Memorial Stones - Never Forget

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in to the Met Church podcast. Here at the Met, we are all about connecting people to God and one another. If you have any questions or want more information about what's happening here at the church, then head to our [email protected], dot. We would love to stay connected with you throughout the week through social media, so be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Now. Enjoy the message. [00:00:24] Speaker B: Well, good morning, everybody. You know, the value of a thing is always established by what a person is willing to pay for. We understand how that works. And, you know, when we come up on a memorial day weekend, we really appreciate the value of our freedom. And we appreciate the value of our freedom because of what those who were willing to do to pay for our freedom. And so I hope sometime during the day tomorrow you'll stop and reflect and remember on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. That you and I could be in this room, that we could live really in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. That we could have the freedom to agree to disagree. That we could have the freedoms to move where we like, to do what we wish, to follow the dictates of our heart, to worship God and the way in which he leads us. And that's all because of the blood of those shed before us and because of that wonderful value of our freedom. So I think it is a wonderful thing that our nation sets aside this day where we honor the fallen and we remember, as Abraham Lincoln said, those who paid the last full measure of devotion. So remember to do that on this memorial day. I think it's important. I think it is significant because there is a tendency that we have to forget. It's just human nature. I don't know what there is about us that tends to forget. We can forget special things. We can forget special days. Oops, my anniversary. We can forget special things that happened in our life. We don't intend to do it, but sometimes it just happens. It reminds me of that rancher who had a friend over, and this dog was herding cattle into this corral. And the guy was just so impressed by how that cow dog was able to work the cattle and get him into the corral. And then before he was finished with his work, the dog jumps up, pushes that gate closed, and then with his paw, he latches the gate. And the friend said, I don't think I've ever seen a cow dog as smart as that dog. What in the world is that dog's name? And the rancher thought a minute and he said, well, what is that beautiful red flower that smells nice? It has thorns on the stem. What is it called? And the guy said, a rose. He goes, that's it. He said, hey, Rose, what's our dog's name? Well, we all have a tendency to forget. Neuroscientists say that we're more prone to remember three types of things. Neuroscientists say we are prone to remember events. If they stand out, if they're significant, we're prone to remember, number two, things that we can relate to personally. If we've gone through something, it's a personal thing. It may not mean anything that particular day or that particular moment in time to anyone but you. But you remember specifically what happened on a certain day because it impacted you in a way. So if they stand out, if we can relate to it personally. And number three, we tend to remember the events that we retell, that we recount to other people. So when we share an experience or we share an event with someone else, it imprints it, and we tend to remember it. It's what the apostle Paul said in two Timothy two eight, to his young protege. He said to Timothy, remember Jesus Christ. Never forget the price that he paid for your salvation. Never forget the significance of serving him. In fact, when Jesus instituted the Lord's supper in Luke, chapter 22, verse 19, you remember what he said this do in remembrance of me. So every time we see baptism and every time we receive communion, we are reminded of our savior. Baptism pictures his death going back down into the water, his burial going under the water, his resurrection coming up out of the water. It is a wonderful reminder of Jesus, and we received communion. That bread reminds us of his body broken, and the wine reminds us of his blood shed. And every time we receive communion, we do that, as he said, in remembrance of him. And this morning on this Memorial Day weekend, I was thinking about the beautiful correlation to what was paid for our freedom and the price that Jesus paid for our salvation. And they're very, very similar. In fact, a famous verse we quote on a weekend like this is greater love has no one than this, than one would lay down his life for his friends. It is a beautiful tribute to our first responders, to our military, who are willing to lay down their lives for the benefit of other people. And while that is a wonderful application of the verse, the actual interpretation of that verse was speaking of the cross. It was talking about the price Jesus paid for our salvation. And the writer says, there's no greater love than one could demonstrate to another that he'd be willing to lay down his life for his friends. So there is a beautiful correlation in what Jesus did in giving his life for us and what those who have gone before us have