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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000118S
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00:05 #S062 - “Rolling Stones” (Part 1)
00:19 Joshua Chapter 00:21 four and we're going to begin together at verse number one. 00:25 When you get there, let me use the bathroom there. 00:28 Joshua Chapter four, an inverse number one. 00:33 John Joshua Chapter four. 00:35 And we're going to begin together in verse number one. 00:36 Pray for me. 00:38 Two, I stayed with the kids here at air last night 00:42 and that was way past my bedtime. 00:44 So I'm struggling a little bit 00:46 today is the only break for the pastor this afternoon. 00:48 Joshua four In verse one, 00:51 the Bible says, and it came to pass 00:55 when all the people had completely cross over the Jordan 00:59 that the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, 01:02 Take for yourselves, 12 men from the people, one man 01:07 from every tribe, and commend them saying, 01:12 Take for yourselves 12 stones from here 01:14 out of the midst of the Jordan, 01:16 from the place where the priest's feet stood firm. 01:20 You shall carry them over with you and leave them 01:22 in the lodging place where you lodge tonight. 01:26 Then Joshua called the 12 men whom he had appointed 01:30 from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe. 01:33 And Joshua said to them, Cross over before the Ark of the Lord, 01:37 your God, into the midst of the Jordan. 01:40 And each one of you shall take up a stone on his shoulder. 01:43 According to 01:44 the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 01:47 that this may be a sign among you 01:51 when your children ask in time to come saying, 01:55 What do these stones mean to you? 01:58 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan 02:01 were cut off 02:02 before the Ark 02:03 of the Covenant of the Lord, 02:04 and when it crossed over the Jordan, 02:06 the waters of the Jordan were cut off. 02:09 And these stone shall be for you. 02:11 A memorial to the children of Israel forever. 02:15 And the children of Israel did so just as Joshua commanded 02:20 and took up 12 stones from the mist of the Jordan 02:23 and the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number 02:26 of the tribes of the children of Israel, 02:28 and carried them over with them to the place 02:31 where they lodge and lay them down there. 02:34 Then Joshua set up 12 stones in the midst of the Jordan, 02:38 in the place 02:39 with the feet of the priests 02:40 who bore the Ark of the Covenant stood and there they are 02:46 to this day today, Saints, for just a little while, 02:49 I want to talk to you under the subject the Rolling Stones. 02:54 The Rolling Stones. Let us pray together, 02:58 Father, 03:00 would you allow your spirit 03:05 to settle heavily upon not just the service, 03:10 but upon the throne of each and every one of our hearts? 03:14 Lord, my prayer today is that in the preaching of the word, 03:18 that faith would be multiplied exponentially. 03:21 So, Lord, 03:23 would you allow me to be hidden in the shadow of the cross that 03:26 Jesus alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard? 03:32 And at the end of our time together, may Jesus alone 03:34 be praised. 03:35 Bless us. 03:36 To this end, we ask in the wonderful name of Jesus, 03:39 our Lord, let those who believe say together, amen, and amen. 03:44 You may be seated in the House of the Lord today, your friends. 03:57 In around 2016, 04:01 my wife and I took our kids down to Orlando 04:06 so that they could have the Disney World experience, 04:09 and so we wanted them to have a good time. 04:12 And so we paid obscene 04:16 prices for tickets. 04:20 We sat in hours of traffic in Atlanta. 04:24 It was as if we stopped every 30 minutes so 04:27 someone could go to the bathroom room. 04:31 We walked through a urine 04:32 soaked rest stop so they could get there. 04:37 And even on the day we were at the park, 04:39 my wife's hair was defeated 04:41 by the central Florida humid humidity 04:45 so that our kids could have the Disney experience. 04:49 But fast forward to about two years ago, 04:52 while my daughter was watching a Disney commercial, 04:56 she looked at me with some contempt and said, 04:59 Daddy, when are you taking us to Disney World? 