things the centre of our focus and our lives. Because if we do, we are into sin. And we are into confusion.

[45:59] We make Christ central. Not the box, not the ark. But Christ. He must be the focal point. He must be the central one.

[46:11] The central thing in our lives. We look to him. We follow his leading. We depend upon his power. We live in his presence.

[46:25] So that's the first word, first point, presence. The second word is reverence. I saw an advert for a film recently.

[46:35] I haven't seen the film. I know nothing about it. I'm not commending it. But the title of the film, it looked like one of these romantic comedies, was Fools Rush In. And that title of the film would fit this point of reverence.

[46:52] Joshua is anxious that the people of God will not be foolish. His answers that the people of God would not be flippant or forgetful of who they are as sinners and who God is.

[47:09] As the awesome God of heaven and earth. Joshua is anxious that the people would maintain that sense of reverence before God.

[47:23] And yes, God was their God. And yes, they were the ones he looked at and took hold of as his people. Personal, warm.

[47:35] Yes, he cares for them. And yes, he loves them. But they are not to forget that he is God. God Almighty.

[47:46] God Almighty. The Lord of hosts. And so before the Lord acts in that special way, in that miraculous way, he requires that they are to be consecrated.

[47:58] Chapter 3, verse 5. What did that involve? That involved cleansing. That involved acknowledging that they were sinners who needed to be cleansed of their sin. Concentration also involved a determined devotion.

[48:11] There were certain things that were not bad things. They were good things. But they were things that occupied the mind and activity. And they were to refrain from these things. You can go to Exodus 19 if you want to investigate it.

[48:26] Before God would work in this powerful way. So that they would be prepared in their hearts. So that they would be ready to be filled with awe. And who he is.

[48:38] And reverence of what he would do. They were to be consecrated. And so there's a reverence that's communicated through that consecration. But there's also a reverence that we see in the distance.

[48:52] That is to be between them and the ark. Look at chapter 3 and verse 4. There is always to be at that distance. Keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark.

[49:07] Do not go near it. And no, that's not the main point. Reverence. It's one of the points. The reason there was to be a distance.

[49:18] And the people were not to rush in. Was so that they would remember who God is. And who they are before him.

[49:31] Precious. Special. Chosen. And yet. Never over familiar. Never forgetting themselves.

[49:44] And their lowly state before God. They are to revere the Lord. They are not to rush in. And I think this is a point of application for us today.

[50:01] In an age where things have swung very much from an unhealthy fear of God. We are now in a dangerous place.

[50:13] Where we could lose that sense of reverence. Of God. He is the God who loves us. How much we hear the love of God.

[50:26] And we must. He is the God who sent his son to die for us. Such is his love. He is the God who bids us come. And be in his presence.

[50:36] But in his presence. We must not lose that sense of reverence. Yes we know him personally. Yes we can cry.

[50:47] Abba Father. But God is holy. And we are to be. In awe of him. Never over familiar.

[51:02] Never casual. But always reverent. So we have.

[51:14] The first word. Being. The presence. That symbolized in the ark. The second word. Is that reverence. That we see in the distance. And in the concentration.

[51:25] The third word. The third point. Which the camera. Zooms in on. Is. Is guidance. Guidance. Now when you. Go and you live. In a new place.

[51:37] You need guidance. When you are in new territory. You need guidance. Remember the first time. I came to. To Harris. And I was told. That your services. When the community centre. I go around this place.

[51:48] Six times. Before I could figure out. What the community centre wants. I needed. Someone. To give me some. Guidance. So. I would know.

[51:58] Where to go. And. And where things were. And that's what we need. You go into a city. You're absolutely lost. If you don't have sat nav. Because you need guidance. The children of Israel.

[52:10] They needed guidance. They are reminded. In chapter 3. In verse 4. That. You have never been this way before. So. How could they know the way? In this place.

[52:22] That they've never been before. How could they know the way? How could they be sure. That they were going in the right direction? Well. Chapter 3. Verse 3. Makes clear. That the way that they could know.

[52:34] The direction that they were to travel in. Was by being. Making sure. That they could see the ark. And that's actually the main point. Of the thousand yards.

[52:46] Yes. In the thousand yards. There is that sense of. Of reverence. Not to get too close to God. Not to get ahead of themselves. But the main point. In this chapter.

[52:57] Is the thousand yards. Was to establish a distance. So that. All these people. As they looked at this tiny wee box. Could see where the box was.

[53:10] And could be guided. Because when the box. Moved. They were to move. And when the ark. Stopped.

[53:21] They were to stop. So they needed that guidance. If you think about a football match. In a football match. You might have. 60,000 people.

[53:32] Or more. Gathered. To watch that match. Now. 60,000 people. All gathered. Around the touchline. Standing.

[53:43] On the touchline. With the referee. And the linesman. Only the first two rows. Would see anything. Nobody beyond that. Would have any clue. What was going on. Well. And that's only 60,000 people.