done in giving their lives for our freedom. And I thought, as I looked through scripture and I was thinking about what would be an appropriate passage on this very special weekend. And I wanted to call your attention to Joshua four, because in Joshua four, the significance of a memorial is set forth in Joshua chapter four. Now this is a. Let me give you the context of this verse before I read it to you, because the context is Israel is finally about to enter the promised land. They had, as you know, if you know your Bible, you know, they had been in Egypt bondage for over 400 years. Now, a generation in the Bible is about 40 years. So for ten generations, they had been in Egypt subservient. They weren't enjoying their own land. They weren't having their own freedom. They were not living as God had designed them to live. And biblical history will tell you that they entered into Egypt because they had displeased the Lord time and time again throughout scripture, the Bible will give this instruction, be careful lest you forget the Lord. Be careful lest you forget God. And Israel did these touch and goes with God constantly, like many of us do, where you're close to God and you're not close to God, where you walk with God and you don't walk with God, where you're remembering him and you don't remember him. And God was in a covenant relationship with Israel, much like a covenant relationship is in a marriage. It is a relationship where you are to be completely, totally committed, one to the other. And what Israel would do in that covenant relationship is they brought other people into the house. They cheated in front of their lord right in front of his face. And regardless of how good he had been to them, they still brought other people into the world, into their world. They worshiped other gods. They defied him. Oftentimes they just outright, publicly rejected him. And they would do these touch and gos, and so God would bring chastisement on his people. Now, sometimes the Bible uses this strong word as judgment, but I don't like the word judgment when it pertains to God's people, because the Bible says judgment is reserved for the wicked in the final day. Now, God doesn't judge his people any more than he judges his children any more than you judge your children. You would not call discipline of your children judgment. There's not a parent in the room who would say, I've just judged my child. I went Old Testament on them. Now, you may think about it, but you don't actually do it. Like that person said, I brought you into the world. I take you out and make another one look just like you, right? That's a very angry moment right there. Or somebody else asked that mama one time, they said, when her kids became teenagers, they said she was having all kinds of issues with them. And a friend asked her, said, if you had to do it all over again, would you still have kids? She said, I would. I just wouldn't have the same ones. So we all understand kind of how that goes from time to time, but it's not judgment, it's chastisement. So part of the chastisement that God would pull in and call upon his children was for the purpose of correcting a behavior. When you chasten your child, you're trying to correct a behavior. You're trying to get that child to know this type of behavior. And rebellion against you will demonstrate itself in rebellion against the teacher. It'll demonstrate itself in rebellion against the police officer. If they rebel against your authority in the home, they'll rebel against every authority. So as my grandmother said, you gotta conquer that. You gotta win that battle. It's important, and it is significant, but you don't do it by judging your kids. So I'm saying all that to say this. God didn't judge his children. He chastened them. And for ten generations, they're in the land of Egypt. While he is promising them, I'm going to bring you out, there's going to be a time when you're going to enjoy a land that's flowing with milk and honey, a place called Canaan. And when you get to the text that we're in right now, they are actually at the threshold of going into Canaan. They have wandered another 40 years in the wilderness because of disobedience. They wandered around in a trip that should have taken them a very short while, took them 40 years, and finally, they're on the threshold of entering that beautiful promised land. And God tells Joshua something significant, and I'll read it to you in just a moment, but he tells them, when you cross the Jordan and you go into the promised land, I want you to take twelve stones. Each tribe there were twelve tribes of Israel, twelve sons of Jacob. All of those became tribes. He said, I want each representative of those twelve tribes to take a stone. Obviously, what's implied is it was a large stone, large enough where they could carry it. But yet a significant size. And I want you to stack those stones and make a monument. And that monument is to remind those of what I've done, to remind those of the significance of this event. And the word memorial in the text that I'm going to read is not a passive word. It's an aggressive word. He's not saying, remember this, if you can. He's saying, make a point to remember this. In other words, recount this, revisit this, because he knew people are prone to forget. In fact, a little later in