A Powerful Pile of Rocks

February 2, 2014
Joshua:  Turning Obedience Into Blessing
Joshua 4:  A Powerful Pile of Rocks                 Not Edited!

SIS – Faith is a powerful force that will help us march victoriously through this life right into a life of bliss in heaven.

This is a cairn (kar-en) [SHOW PIC]  This is a “duck.”  A cairn is sometimes called a “duck” because it is said to resemble a beak.  I don’t get it, but I don’t right the dictionaries.

A cairn, or “duck,” guides hikers along a trail.  A duck helps hikers prevent getting lost in the woods and putting themselves at great risk.  As I was studying these curious rock formations, I came across an interesting quote:  “Two rocks don’t make a duck.”  Now, at first this statement seemed little more than nonsense.  Then, I thought, maybe it is a Zen Proverb.  Finally, I realized this statement gives us great insight into how Providence—the loving guidance and provision of God in our lives—keeps us on a path that not only reconciles the failures of our past and blesses the efforts or our present, but guarantees the bliss of our eternal future.  “Two rocks don’t make a duck” describes two ways of living one’s life—one way leading to blessing, the other leading to a life wandering in purposelessness for eternity. 

If one comes upon a rock sitting upon another rock in the woods, it most likely is not a “duck.”  Most likely, this formation is nothing more than the chance arrangement of nature—one rock toppling on top of another.  Even three rocks in a stack might be nothing more than a chance arrangement of nature.  Five rocks of various sizes and kinds strategically balanced on top of one another makes one wonder if some intelligent being might be involved.

What about twelve rocks stacked upon each other—or better yet, two stacks of twelve in close proximity.  That’s what we have in the fourth chapter of Joshua.  What does this tell us about faith?

“Two rocks don’t make a duck.”  Implied in this statement is a quandary in regard to the observation of a particular phenomenon.  Is this phenomenon the result of chance, or is this phenomenon the result of the intentional actions of an intelligent being?  How you answer this question in regard to a “duck” would determine whether you are going to be guided through the wilderness by chance, or by the wise guidance of an intelligent being.  This makes all the difference in the world. 

So, we bring it down to a spiritual quandary.  As we view all that is around us we must ask ourselves if this is all “by chance,” or is all that we see the result of the intentional actions of an “Intelligent Being?”  How you answer THIS question not only makes all the difference in this world, but all the difference for eternity.

“Two rocks don’t make a duck.”  Are you going to live by chance or live by faith?  This is what we learn from these two piles of rocks. Let’s read our text together as we ponder how “Obedience Leads to Blessing.”

JOSHUA 4

Faith is fundamental to Christianity.  The Bible says,

“Without faith it is impossible to please God”  (Heb. 11**).  Faith is a strong feeling or an intellectual assent to some fact.  These are both subjective—or focused on what the subject perceives.  Biblical faith is objective—focused upon the reality and identity of Jesus Christ.  It is the object of faith that gives it meaning and power.  You can have a strong belief in the Tooth Fairy, but that does not make her real.

So, the question becomes, “if faith is so important, how do I make it work for me?”  How can I live victoriously and purposely by faith instead of wandering miserably living by chance?  Before I explore the issues involved in developing a powerful faith, let me say something about the difference between “saving faith” and “sanctifying faith.”  Look at verse 13:

About 40,000 equipped for war crossed

to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.

In the previous verses we read that God miraculously caused the raging waters of the Jordan at flood stage to stop and the nation crossed over on dry land (v7).  This was a miracle that God provided with no assistance from man.  This represents “saving faith.”  God is both the “Author and the Finisher” of our salvation (Heb. 12:1-2).  That’s “saving faith.”  Yet verse 13 tells us that the men were “armed for battle” or battle ready.  This represents “sanctifying faith.”  Sanctification refers to the process of becoming more like Christ through the daily exercise of the faith we receive through salvation, or “saving faith”—it is a gift. (Eph. 2:8).  Paul calls this the “working out” of faith that God has “worked into” our lives (Phil. 2:12).  We must never confuse these two different expressions of our faith. 

Saving faith comes as a result of God’s grace.  Sanctifying faith is the process of grace working itself out in our daily lives.  Grace always leads to works, but works will never lead to grace.

So, when I say that we can put our faith to work in our lives, I am not talking about “saving faith,” but “sanctifying faith.”  Sanctifying faith that becomes a powerful force leading to victorious Christian living has three components.

1.  First, it has a PAST—we must
     REMEMBER what God has done

We read in verses 1-7 that Joshua gave orders to gather 12 stones and create a “holy duck, or cairn” as a reminder or memorial. Vs. 7 says:

Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.

Remembering the past is extremely important to developing a powerful faith.  I don’t know his name but someone once said, “When we forget the past we lose the anchor that keeps us from drifting. When we forget the sacrifices made for our freedom we start taking that freedom for granted. And when we forget our spiritual roots we begin drifting away from the Lord.”  I think one of the most grievous sins a Christian can commit is the sin of “apathy,” or “taking the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for granted.” Joshua ordered this “memorial” so that the Israelites would never take God’s mercy for granted.