05:02 And with some protests? 05:04 I had to remind her, Baby, 05:05 you've already been there before. 05:08 But because she was only about 05:10 four at the time, she had no recollection of attending. 05:15 And so I scrolled through years of pictures on my phone 05:19 to create some reminders that she had already visited 05:22 that place. 05:23 And so I said, 05:24 Here, baby, are pictures of you and The Incredibles. 05:28 Here are some pictures of you at Elsa's parade. 05:32 Here are some pictures of you and Mickey Mouse. 05:35 And she looked at the pictures and reminders. 05:38 There was a sense of justice and fairness 05:41 that begin to return to her disposition. 05:45 And for a moment, 05:46 I was somewhat frustrated because she did not recall. 05:49 And I realized that 05:50 my mistake is that I wanted her to remember. 05:55 I did not put in place some reminders. 05:59 And can I suggest that sometimes the same is true 06:03 for us as adults in the journey of faith? 06:06 You see, the issue is not that we have not seen God 06:09 do great things. 06:11 The fact is that some of us have seen God open up doors. 06:16 Some of us have seen God make ways out of no ways. 06:21 Some of us have seen God come through right on time. 06:24 But the problem is 06:25 that in the course of time, memories are going to fade 06:29 and current realities are going to clutter our thinking. 06:35 And one of the things we've got to be mindful to do 06:37 is to not just depend upon memory. 06:41 We've got to set up some reminders of what God has done. 06:45 In fact, Prince, 06:46 I want to suggest that in the times of Scripture 06:50 that there were times where they would set up altars 06:52 to remind them what God had done in Joshua 06:55 before they set up stones to remind them what God had done. 07:00 And if you're going to have a current level of faith, 07:03 you've got to have some things in place to remind you 07:06 that you serve the God that always comes through. 07:10 Am I preaching to somebody today? 07:12 In other words, friends, one of the things you need to do 07:16 is you need to learn to keep some crazy receipts. 07:20 Not now. 07:20 See, the problem with us 07:21 is we keep receipts on all of our curses. 07:24 We all that today church. 07:26 In other words, we keep receipts about everybody 07:29 that's wronged us. 07:30 We've got receipts for everybody that's disappointed us. 07:35 We keep receipts over everybody that's let us down. 07:38 And my question today 07:39 is, why do you keep receipts about the curses of man? 07:44 But you have no receipts about the blessings of God. 07:47 And I'm suggesting, friends, that if you go 07:49 keep some receipts, 07:50 you ought to keep receipts on how God pays the bills 07:53 every month. 07:55 You ought to have some receipts over how God healed your body. 07:59 You ought to have some receipts about how God protected 08:02 your home. 08:03 And I want to suggest that we ought to keep some receipts 08:06 for the blessings of God in yesterday, 08:09 because it gives us faith and courage 08:12 to face the traversed adversities of today. 08:15 Can the church say, man? 08:16 And so go back with me, if you don't mind, to Joshua. 08:20 And I want you to look over with me in Joshua, chapter three 08:22 and verse 12, Joshua three and verse 12. 08:26 This is the night before the miracle, 08:30 and I want you to see the instructions of Joshua. 08:33 Joshua three In verse 12, the Bible says Now, therefore, 08:36 take for yourselves 12 men from the tribes of Israel, 08:42 and the Bible says they are to take one man from every tribe. 08:47 Now go to chapter four and verse number eight, the Bible says, 08:50 and the children of Israel did so just as Joshua commanded 08:56 and took up 12 stones from the midst of the Jordan. 08:59 As the Lord 09:00 has spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes 09:03 of the children of Israel, and carry them over to the place 09:09 where they lodge and they laid them down there. 09:13 Now, friends, I need you to get that. 09:15 I believe that there are several noteworthy elements 09:19 to this story, 09:20 but the first thing it teaches saints 09:24 is that your certainty ought to be in his assurances. 