the passage that I'll read to you, he says, when your children one day ask you, what does that memorial stand for? What does that memorial mean? You'll be able to tell your children about the experiences that you've been through. And so it's significant because our kids will not remember if we aren't purposeful and intentional in telling them. That's why american history is important, that we be intentional and purposeful in telling children. We have, I'm afraid, a generation of children that have grown up without an appreciation of what made our country great and the sacrifices and the price that was paid in order for our country to be who we are and to be where we are. And we have, we failed many times in sharing that history with our children so they can recount it to their children. And God knew because that's human nature. Stack the stones. Let the stones be a memorial, because one day the children will ask, what does that memorial mean? What about the tomb of the unknown soldier? What about the Washington monument? What do those monuments, what do those things mean? And so you have to be prepared to share with them something of history so they can understand the price that was paid and the significance of those memorials and the significance of those monuments because they are significant. And it goes all the way back into biblical days that we established a memorial, a monument to commemorate significant people sometimes and to commemorate significant events. And so this is exactly the instruction. Now let's pick it up. Joshua four, verse four. Joshua calls the twelve men whom he appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe. Joshua said to them, cross over before the ark of the, of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and each one of you shall take a stone on his shoulder, obviously a heavy stone. They have to carry it on their shoulder according to the number of tribes of the children of Israel. Note now that this may be a sign. This is going to be a sign. This is significant. We want people, when they see these stones, to correlate this as a sign. A sign is something that points to something else. So this is a sign. This is a sign among you. Note now when your children ask in time to come, and they will ask, what's the significance of this memorial? What does this mean? Why does that person stand guard at the tomb of the unknown? What is the significance of that? Well, you have to teach them. You have to share with them. And this is what he was implying. What do these stones mean to you? Then he said, you will answer them. That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it crossed over the Jordan, and the waters of Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel. And they will stand, he said, forever. So he established a memorial there in the river Jordan. Now, remember what happened at the river Jordan, not unlike what happened at the Red Sea. At the Red Sea, remember they found themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea when they were running out of Egypt. And Pharaoh changed his mind and he was going to capture them. And all of a sudden, they are faced at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army coming after them. And God did that incredible miracle. Remember, he stood there, he told Moses, stretch out your arms and the waters will part. You've seen the movie, right? Charlton Heston. And so he stretches out his arms and the water's incredibly, miraculously parted. And the Bible says, the children of Israel cross. So this is a crossing none unlike that crossing. At the time of the crossing in the Jordan, the river was out of its banks. What we know from the timeline of history, they were going to cross at a place called Gilgal. That was significant. And God was going to do something different at the Jordan than he did at the Red Sea. At the Red Sea, they simply moved forward as the waters parted. But at the crossing of the Jordan, the waters were not going to open until the people moved forward. It was going to take a step of faith. Now, that's significant. You wouldn't want to be on the front row of that crossing if you couldn't swim, if you didn't have a lot of faith. I mean, the Bible says the waters don't part until the people took a step toward the water. It's one thing to hear something taught. It's one thing to hear something preached. It's another thing to act on that which you've heard. When you begin to apply it, you say, okay, the Bible says this. If I do this, this will happen. And there's something between the time I hear this and I know this to be true. And the time I actually implement it into my life, right when it actually becomes true. And he was saying to them, as you cross, in fact, what was significant is the Ark of the covenant. Now, remember the Ark of the covenant, if you've seen all the movies, the Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence with his people. God had told Moses to construct this ark. He gave him specifics on specifics, rather, on how to build the ark. And the ark was to be plated in gold. It was to have a top that looked like a seat with cherubims who would then crown the seat. And the top of the ark represent the mercy seat of God. It represented the Shekinah glory of God that would rest with his people. Inside the ark, there were