[53:54] We're talking millions here. And so. If there was to be any hope. That they could see. What was going on. So that they would be able to follow. As God led.

[54:05] There had to be that distance. And the guidance. Was the point. That we're getting to here. And that remains. How it is for us. Jesus. Jesus.

[54:17] Said to his disciples. First and foremost. Follow me. And Jesus says to his disciples. Still. Those who are trusting him.

[54:29] Follow me. Don't let anybody. Don't let anything. Block your view of me. Don't lose sight of me.

[54:40] Don't get ahead of me. Don't fall behind me. But follow me. And that distance was there.

[54:51] So that they could see clearly. The God who's leading them. Maybe I should pause. Just ask the question.

[55:02] Is there anyone. Is there anything. That is blocking your view. Today of Christ. Because we're to fix our eyes.

[55:13] Upon him. But the devil is a master. At causing things. To rise up in our lives. That will be an obstacle to him. Often very good things.

[55:25] But they become so big. In our lives. That they block. Our vision of Christ. And very quickly. We're lost.

[55:38] Not lost in the eternal sense. But we're lost. Spiritually speaking. We're not making progress. Because we can't see how he's leading. Is there anything.

[55:51] Is there anyone. That is coming between us. And our vision of Christ. If so. Remove it. Don't let anyone.

[56:01] Don't let anything. Get so big. That they. Damage your relationship. With Jesus. And.

[56:13] Practically speaking. How do we know. Today. How God is leading us. And how he is guiding us. How do we follow him. How do we stay close to him. How do we.

[56:23] Ensure that we have a clear. Vision of. Which way he would want us to go. And how he would want us to act. And react. In the circumstances of. Of this life. How do we know. How do we see him.

[56:37] How do we hear him. How do we know. Which way he leads. Well. Let me tell you. It's not about following your heart. It's not about going with your gut. It's not about the fingers.

[56:49] And the toes. And the feelings that you have in them. The only reliable guide. We have just sung off. Is scripture. This is where we hear.

[57:00] The word of Christ. This is where we see. The way he would have us live. So we must be in the scripture. We must live our lives with this.

[57:11] As the only reliable guide. That we have. Thy word. Is to my feet. A land. And to my path. A light. We just sung.

[57:24] Are we living it? So. We live with the presence. Of God always. We live. Secondly. With that sense of reverence.

[57:35] We live. Thirdly. Seeking. To know God's guidance. Fourthly. We. Note the word. Remembrance. Speaking with somebody yesterday.

[57:49] Who was. Telling me about something. That happened in their lives. 20 years ago. Hugely traumatic. Situation. And they could not forget it. And yet.

[58:01] The good things in life. The good experiences in life. We often struggle to remember. I should go around. And ask people. Give me. Give me your wedding. Anniversary. In the next three seconds.

[58:13] Sometimes we struggle to remember. Sometimes we know the date. But the date comes and goes. We don't see our calendar. We. We forget. Wedding anniversaries.

[58:25] Birthdays. These are. Precious events. In our lives. That we are. Marking. And yet. Sometimes we forget. To remember. We need help.

[58:38] To remember. These things. And the Lord knows us. And he knows. How quick we are. To forget. Especially. The many blessings.

[58:49] That he puts. Our way in life. And he knows. And he knows. The people of Israel. And he knows. That despite this amazing miracle. That he did.

[59:00] And is recorded. In these chapters. He knows that very very quickly. They'll forget. And so he helps him. To remember. All that he had done.

[59:12] Chapter 4. Verse 1. When the whole nation. Had finished crossing the Jordan. The Lord said to Joshua. Choose 12 men from among the people. One from each tribe. And tell him.

[59:23] To take up 12 stones. From the middle of the Jordan. From right where the priest stood. And to carry them over with you. And put them down at the place. Where you stay tonight. And so. The scene goes on. And there's complexities.

[59:34] In the scene. And there's. Different ideas about. Is it one monument? Is it two? We're not going there. We're not going to look at any of that today. There's no time. But. What happens here?

[59:45] Well we went over it with the children. Essentially. The Lord. Guides them. And he directs them. And he's very prescriptive. In telling them. To form a monument.

[59:56] To take these 12 stones. And out of the centre of the river. Eight miles up the hill. To Gilgal. And to construct this. Memorial. And what.

[60:08] Was the reason for that? Well. Essentially. This was a visual. Aid. When I speak to the children. I don't often say to the children. Sit down. I'm going to tell you a story. Because I know how short.

[60:19] Their attention span is. And I know they need help. To be able to understand. And God. Our father. Looks at his children. And he knows. How slow of understanding.

[60:29] They are. And he knows. How quick they are. To forget. So he gives them. This visual aid. Through which. They will remember. The memorials.

[60:41] The memorials. Were just the same thing. Verse 6. Of chapter 4. In the future. When your children. Ask you. What do these stones mean?

[60:52] Tell them. That the flow of the Jordan. Was cut off. Before the ark. Of the covenant. Of the Lord. When it dross. The Jordan. The waters of the Jordan. Were cut off.