09:27 Let me say it again that your certainty 09:31 should not be in your circumstances, 09:35 your circuit certainty should be in his divine assurances. 09:39 Are you all with the pastor today? 09:41 In other words, friends, God gave Joshua some instruction 09:46 that when they passed over the Jordan, 09:49 they were to collect 12 memorial stones 09:52 for this miracle, 09:54 so that in days to come, when the children ask 09:58 what mean these stones, some older person could bear 10:02 testimony about how God opened up the Jordan River. 10:07 And so what God was doing for this current generation, 10:11 he was giving them a reason to look back 10:14 and he was giving future generations a point of reference 10:18 for God's ability to be able to come through. 10:22 But the thing I find interesting today, Saints, 10:24 is the timing of Joshua's instruction. 10:28 I need you to notice that the Bible says in Chapter 10:31 three that Joshua chose the 12 men 10:35 the night before the miracle took place. 10:39 And did you notice that God did not wait 10:42 until the waters receded for them to gather the stones, 10:46 but they would be gathering 10:47 stones while the water was still in the air, 10:53 when the people were still somewhat in danger. 10:56 And the notice saints that the stones 10:58 make it a cross before the people make it a cross. 11:03 In other words, friends, they are carrying out 11:06 the elements of the celebration even before 11:09 the situation is established. 11:12 They're carrying the trophies of victory 11:16 even before the victory is complete. 11:18 Y'all not with me. 11:19 They're acting like they've already won. 11:23 Even before the victory has been established. 11:26 And friends, this is the disposition 11:29 of someone who believes in the assurances of God. 11:33 Because when you believe in the assurances of God 11:37 that you don't wait until it's done to rejoice, 11:41 you begin rejoicing as soon as you get the assurance 11:44 from the most high God. 11:47 In other words, if they do this 11:49 without an assurance from God, it is an act of presumption. 11:55 But when they act upon the word without seeing evidence, 11:58 it is an act of faith. 12:00 And see, there are some of us that take this very passive 12:04 and timid posture. 12:05 When we are waiting for the promises of God to come to pass. 12:10 We feel like we've got to be cautious and careful 12:13 and wait to see things happen before we believe. 12:16 But I need you to know 12:17 that your certainty is not in the circumstance. 12:22 Your certainty comes as soon as God gives the assurance. 12:26 We all know that today. 12:26 Church In other words, I need you to know 12:29 that when the mouth of the Lord speaks it in His promises, 12:34 or whether God cements it through His Spirit, 12:37 it's not a matter of if God is going to come through. 12:41 It's just a matter of when God is going to come through. 12:45 In other words, I want to say to somebody 12:48 who's dealing with some sickness today 12:51 and the Lord has told you all will be well, 12:55 you start planning for your birthday party six months 12:58 from now because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 13:02 There is somebody that ought to plan your house blessing 13:06 even before you close on the house. 13:09 There is some sister that needs to choose your wedding dress 13:12 even before you meet your man. 13:14 Y'all not hear me today? 13:15 There is somebody that needs to plan your graduation dinner 13:20 even before you take your final exam. 13:23 There is some parent that needs to plan the baby 13:25 dedication even before you get pregnant. 13:29 Because when the Lord speaks, it's not a matter of 13:32 if it's going to happen, 13:34 it's just a matter of when it's going to happen. 13:38 And let me be clear, I don't believe in presumption. 13:42 It's only presumed sin 13:43 when you're celebrating your own idea, but it's faith 13:47 when you are acting on the Word of the living God. 13:51 And see, I need to just relieve somebody of this false notion, 13:56 because there are some who believe, Pastor, 13:58 I don't want to say it out loud. 14:00 There are some that believe they can't pray out loud 14:04 because the devil will be able to hear it and sabotage 14:07 what God wants to do about how many of us know 14:10 that God is so powerful that you can say it out loud. 14:15 You can give the Devil the specs of your prayer. 