three things that you would find there. Number one, you found the tablets of stone, those tablets that God gave to Moses, the ten Commandments as we know them. Number two, you found the staff of Aaron and the staff. The significance of the staff was it had budded. And the significance of that is, here was a dead stick that produced a bloom. The idea is God was going to bring something to life out of something that was dead. And the third thing was a pot of manna. You remember, manna was the fresh bread from heaven that God fed the children of Israel 40 years as they sojourned across the wilderness. And it was to remind them of God's provision for them. And that was what we found within the ark. So the ark was significant. It represented, again, God's presence with his people. And so when the instructions came, the ark will move forward. As you move toward the waters, the waters will part and you follow the ark across the river. And then before the waters come back together, those twelve representatives are now going to take those twelve stones and they're going to establish a beautiful monument, a memorial in the middle of the river. So the next generation will never forget what this generation had experienced. So, as I thought about that story that I've just shared with you, I thought about three significant things I wanted to leave with you this morning as we think about these memorials, as we think about that event. Number one, it pictured God's power in their past. It represented God's power in their past. He was telling them, I want you to remember the things that I have done for you. I can tell you this morning, regardless of what you are going through in this moment, one of the things that will encourage you is what God has already done for you. When you have a little bit of a track record with the Lord. When you know of God's faithfulness, it will encourage you when you're confronted with new challenges. Oftentimes, when we go through experiences, I go through experiences, maybe we go through a difficult season in the life of the church. I remind, I purposefully remember myself that I can remember times when we've been in similar circumstances. And I remind myself that God has never failed. Not one time has he ever failed. And when you walk with him and you serve him, let me tell you something. You'll have a story to tell. You'll have a track record to share, because God will not fail you. And one of the things that will encourage you is to look back over your life and realize all the times God has come through. And so one of the things that these stones were going to represent was manna in the wilderness. It was going to represent water that came out of a rock when they were thirsty. It was going to represent protection from Pharaoh's army when they felt threatened. It was going to represent the pillar of fire that hovered over them at night and the pillar of cloud that led them by day. It represented God's presence among his people. That pillar of fire would heat them, that would warm the camp at night, because those deserts could become so incredibly cold. So the pillar of fire represented God's presence with his people. It represented warmth. The pillar of cloud, by day, would shade them from the intense sun that they were walking under. And it represented, again, God's presence with them, his direction for them. And the most significant thing that they learned that they could share with the next generation was the important thing was not where we are. The most important thing was, can we see the pillar of fire at night? And can we see the pillar of fire, the cloud, by day? And I would tell you this morning, the most significant thing may not be where you are in this moment of your life, what you're going through, this moment in your life. The most significant thing is, can you see the pillar of fire at night? Can you see the pillar of cloud by day? Do you know you are walking with God? Do you sense his pleasure over your life? Is your life in obedience to him? Can you sense his presence in your life? That's the most significant thing. It's not where you are, but it's the relationship to Jesus, where you are that is important. So he's covering this. And this is significant because scientists will tell you, social scientists will tell you that if history is not conveyed to the next generation, that within three generations, that history can be lost. That history can be lost. Let me give you and support that to you biblically. In Joshua, chapter two, verse seven, here is a principle that you'll find. They saw this and they experienced this. You had people who saw this firsthand. There were people who were at the Red Sea that were also at the Jordan crossing. There were grandparents, and there were moms and dads who witnessed that. And when those young people, now, many of them were teenagers, and probably, as I said, kind of facetiously, but they grew up in the wilderness. They didn't grow up around water. They probably didn't swim. And so all of a sudden they're faced with this river out of his banks, and their being told, we're going to cross the river. And I'm sure they were nervous. I would be nervous. Wouldn't you? I would be a little concerned. I've never seen anything like that. I didn't grow up seeing it firsthand. I heard about it. I didn't see it. But