[61:02] These stones. Are to be a memorial. To the people. Of Israel. Forever. Now we can just. Imagine the kids.

[61:13] Of year after year. We know what they are like. When you are out for a walk. When you are in the car. Looking out the window. What is that? Why? Where? What?

[61:24] Why? Why? Why? Why? Because? Why? The curiosity of the children. The Lord knows them. And he says.

[61:34] When they ask. You answer. And you tell them. This is one of these. Monuments.

[61:45] That I am designing. So that you will. Help them. To remember. Me. And my glory. And my salvation. And my care of you.

[61:57] This is a monument. That will speak. To the faithfulness. Of my promises. Two points.

[62:08] In application. The first point. Is that probing question. Are we taking. The opportunities. That God gives us. To tell. The children. Not just here.

[62:22] Not just in Sunday school. But day by day. In our homes. In our community. Are we taking. The opportunities. That God has given us. To tell the children.

[62:33] About God. And his glory. And his salvation. And his love of them. You know.

[62:43] The Lord is almost. Absent. From the schools. The Lord is being removed. From almost every. Arena. Of our culture. And we are seeing.

[62:54] And generations. And generations. Rise up now. Who have been left. To forget. Who God is. And I meet children. Who know nothing.

[63:06] Of Christ. Other than a curse. Our calling. Is to help them. To remember. Are we taking.

[63:17] That calling seriously. Second point. In that location. Is will we. Ourselves.

[63:27] Take the opportunity. That God has given us. To remember. We're not thinking. About the Jordan River. We didn't trust. Physically. The Jordan River.

[63:38] But we are those. Who are privileged. In that the Lord. Has opened the way. To the promised land. He has opened.

[63:50] The gate. Of salvation. To us. He has made it. Possible. For us. To flee. From the. Constraint.

[64:02] The. The. The chains. Of sin. Into the wonder. Of his grace. He calls us. To cross over. He has opened. The way. To the blood.

[64:13] Of Christ. One. Have we followed. And gone that way. And two.

[64:23] If we have. Will we remember. You know. In just a few weeks now. We don't have a cairn. That we are called.

[64:34] Terect. And that we are told. That we have a table. That we have to sit. And there will be bread. And there will be wine.

[64:48] And we are called. To take him it. To take the bread. Remember his body. And to take.

[64:58] The blood. The wine. To remember. His blood. The blood. They are there. And erecting. And erecting. This monument.

[65:09] So that they will remember. Jesus. Said. Do this. Do this. Do you trust in me. Have you received. My salvation. Well do this.

[65:21] So that you. And so that others. As they look at you. Will remember. Me. My death. Until. I come. Two more words.

[65:36] But no more time. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.

[65:48] We thank you for. Your word. We thank you. That you are the same God. That we come before. In this moment of prayer. The same God. Who. Who parted the Jordan.

[66:02] And who caused. The children. Of Israel. To be taken out. Of captivity. And into that promised land. And as we look back. Over. The account. Of. Their salvation.

[66:13] History. We see. How quarrelsome. And how unworthy. They were. Of all you did for them. And yet. You were faithful. To your promise. And you were gracious.

[66:24] And we thank you. That you are the God. Who does not change. And still Lord. You are the God. Of heaven and earth. You are the one. That we must be. In awe of.

[66:34] And. That we must always. Come to. With great reverence. And yet Lord. We thank you. That we can come. And enjoy intimacy. That we can.

[66:45] Know that we are. Your people. And you are our God. And we thank you. That you have taken us. From sin. Into salvation.

[66:58] We thank you. That Jesus. Himself. Opened up the way. And Lord. We pray. That each one of us. Would hear. His call. To follow.

[67:09] To receive salvation. And to not only receive. But to tell. And to remember. The salvation. That we have received.

[67:20] We pray for our children. We are conscious. That we are growing up. In a country. Where. There is. Less and less. Of a witness. To who you are. And what you have done.

[67:31] How much you love them. Help us. We pray. Not to leave them be. Not to let others. Educate them. Not to. Leave them.

[67:43] To find their own way. But help us. We pray. To take every opportunity. That you give to us. To cause them. To know. And to remember. That you are God.

[67:55] And that you love them. And that your plan. Is the best plan. For their lives. And Lord. We do pray. That if we are spared. Over these next few weeks.

[68:07] That as the table. Is set. And the bread. And the wine. Are passed around. We pray that we. If we are trusting. That we do these things. To remember.

[68:20] And to tell others. Of our remembrance. Of Jesus. And his love. And his grace. And we pray all these things. In his name.

[68:31] Amen. We sing to conclude. Mission Praise 200. Great is thy faithfulness. O God.

[68:41] My Father. There is no shadow. Of turning. With thee. And I may the grace. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the love.

[68:52] Of God the Father. And the fellowship. Of God the Holy Spirit. Be with us all. Both now. And forevermore. Amen. clan. Amen. bringen stare.

[69:04]  Amen. Amen. Amen.