14:19 You can tell him when you need God to come through. 14:22 Because I just know that what God has for me, 14:26 it just is for me. 14:28 And there ain't no devil in hell 14:34 that. 14:35 Can stop the will of God from coming to pass in your life. 14:39 Listen, friends, I remember it well. 14:41 Probably about 15, 16 years ago when my wife and I began 14:46 the journey of trying to start our family together. 14:49 And I remember my wife got pregnant. 14:50 I was very excited as a possible bad dad. 14:54 And so I went to the store and I got this little take home 14:57 powder blue thing 14:58 with footballs on it to carry the baby home from the hospital, 15:01 because I was praying for a boy and so I got it in faith. 15:06 And so we were excited that she had gotten pregnant. 15:09 But after about two months, 15:10 the baby's heartbeat, Addison appeared 15:13 and she lost the baby in miscarriage. 15:15 But we got our faith together and said, into every life, 15:17 some rain must fall. 15:19 And so we got pregnant a second time 15:22 and we got to about two and a half or three months. 15:24 And again, the baby miscarried. 15:27 And so, again, we were saddened, but we trusted God. 15:30 We got pregnant 15:30 a third time, 15:31 got to about three and a half months, and then 15:35 the heartbeat disappeared and the baby miscarried. 15:37 But we trusted God a fourth time, 15:39 got well into the second trimester to almost six months. 15:43 But then the baby still miscarried 15:46 and he is buried in Lexington to this day. 15:49 And I thought to myself, maybe I need to throw away 15:51 this little garment that I bought for our son. 15:55 Maybe it wasn't God's will. 15:56 But after we were leaving the hospital 16:00 from that fourth loss, God put a promise in my wife's 16:02 heart in the parking lot, and the Spirit spoke to her 16:08 that said, You will be the mother of many children. 16:11 And so guess what? 16:12 I didn't throw out the outfit I was going to 16:15 bring them home with. 16:16 We just waited for God to come through. 16:19 And I need you to know, 16:20 we put my oldest son in that blue outfit. 16:25 We put the youngest son in that blue outfit. 16:29 We got a new outfit for the baby girl. 16:32 Because when God promises, it's 16:37 not a matter of if God is going to come through. 16:41 It's a matter of when God is gone, come through 16:45 and you just got to be still and let God be God. 16:51 And in 16:52 other words, church, I simply believe that sometimes 16:54 you got to play in your celebration 16:58 even before the victory is a sure job. 17:00 Not quit yet. 17:02 I was just kind of like in football. 17:04 Anybody watch football? 17:05 Like one of the things that the great players do 17:08 is that during the week 17:09 they don't just practice the plays, 17:13 they practice their touchdown dance or y'all not hear me. 17:18 They don't just practice what they're going to run. 17:22 They also practice their celebration 17:26 because they know if they're diligent in preparation, 17:30 they're going to have an opportunity for celebration. 17:34 And I need somebody to know 17:35 you ought to plan your celebration dance in advance. 17:40 There is some sick person that on a plane, your healing dance. 17:44 There are some senior that's a play in your graduation dance. 17:49 There is somebody that had a plan, your house closing dance. 17:52 There is somebody that had a plan. 17:54 Your promotion dance. 17:56 Because when God speaks it, it's just a matter of time. 18:01 You don't wait for it. 18:02 You simply believe for it can turn say man today. 18:07 And so the 18:08 word says to us here in Joshua, chapter four 18:10 and verse number two, notice what God says through Joshua. 18:14 He says, Take for yourselves, 12 men from the people. 18:19 And notice, he says, one man 18:22 from every tribe. 18:25 You see. 18:26 The second thing this teaches us friends is number two. 18:28 You can't just let anybody tell your story. 18:35 Now, notice that God gives Joshua some very specific 18:39 instructions about who is able to carry a stone. 