this generation that saw it and experienced could say to their kids, we've been in a similar situation before. I've been here before. I've been in a place where I didn't know what to do. I've been in a place where I didn't know which direction to go. Your mother and I, your grandmother and I, we were in a place one time where we didn't know how God was going to come through, but we knew some way or another it would happen. And let me tell you, kids, you weren't around to see this, but that red sea parted. You've never seen anything like it in your life. We walked through with walls of water on either side. It was the coolest thing you've ever experienced in your life. And God came through powerfully, supernaturally, magnificently, and he took care of us. And I'm telling you that, kids, because this Jordan river is nothing compared to that. I mean, yeah, it's a body of water. And I know you're nervous because you've never been here before, but take it from somebody who's been there, done that. This is doable. God will not fail. And so you have that generation there who saw it and experienced it. Then you had the second group, and Joshua kind of talks about them in Joshua 24 31. This is a generation that, first of all, they heard about it, and they only knew it because they heard about it. They didn't have firsthand experience of it. They heard about it. In other words, this happened to dad and mother, or this happened to my grandparents. But I never firsthand experience it. So they have a understanding of the event, but they don't have personal experience of the event. They understand that God has done some crazy great things in the lives of their parents, but they haven't seen him do that in their life. They know about it because they heard about it. And then you get to the third generation, and again he picks this up back in judges chapter two and verse ten. And this third generation, now check this. Not only did they not see anything, they don't even know anything when it comes to God's power and provision. They didn't hear about it. They know nothing of it. They don't have a point of reference. And by the third generation, all of that is lost. So God knew the tendency we have to forget. And the importance and the significance of passing a spiritual heritage onto our children was so significant. That's why in Deuteronomy chapter six, he talks about the significance of a spiritual heritage, of passing that on to our kids. Let me share it with you another way. How progressively and through the years things can change. You have Abraham. Abraham was called the friend of God. And one of the things about Abraham that marked his life is the priority of his life was to build an altar first. Then he would dig wells. Wells represented livelihood. It represented an opportunity to live. But before he dug Wells to provide for his family, he built an altar to worship his God. Abraham was a friend of God. His priority was God. I'm going to build an altar, then I'll dig a well. Now stay with me. Abraham's son, Isaac. When you study the pattern of Isaac's life, Isaac first of all dug wells. Then he built the altar. Did you see a little difference there in the priority? His first priority was not the altar. It was not the same spiritual priority that his father had. It was still a priority. It just wasn't the top priority. So what he would do is he would dig a well. Got to take care of my family, right? So he would dig a well, then he would build an altar. Now, notice what happens by the third generation when Jacob comes along. He's the grandson of Abraham. He digs his well and he builds the altars. Watch this. As a last resort, I'll build the altar because I'm in such a mess that I need God. I'll go to church because my wheels of my life are coming off, but I'm not going to unless I have to. In other words, his only discipline to do what he did, because he felt absolutely compelled out of fear. And that's what motivated him to turn to God. Now, I'm not critical of that, but I'm saying the highest priority is Abraham. Abraham said, I'm going to establish a priority where my altars are first. My worship of God is first, then I'll dig the well. Jacob goes, well, I get that, dad, but I'm going to build the altar and then, I'm sorry, dig the well, then I'll build the altar. And then Jacob comes along and says, look, look, I'm going to dig these wells and I'll build an altar if I don't have any other choice. You see how that by the third generation that had changed. Think about one more illustration. Let me give you along that line. David, King David, the psalmist, was the apple of God's eye. That was what he was called. His son Solomon writes the book of ecclesiastes, which is a book of a young man in search for truth. So here's the second generation. David's the apple of God's eye. Not a perfect man, but a man committed to following after God. His son comes along and he's as confused as a termite and a yo yo. And he's having trouble really establishing priorities. And he really doesn't come to God until he had gone through a series of mistakes in his personal life. So that's the second generation. And then when you get to the third generation, you have rehoboam, and Rehoboam lost his kingdom. Now I'm just suggesting you that the significance of memorials, the significance of passing on a