God knows we all have great memory lapses so He provided many reminders, or memorials.  Here is a list of a few: he gave the rainbow to Noah; the rite of circumcision to Abraham; the Passover; the sacrificial system; the required feasts; the symbols of the temple furnishings; the garments of the priests; the various monuments erected at important sites or events; the written Word of God is a constant reminder; baptism and the Lord's Supper, which we celebrated this morning.  Powerful faith must constantly be reminded of what God has already done in our lives.

Every true believer must have a time when God erected memorial stones of salvation in our lives.  Salvation may involve a process, but it must ALWAYS result in a “crisis of the conscience.”  We are not saved because we were baptized as a baby.  The process of confirmation CANNOT and DOES NOT lead necessarily to saving faith.  Saving faith requires “crisis of conscience” that takes place at a specific moment in time. For a person to be saved there must be a specific time in one’s life when one realizes they have grievously sinned against God and deserve the just and harsh punishment of eternal hell.  At some point in one’s life, if one is to be saved, one MUST come to understand that they have broken God’s Laws and will absolutely receive just punishment.  Paul says in regard to the Law:

I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.  For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

These stones were a “memorial,” or a reminder of not only the present miracle of God’s saving power, but a reminder of every act of grace and providence mankind had received from God since the day God covered the sin of Adam with the promise of a coming Redeemer.

These stones were a memorial, or a perpetual reminder, that the nation had left the life of rebellion represented by “crossing the Jordan” and had entered a life of faith represented by crossing the river and entering the Promised Land.  Keeping these stones in view would remind them to stay on the course God had for them—and for us.

One of the great challenges with getting older is your memory starts to fail.  You go into the next room and by the time you get there you forget what it was you went for in the first place.  But, getting senile does have at least one advantage: you can hide your own Easter Eggs!

Why do more church members in churches throughout the world and America especially not display more Promised Land Power through a daily walk of faith with God?  There are some who have crossed the Jordan but they set up camp instead of marching forward.  Over the years, so many Christians simply forget how glorious the miracle of salvation was in their lives.  They have “saving faith,” but they forgotten how great a miracle was wrought in their lives.  It is quite possible to have “saving faith,” but not have “sanctifying faith” if you don’t constantly remind yourself of what God has already done for you.

 For such people, these stones are a “reminder” that they have crossed into a life a faith and that the same miraculous faith that got them across the river of crisis will assist them in overcoming any crisis they face in life.  The memorial stones are there, but they ignore them.

For many other church-goers, they have no “sanctifying faith” because they have no “saving faith.”  They have never crossed the Jordan of salvation.  They are still on the “lost side” of life.  No pile of rocks in their past exist to remind them that they are saved—because they are, in fact, NOT saved!  So, no amount of preaching or religious prodding can ever revive this group of people because they have no saved spirit to revive.  In order to “revive” something, that is “make it alive again,” it had to be alive at some point to begin with.

Faith without a past has no power in the present and will experience no blessing in the future.

This pile of rocks represents the moment in time when we consciously and willingly surrendered to God as Our Lord and He became our Savior.  Only faith can do that.  Religion cannot do it.  Good deeds cannot do it.  Church membership won’t do it.  The only One who can save you is God through Christ and that only happens in a “crisis of the conscience.” 

If you cannot point to a pile of memorial stones marking the moment you were saved, you were not saved.  BUT LET ME ADD:  I am not talking about knowing the day and time, but recalling vividly the moment.  I do not remember the exact day (a day in May 1974) but I remember the moment when I walked that long aisle with terror in my heart because I realized I was a “law breaker” and my punishment was eternal hell.  There is a pile of rocks at Moundsville Baptist Church that mark the day in my past when I crossed the Jordan.  All Glory Be to God!

Faith must have a PAST when one can recall a crisis of conscience.

2.  Faith needs a PRESENT—we must REFLECT on
     What God is doing now (vs 13).

I mentioned this earlier but let me touch on it again.  Look at vs 13:

About 40,000 equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.

That phrase, “equipped for war,” fell on me like a ton of bricks when I was studying the other day.  You know how in the cartoon’s when a character gets an idea a “lightbulb” appears over their head?  Well, that’s what happened for me.  Why are so many churches mired in the clay of religiosity and having almost no significant impact on their communities?  Why am I so anemic when it comes to fulfilling the Lord’s mission, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”  We are not equipped for war.

We have allowed ourselves to become “campers” instead of “soldiers.”  God didn’t say, “Get packed for camp.”  He said, “Get prepared for war.”  If you are a Christian, you are a soldier in the fiercest war that will ever be fought—the War for the Kingdom.

A soldier that is not “equipped for war,” will soon be a casualty or a POW. 

Not long ago I read about a young soldier who was on a training exercise with his drill sergeant.  They were deep in the woods with full packs on their backs.  All of a sudden, they heard something crashing threw the brush coming toward them.  It was getting closer. Then they heard it growl.  “Bear!” they both yelled at the same time.

The Sergeant immediately took his tennis shoes out of his back pack and started switching them for his heavy field boots.  The young private protested saying, “Sarge, you can’t outrun a bear.”  The Sarge tightened his last lace, jumped up and said, “Private, I don’t have to outrun the bear—I only have to outrun you!”