18:44 And one of the things you'll notice 18:46 is that those 18:47 who carry the stones, they must be Jews ethnically. 18:52 They've got to come from one of the 12 tribes. 18:55 Now, even though they're 18:56 generally Jewish as a people, they are not a monolith 19:00 because they've got people that have joined to them 19:03 through the nations 19:04 they have subdued in their 40 years of wandering. 19:08 In other words, they've got servants that are from Egypt. 19:11 They've got some that are from Amman, 19:13 they've got some that are from Cain, 19:15 and they've got servants of all nations. 19:19 And understand the likely instruction 19:22 would have been to let one of the servants carry the stones. 19:26 But Joshua said, Don't 19:28 let someone from another nation carry the stone. 19:32 Somebody from your own people has to carry these rocks. 19:37 And the great commentator Matthew Henry says it this way, 19:41 that those who wear the gatherers of the stones, 19:46 that they would be the storytellers of this miracle, 19:50 that they would be the ones who would begin to be 19:52 the first ones to set foot in the promised land. 19:57 And for generations they would be the ones 20:00 to tell the story about what God did at the Jordan River 20:05 and understand that God made it clear that you can't let 20:07 somebody from the outside tell your story. 20:11 In fact, one of the things I have learned 20:13 the hard way 20:14 is that you got to be careful how you allow 20:16 folk to tell your story. 20:18 You see, on occasion I have to sit down 20:20 and do a print interview 20:22 or sometimes do a television interview. 20:25 And one of the things I've learned the hard way 20:28 is that the news they don't want to tell your story. 20:31 They want to use your words to tell their story 20:35 so that I can sit down 20:36 and talk with them for 15 and 20 minutes. 20:39 But by the time 20:40 they chop up my words and move it out of context 20:44 and water it down to a 32nd sound bite at the end, 20:46 have nothing to do with what I was actually trying to say. 20:50 I've learned, even with print articles, 20:53 that there are times 20:54 where I'm like, No, I need to send the whole essay myself, 20:58 because by the time you mix it in and mangle it, 21:01 it's going to reflect your bias and the story 21:03 that you're ultimately trying to tell 21:07 and see the danger of friends of mine, 21:08 letting somebody else tell your story is that 21:11 they will overlook details that is important to you, 21:16 and they will implement details that are important to them 21:20 when someone else tells your story, they will summarize 21:23 when they should be elaborating, and they'll elaborate 21:26 in places where they should be summarizing and see. 21:29 One of the things Joshua says is, don't give this job 21:33 to someone else. 21:34 We've got to be responsible for telling our own story. 21:41 And can I suggest that 21:42 one of the reasons is African descendants living in America. 21:46 We suffer at times a corporate loss of I identity 21:50 is that too often we have depended upon others 21:53 to be faithful stewards and chronicles of our story. 21:58 Okay, y'all quiet today. 22:00 Have you noticed friends of mine that in our time 22:04 that there is a still full intentionality 22:09 about diluting the history of what has happened 22:12 in this country? 22:13 I'm not preaching to a woke church today. 22:16 Have you noticed that 22:17 in most school history books that African slavery 22:21 has been diluted in many cases down to two pages? 22:26 And the civil rights movement is always some arise. 22:29 And Dr. 22:29 King's I Have a Dream speech. 22:33 In other words, there is an intentionality 22:35 about watering down how bad slavery was 22:38 and how great 22:39 the atrocities were, and some simply label it 22:43 a practice of indentured servitude. 22:47 It is why there is let's just slicing afoot 22:50 to remove classes like critical race theory 22:53 from our schools because there is a story 22:56 that is attempted to be reframed and managed 23:00 and I need you to know that we will suffer great loss 23:03 if we are dependent upon somebody else 23:06 to tell our story. 