spiritual heritage is important because, ladies and gentlemen, we can communicate to our kids about God's power in our past and God's blessed all of us this morning. Let me give you a second thought. It also represents God's presence in our present time, his presence in our present time. This wasn't just a dead memorial. This was to be a living memorial. This was to remind us that the God of yesterday is the God of today. What God did yesterday, he's capable of doing today. God can do miraculous, he can do the impossible. I mean, rhetorically, as I've said before, he'll ask many times, is there anything too hard for me? Try me. Put me to the test. I can provide a table in the wilderness. I can do what others cannot do. Ex nahilah. I can create something out of absolutely nothing. And nothing that you brought into this room is too hard for God. So that memorial is a great reminder not only of his power in our past, but of his presence in our present day experience. Remember I talked about the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire? It represented the presence of God and friend this morning. Whether you realize it or not, God's presence is with you. You didn't come to this room or you're not watching online. By accident or happenstance, the spirit of God has directed you to this place because he had something important for you to hear. God is active. He is at work in our everyday life. And then the third thing I wanted to point out to you. These memorials represent God's purpose and our potential. It speaks to where we are going. It speaks to a future thing. And we ought to look at our past and say, hey, hats off to our past, but we ought to look at the future and say, but coats off to the future. We still have something God wants us to do. Someone as well said, attempt great things for God, then expect great things from God. In fact, I've told you before, if you want to have something from God you've never had before, you've got to be willing to go somewhere with God you've never been before. You have to be willing to take these steps of faith. Now, oftentimes when you read Hebrews eleven, that beautiful chapter of the faith chapter of the Bible, and you read of all these exploits of these people in the Old Testament, and we look back at them and we read them and we were familiar with the stories. But when they were in the middle of them, this was new to them. This was wet cement, man. They didn't know how the outcome was going to happen. But by faith they accomplished everything that they accomplished. They simply believed God had a purpose and plan for their life, that he would not abandon them and he would not forsake them. And by faith they moved into their future and God did incredible things. Can I tell you this morning, as long as you are alive, as long as you're here, God's not finished with you. You may feel like from time to time he's put you on the shelf and maybe he's forgotten about you or what. That's just never allow that to enter your mind. That's a lie of the devil to try to deceive you into believing that God doesn't have purpose for you, that you aren't valuable and you are. God has something for you to do. One of the verses that have blessed me and I've shared with you since Cindy's been in heaven is that ecclesiastes one, where it says to everything, there is a time, there is a purpose for every season under heaven, life is seasonal. You're going to have good seasons and bad, happy seasons and sad seasons when you're fruitful and seasons when you're not. Life is seasonal. But in the middle of all of the seasons of life, God will give you time according to purpose. And as long as you have purpose, you get time. And listen, if God has called you to something, if he's put this on your heart to do something, three things will happen. Number one, he will empower you to do it. He will not call you to do something he doesn't give you the power to do. Number two, he will equip you to do it. He'll give you everything you need to do to do the thing he's called you to do. Number three, he will enable you to do it. He will open those doors. He will make it possible for you to move forward and to do the thing he's called you to do. He doesn't frustrate his kids. He doesn't set the bar too high for us. He doesn't call on us to do things that are out of our scope or with beyond our ability. If he's called us to it, he can fulfill it in and through us. So never let anything or anyone discourage you about his purpose for you. All you have to do is press in. You say, bill, I don't know, how do I find that sweet spot? How do I find God's will in this season of my life? Let me give you something very practical to do. In John 17, he says this. Jesus said, if anyone know to do my will, if they have a will to do my will, he said, then they will know my will. It's kind of a play on words, if you will to know his will. The thing is, then you will know his will. So if I have a will to know his will, eventually I will know his will. So how do I get there? How do I get there? Do what I do, what you know to do today, and then he will begin to reveal to you that what you don't know to do tomorrow. So how do I do I get up? What's my responsibility? Okay, I need to do this, I need to do that. I need to take care of this, I need to take care of that. So plan your day. Plan