In the spiritual battle of life you are either going to be a victim or a victor.  Sanctifying faith is what will make the difference.  Faith can’t camp on the victories of the past, it must march forward in the present.

Faith that only has a past isn’t much good in the present.  Sadly, many people—actually most people—are perfectly happy with a faith that makes not difference in daily life.  I know this because of the sad state of affairs in regard to American Christianity. 

Why is it this way?  The lack of critical self-evaluation or personal reflection.  That is, we just don’t think much about where we stand with God at this moment.  And, when the preacher mentions it, it sort of annoys us.  Who is he to say what I should or should not be doing?  As a preacher, I agree with you 101%.  It don’t matter one twit what I think as a preacher.  It does matter however what God says.

Verse 13 tells us clearly, when the Israelites left their past lives of mindless wandering in the Wilderness of Rebellion behind, they were “armed for battle, not “packed for camping!”  Too many church-goers have confused “marching” with “camping.” 

REFLECT upon your present spiritual position:  are you “equipped and armed for battle?” Forty years ago nearly every Southern Baptist church had a Church Training hour on Sunday evenings.  Now, if you announce a training opportunity you will be lucky if a handful of people show up.  A young man that is sent into battle ill-prepared and ill-equipped is not a “soldier,” but a “sacrifice.”

Powerful faith has a PRESENT:  “Equipped for battle.”

Remembering our past deliverance, Reflecting on our present devotion leads us to a third, exciting component, of powerful faith—

3.  We REJOICE in our dazzling FUTURE.

MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT FRIENDS:  God rewards obedience.  Obedience always leads to blessing.  The greatest blessing imaginable is to one day sit in the Presence of Almighty God in Heaven.  Even the very thought of heaven sends chills down my back.

Anytime I think of spending my eternal future in God’s Presence I think of a poem I memorized years ago:

Who does God’s work will get God’s pay,

However long may seem the day,

However weary be the way;


Though powers and princes thunder “Nay,”


Who does God’s work will get God’s pay.


He does not pay as others pay,


In gold or land or raiment gay;


In goods that vanish and decay;


But God in wisdom knows a way,


Who does God’s work will get God’s pay

Nothing empowers a person’s faith more than the realization that heaven is our Promised Reward.  God isn’t a sometimes Savior, He’s a Forever Savior.  And, that forever, exceeds fantastic!

When I get into the Word, I am often overwhelmed by how much truth God packs into every verse—indeed, every word.  If we read God’s Word too quickly, or too casually we will miss the diamonds that are lying beneath the surface.  Look at verse 24:

²⁴ This is so that all the people of the earth may know  that the Lord’s hand is mighty,  and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”

Let me read that again . . . . Think of that verse next to the words of our Lord in the N.T.:

¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples  of  all nations,  baptizing  them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember,  I am with you always,  to the end of the age.”

Joshua talked about “all the earth for all time.”  Jesus talked about “all the earth for all time!”  Not only that, but Jesus is the Greek transliteration for the Hebrew name Joshua.  They both mean, “Yahweh Delivers.”

Now God does not just deliver us from yesterday.  God does not just deliver us today.  God delivers us for “always.”  David understood the “alwaysness” of God’s deliverance.  In his beloved poem he wrote:

Ps. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Always and forever!  Our faith has a FUTURE!  And that future is so extremely glorious that should I use all the superlatives I know, I could never describe the blessing of heaven.  And since heave is so indescribably wonderful, I don’t know why anyone would take a chance at missing it just to revel a few years in the fleshly pursuits of this life.

Heaven is to our faith, what a carrot is to a donkey.  When troubled waters rise and I feel like I am about to drown, or when my soul is wearied by service when I see so little result; when I think I cannot go one more step . . . I remember that taking one more step in faithful service puts me on more step closer to God in heaven.

I do not mean to say we should only serve God for what I get out of it.  I am only saying that knowing that the end of my days of service here on earth will be the beginning of my days of worship in heaven, give a boost to my faith that catapults me forward.  Powerful faith has a future and that future is unimaginable and indescribable!

Powerful faith has a past, a present, and a future.

I’ve often said:  “If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck—it’s a duck!”  As we learned earlier, “two rocks don’t make a duck.”  So many people are living “two rock” lives based upon chance instead of “Twelve Rock Lives” based upon resolute, courageous, daring, sacrificial faith in Jesus Christ.  Even many Christians waddle their way through life living by chance instead of marching through life living by faith.

Statistics tell us that two out of every three Americans believe humans evolved by chance operations of mindless evolution, instead of being uniquely created by an Intelligent Being—we as Christians know as Yahweh.  The majority believe, “Two rocks DO make a duck,” and their trust their entire eternity on chance.

That statistic does not bode well for America.  Two thirds of the American population see nothing unique about human life or life in general.  There is not Providentcial guidance.  There is no absolute truth.  There is not meaningful purpose to life.  Should we then be surprised that our nation is in such a state of moral disrepair?

Our text shows us a better way—Twelve Rocks, not Two, purposeful living not meaningless wandering.  Don’t be a duck—live by faith.

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