23:08 And that's why in our churches and in our schools, 23:14 we've got to be faithful sentinels of our story 23:19 so that when the future generations ask 23:22 what means these stones, 23:25 there is something that we can tell them that 23:28 reminds them that God loves us to hear me today friends 23:34 thank you so much for joining us for the breath of life 23:37 television Ministries Broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell 23:41 We hope and pray 23:42 that you have been blessed by his powerful message. 23:47 Join us next week for part two of the message, Rolling Stones. 23:51 You don't want to miss it! 24:14 What's good family, 24:16 the ExcuseLess revolution is underway. 24:20 We've been having a good time testifying, praying 24:23 and receiving the word of the Lord. 24:25 But I want you to know that the revolution is not over yet. 24:30 The Bible says, I wish, above all things that thou me is 24:32 prosper and be in help even as not so prosperous. 24:38 The next leg of the journey revolves around our fitness 24:41 and our health. 24:42 I invite you to join me. 24:44 Starting on made the fit for an online 24:48 30 day fitness campaign under the theme, it's Useless. 24:53 I want you to join me each week, Sunday through Friday, 24:55 Sunday at 8 a.m.. 24:57 Monday through Friday at 6 a.m.. 24:59 When you join us online, 25:01 you're going to receive a spiritual bid. 25:05 Our coaches are going to lead us in a 25 minute online workout. 25:11 And then we'll conclude the day with my Health Avengers. 25:13 Some amazing chefs are going to give us some tools 25:18 on how to make tasty and affordable and healthy meals 25:22 that help push us forward over the course of this 30 days. 25:26 You can be a part of a weight loss challenge, 25:28 and each and every week 25:29 there's going to be a different challenge 25:30 that allows us to build community around our fitness 25:34 and our hope. 25:36 For too long, we've been making some excuses 25:39 about why we're not eating well, about 25:40 why we're not in shape, about why we're not in perfect health. 25:45 I need you to know it's time to cancel those excuses. 25:47 But when you join this leg of the journey, 25:49 those aches and pains are going to go away. 25:52 You're going to feel better as we continue the journey 25:55 toward becoming ExcuseLess. 25:58 Calling all leaders, 26:00 visionaries, dreamers, content creators. 26:04 We're inviting you to the 2024 26:08 Vision and Dreamers conference hosted by Breath of Life, 26:11 the theme for this year is a ExcuseLess. 26:14 We want you to know that this year's conference is not 26:16 about spreadsheets, budgets or accounting. 26:20 We're going to be talking 26:20 about the process your soul goes through 26:24 whenever you're developing or implementing a vision. 26:27 We're going to be equipping you with the tools 26:28 to develop a vision ethic. 26:30 We're going to be talking about 26:32 things like your frustrations, how to manage your fears, 26:36 dealing with criticism or enduring seasons of waiting. 26:40 Join us at the Oakwood University Church 26:43 May 17 through 19. 26:45 We're going to kick it off Friday night 26:47 with a vespers, a vision talk and a mixer. 26:52 Join us Saturday morning at 11, where I'm going to give a word 26:54 just for you. 26:55 We'll be joined in partnership by gospel 26:58 recording artist Myron Butler and Levi. 27:02 We're going to have lunch together. 27:03 And then that afternoon 27:04 there are going to be a number of plenary sessions 27:08 and breakout sessions and will conclude Sunday morning 27:11 with our vision brunch. 27:12 We have an amazing lineup of speakers and presenters. 27:17 Movie producer Devon Franklin. 27:19 YouTube influencers, the Onyx Family and Grammy Award 27:23 winning Kelvin Wooten. 27:24 And many, many more. 27:26 I want to invite you to go to our website and register 27:29 right now at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:34 Registration cost is $150, but I want you to know 27:37 that what you're going to 27:38 receive is going to be way more than what you actually get. 27:42 I believe 27:43 that God has put a huge vision or dream inside of you, 27:47 and we don't want to allow excuses to smother it. 27:51 I want to invite you to join us on the revolution 27:54 as we continue the journey of becoming 27:56 ExcuseLess |
Revised 2024-05-06