your day. Do what you know to do. These things I know to do with my family, with my work, with my church, with my fellow man, these are things that are absolutely necessary. I'm going to take care of my business today. I'm going to take care of business. This is what I know to do. And as I walk in obedience, God will then reveal things to me through open doors, new opportunities, new people, and show me things that I do not know yet. It's not time. For example, in proverbs 714, I think, google this if you're not sure. If that's not it, I think I'm right. And proverbs 17, he says, the path of a righteous person shines brighter and brighter unto a full or a perfect day. He's using an analogy of taking a walk in the early morning of the hours. And let's say you're headed east and you see a little glint of sunrise on the horizon. The idea is if you walk in the light you have, the sun keeps coming up, the path gets brighter, and before you know it, you're walking in the light of a new day. That's the principle I'm teaching here. In other words, do what I know to do. Today I have just a little glint of light. I don't see fully. I'm not in the full view of light, but I know a little bit about what I'm supposed to do. So I'm going to walk in the light that I have, and God will give me increased light. So it's the importance and the significance of being obedient in the things that I'm to do today. God uses busy people, he calls people who are absolutely committed to pursuing him. He doesn't hide the ball. If you don't know fully what his will is for your life this morning, there's only one reason. It's not time to reveal that to you yet. It either is bigger than you thought it would be and it's going to scare you or you're not ready for it. Sometimes he's watching for our sincerity. He's wanting to know how serious are we about knowing his will. Sometimes he's waiting for our maturity. Maybe it's not time. We need to grow into this a little better before we can handle new responsibility, maybe more money. You couldn't handle it right now. Maybe a greater responsibility. Eventually you can, but not right now. So he's waiting for our maturity. He's watching. He's watching for our sincerity. How bad do we want this? How long are we willing to wait for this? And so there's a lot of reasons I could give you as to why God doesn't necessarily reveal his full will to us in the moment. But I'm just suggesting some steps you could take when you leave the room and that is, I'm going to be committed to doing the thing I know to do today and trusting that God will reveal the things that I don't yet know yet today to do tomorrow. But here's the thing I want you to take away. He's not finished with you. God has a purpose. There's a plan. It's all tied up in your potential, because whether you realize it or not, we are, you and I are leaving a legacy. We're leaving a legacy. Listen, I do. Somebody, I was at an event yesterday, and somebody asked me, how many, how many weddings have you performed? And honestly, I get that question. I have no idea. I would say thousands. I've been doing this nearly 50 years now, and I've told you a million times, I don't exaggerate. So, you know, I'm probably over the target there, but I would say that's probably, it's probably not an exaggeration over that length of time to say thousands of weddings, maybe thousands. And I've also done equally that many funerals. And so I'm saying when a person leaves this earth, the significance of their departure is in the reality that we preach our funerals while we're living. I'm preaching my funeral right now. You're living your legacy. There's not a pastor in the world who will stand over you one day and can make you into something you weren't, because the people who were there, who know you best and love you the most, will know. And so I'm suggesting that we want to live a life that leaves a legacy. We want to live our life in such a way that when we're gone, we'll make a difference, and that people remember the thing. You want to live a life that is a memorial to your existence. We go out to those funeral parks, those memorial parks they're called, and we leave our flowers on those graves, and we visit them to remember them. And I'll do that again in a few days. And the point is, it's called a memorial park for a reason. You go there to reflect, and you go there to remember. My faith tells me that they're not there, that they're in heaven, that that's just the body that's sleeping in the ground, waiting for the morning of the resurrection, their spirit solar with the Lord, second corinthians, five absent from the body, present with the Lord, but the body to sleep. So when I go to that cemetery, and I will, I remember the life that my wife lived, and I remember the little life that my granddaughter lived. And I'll pay tribute to those people that were dear to me. And I go by there and do that. I reflect and I remember. It's a memorial. And one of the things that I do while I'm there, as though we're not in a position today to make new memories. I go there to remember the memories that we made. And while you're living, you're in this room looking at me. You have life to make memories. So live your life. Live it to the fullest. Take the trip, get out of town. Take the day off. Go fishing, go hunting. I mean, do that. So I