1 Timothy 3:15, "...that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
(1) And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,
(2) Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
(3) And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
(4) Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
(5) And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
(6) That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
(7) Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
(8) And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
(9) And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
Memorials are extremely important in our society, so that we will remember our heritage and the sacrifices we and others have made to make them possible.
Importance of spiritual memorials for our personal lives and for the church.
A Memorial for Israel, Joshua 4:1-8
Commanded by God.
Fulfilled by Joshua and the people.
Twelve stones from Jordan.
What about the Twelve Stones?
Represented all the people (twelve tribes), verse 2.
Participation by the people, verse 3.
Related to the miracle, verse 3.
Permanence because of the durability and number of the stones.
The Purpose of the Memorial, Joshua 4:20-24
A reminder that God is the one who performed the miracle of deliverance.
Just as He did for previous generations.
A sign to future generations.
A sign to other nations of the power of God.
So that Israel would fear—honor, respect—the Lord forever.
What about it?
We need memorials in our lives. Example: our family’s testimony of conversion.
We need visible memorials that every family and church member participates in.
Not a dead memorial, but a living one, for the same reasons as in Joshua 4.
Heartfelt and demonstrative worship.
Personal and group prayer, including the prayer closet, the prayer room, and the altar.
Praying in the Holy Ghost – Speaking in tongues.
Visible standards of holiness.
Personal witness.
Of course, a memorial is no good without the continuing reality of a transformed life.
Continue shoring up the memorials in your life.
[1] Source: italicized parts – Bernard, David K. (2004). Preaching the Apostolic Faith. p. 83.
(13) For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
(14) Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
(15) And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
(16) For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
(17) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
(18) That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
(19) Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
(20) Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Hope, in the New Testament, is generally defined as “anticipation, expectation, confidence, faith.”[1]
However, in this passage it is best defined as that which we “have, hold, own, or possess.”[2]
Another way to view hope in our text today is “to hold one’s self to a thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to.”[3]
George Beverly Shea wrote “In Times Like These,” and it contains these words:
In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
With all the uncertainty of our day, it is abundantly clear that we need something, or someone to hold on to.
Something, or someone, to cling to.
That Rock is Jesus, He is the one we anchor our hope upon.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
At some point everyone will have a testing of their faith.
When those tribulations come, you need to be anchored in Jesus.
You need to anchor into Jesus from several points.
Six anchor points are suggested when you moor a boat.[4]
We need multiple mooring/anchor points in our lives.
Approach truth from every angle.
You have scripture and an experience to match the Word of God.
Anchor points that help you to hold on to your faith.
Truth comes by revelation from the Word of God.
Reason is not the final authority, but God is the final authority.
Postmodernism = the idea that there is no absolute truth and what works for me “in the moment” is my truth, but it’s relative and may change at any time.
When you don’t have a personal experience with the Lord Jesus Christ all you have is theology.
Always choose the side of truth, righteousness, & holiness.
How we choose to obey and follow Jesus in our relationship with Him is key to a life of holiness.
When we don’t have a long term goal we often fall short ofour potential.
Live with an awareness of eternity.
What if Jesus were coming today.
Live for today and live for that Day when He comes for us.
Six Anchor Points
Hebrews 6:1-3, “(1) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, (2) Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (3) And this will we do, if God permit.”
Six Anchor Points:
We must believe there is a God.
Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Jesus is the one true God manifest in the flesh to be our Savior.
The Bible is the Word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “(16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
We must believe, obey, and experience the New Birth.
Faith, Repentance, Water Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ, and the Infilling of the Holy Ghost Speaking in Tongues.John 3:5-8, “(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (8) The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Life in the Spirit.
Laying on of Hands = Operation of the Spirit and its Fruit and Gifts.
Romans 8:12-15, “(12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Life of Holiness.
Acts 2:40, “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”
How? Living a life of holiness.
1 Peter 1:13-16, “(13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (14) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The Life to Come.
Jesus is coming.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, “(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
If you feel adrift today then you need to go back and secure the lines of your hope and reattach your anchor on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rock.
When you have made sure these six anchor points are secure, then you can weather any storm.
Our dogma revolves around the great biblical truth that there is One God, also called “monotheism.” In his book, The Oneness of God, David K. Bernard, J.D. defines monotheism in this manner: “The belief in only one God is called monotheism, which comes from two Greek words: monos, meaning alone, single, one; and theos, meaning God.”
Ralph V. Reynolds simply stated that “there is only one Supreme Being who is God; He cannot be multiplied nor pluralized.” He further declared, “There are over fifty passages of Scripture that teach that God is one and that there is no other.”
In fact, the Word of God naturally assumes this universal truth. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created…” God here is the transliterated form of Elohim, which means “plenitude of might,” or more simply, “one God whose characteristics are many.”
This thought is carried further in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD.”
In Colossians 2:9 we are told that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (all the characteristics of God) bodily, and we (the Church) are complete in Him (Jesus).
When addressing Timothy, Paul wrote of a mystery, but then he further explained what that mystery was, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). Only Jesus Christ fulfills those six points. Therefore, Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Elohim of the Old Testament, which further explains why we are told that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and that all things exist and consist by him, Colossians 1:12-17.
So, we are dogmatic in our belief that there is only one God and Jesus is His name. He is our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Savior. Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Only Jesus fulfills this messianic prophecy. He is the Father in Creation, the Son in Redemption, and the Holy Spirit in us today. Keep this great truth in mind and heart as you celebrate this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!
Bernard, David K. The Oneness of God. St. Louis: Word Aflame Press, 1983.
Reynolds, Ralph V. Truth Shall Triumph. Hazelwood, MO: Pentecostal Publishing House, 1965.
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 