say, eat the cake. Go ahead, eat the cake. I mean, live your life. I'll have some couple that will come to me and say, oh, we're going to go. We're traveling. I love to hear that. I love to. You're good. Make that memory. Cindy and I had a great, full life together. We did all those experiences, and it was over too fast. It ended too quickly. But I don't look back at our time together. I'm telling you this morning with one regret. I'm thankful for the memories that we made and for the legacy that she left. And so now when our loved ones are in heaven, we reflect and we remember with gratitude the difference that they made. And I just say that, to say this, I want that to be said of me one day. Wouldn't you like that to be said of you, to have your family say, wow, they made a difference. They left a legacy. It won't be the same without them. Everybody gets to plan their funerals. I'll have people, they'll say, bill, when it's my time to go, I want my funeral to be a celebration. I want people just to, I don't want them to weep. I want them to laugh. I want them to have a good time. And that's great. That's awkward. Cause as a pastor, you know, I can't come out here like a, you know, like a stand up. I mean, I don't know what to, how to. I don't know how to make it fun. Hey, Bill, put the fun back in funeral. I mean, I don't know how to. I don't know how I'm gonna do that. I mean, I get the sentiment. I just don't know how to make that work for you. It helps if you've got some funny stories, you know, that helps a brother a lot, because then I can tell some crazy things you did, and we'll all laugh. I share that with my moms. And men. It was just such a wonderful experience talking about my mom's life here. And I remember my mom and dad had split up, and my mother, she had dimensions. And when she was in the early stages of that terrible disease, my brother and I were sitting with her one time, and she was in her wheelchair, and she looked so sincere, right at us. And she said, you know, boys, she said, if I'd killed your dead, when I thought about it, I'd be out of prison right now. I said, mother, you seem serious. You put a lot of thought into that. I shared that at her memorial service, of course. It was just awesome. And. But the crazy thing about that is when my dad. When it came time for his death, my mother came, and the hospice nurses didn't know why he was still holding on. You know, they were like, I don't know. Maybe there's somebody or something that's not quite resolved. I mean, who knows? But he was just seemed to be holding on. And my mother and I shared this at her memorial service. She demonstrated one of the greatest acts of love and forgiveness. She rolled into that room, rolled over by his bedside, and I thought, uh oh, she's gonna put the pillow right over his face. She's gonna roll up on his oxygen hose. I don't know what's gonna happen here. I'm sorry. I just think that way. Know my mama, that old Oklahoma gal, would hurt you. She had hurt a brother. We used to call it going Kywa on ya. That's where she was from, anyway. But instead of doing any of that, she rolled right over next to him, reached over and took his hand, held his hand, patted his hand, and you know what? In a few moments, he was gone. I don't say what you will. I kind of think there was a circle that wasn't closed, that had to be closed, and if that were possible. And in that moment, I saw my mother with a beautiful act of love and forgiveness toward my father. And it was an incredible thing. What am I saying? I'm saying I had a lot of things to share at both of their memorial services. I really did. And so we're preaching our funerals now. We're leaving a legacy. Think about that as you live your life. That one day you want to live a life that gives your children something to remember and reflect on. You want to make a difference in their little lives as well. Never forget to tell them how God is taking care of you in your past, how God is with you in your present, and give them the assurance that whatever those little kids face going forward, God will not leave them them. He will not forsake them. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for your word. You said in Isaiah, your word never returns void. It always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent. So I pray your word will find lodging. As we think about Memorial day weekend, Father, we stop and we think about families who've lost loved ones, defending our nation. My family did. I pray, Father, for those who have loved ones serving and putting their life on the line. I pray that you would bless them and protect those service people. And Lord, I finally pray for my friends who may never have trusted you this morning as their savior, that this might be the moment where they just humble their heart in your presence. And they say, Lord Jesus, with everything I know about me, I trust all that I know about you. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin, be a reality in my life. And, Father, we'll give you thanks and praise. You're worthy. In Jesus name. Amen. [00:42:31] Speaker A: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have any questions or prayer requests, please contact us by visiting metchurch.com so that we can follow up with you this week. We look forward to seeing you next week.