Introduction

Let's look at chapter 4 of the book of Joshua. In fact, it is already recorded in Chapter 3 that Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, but Chapter 4 is still talking about this event, and the topic of this chapter is: Commemorating the Works of Our God. Throughout Chapter 4, after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River, Joshua commanded each tribe of the Israelites to choose a man to carry a stone from the Jordan River, bring it up, and place it in the place where they would stay for the night, which was named Gilgal.

What are these stones used for? They are used as evidence among the Israelites so that when the children of the later generation asked about this event, they would know that the God of the Israelites led them to cross the Jordan River as if they were walking on dry land. Then Joshua set twelve stones in the waters of the Jordan, and these twelve stones were carried by them to the place where the feet of the priests stood.

What does this story say later? Joshua commanded the priests to carry the ark of the covenant up from the Jordan River, and no sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. Then Joshua said it again, "In the future, when your descendants ask their parents, "What do these stones mean?" tell them that you crossed the Jordan on dry ground because your God made the water in the Jordan dry, just as the LORD your God made the Red Sea dry before, waiting for you to cross.

He draws the conclusion that all the nations on earth will know that the LORD your God is mighty and that you will fear the LORD your God, and this is what the story tells.

So I share with you this chapter with the topic: Commemorating the Works of Our God.

Commemorating the Grace of Our God in Us

Brothers and sisters, no matter who you are, if God has done things in you, whether it is a healing or some other miracle, and whether it is a trivial thing or an earth-shattering thing, we have to fear our God.

You will hear me telling many stories, and some people will say, "Is it true?" What he means is, how can there be so many things? But I tell you, it's all true. If we were to tell all the things we experienced, we could tell them all for days! We experience God like this every day!

You must know that people's memories are not very good. No matter what kind of Christian you are, you are lying if you say you have not experienced God. But after experiencing God, do you commemorate the LORD your God?

Our God is mighty, and we have to always be the LORD our God. There is a characteristic in me that I do not like beer and skittles. Why is that? It is not because I have never experienced it before, but because it's meaningless, and then I developed a hobby, which is to serve God. I like to work, and I like to serve God. I like to do things that are meaningful, so what is the point of beer and skittles? Especially for those Christians who like beer and skittles, I am even more surprised. Would a person with Spirit who makes judgments about all things enjoy beer and skittles?

When I led the prayer, I shared a passage of scripture:

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD ’s covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. But Joshua had commanded the army, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!" (Joshua 6:8-10 NIV)

This sounds confusing, but in fact, it shows that Paul is a man with Spirit who makes judgments about all things, and he only wants to be a man after God's own heart, and only wants to please God.

Brothers and sisters, listen to my advice: If a Christian likes beer and skittles, you should stay away from them. Why? Please don't recognise good and evil when I say this. They also have the Bible in their hands, and they have experienced God, but have they commemorated God? No. They only know to take pictures of tourist spots and write down that someone visited here in this year on this day of this month, and this is what they commemorate. When have they ever commemorated our God?

Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. Actually, God has given me a very small grace from the beginning of believing in God, that is, when I couldn't find a job, God gave me a job. I've never dared to forget because God saved me during my destitution, and the boss who hired me at that time was also a Christian and has now become my very good friend.

Three months after I was hired, my boss invited people from all departments to his house for dinner, which was like a company reunion. He had become a Christian a year before I did. He pulled me aside and said to me, "You know what? This job of yours is a miracle!" I didn't know it was a miracle at the time, but I can feel it was unusual because I had already received a rejection letter, then he called me for an interview, so I was astonished.

My boss said, "Do you know how this job came about?" God gave it to you! "The English you wrote in your resume was terrible; the words were not right, and it was a mess." Of course, if I have to help people write English resumes, I can write really well. But at that time, no one helped me; my English was not good, and my boss looked at my resume and thought it was not good.

Before he was converted, he was on the verge of committing suicide. After he was converted, he prayed a lot because he had a lot of problems and was desperately in need of someone to help him solve those difficult technical problems because he couldn't solve them by himself.

He had a pile of resumes on his desk, and when he arrived at the office in the morning, he laid his hands on them and prayed, and then he heard a voice, and it was my name. He was thinking, "God, is there a mistake? This resume is really bad."

Then the next day he prayed again, and he heard another voice, and it was still my name, and the third day it was also my name. That's why, three months after I started working, he called me aside and told me it was a miracle.

What did I help him do in those three months? I helped him solve a lot of difficult technical problems. I am a fast learner, I work hard, and I never give up before I solve a problem. That's my character. Now it's the same with building the church. I won't stop until I build a victorious church, because I know my God is a faithful God.

To this day, I dare not forget how I lived, and my life was given by God. Living in this world was boring, but since I have known God, I know how wonderful it is to live for Him. Among the people I minister, there are some who surprised me. They have a characteristic called selective memory; they can't remember good things for long but bad things for eternity. What kind of people are they?

One day I was ministering to a person who had a stiff neck and shoulders, and I prayed with her, and she got well. However, after three days, she said, "I have not experienced God before; I am not like you." I was shocked. Three days ago, I prayed with her, and she was healed; three days later, she forgot about it and said she hadn't experienced God! Brothers and sisters, don't be such a person! It's a tragedy for such a person to live in this world! If you forget what happened three days ago, can you still remember what happened afterwards?

God helped me before I was baptized, and after I was baptized, an amazing thing happened because I was one of the few people who did the tithe, so God was especially kind to me. Later, I even gave a tenth of my provident fund, tax money, and profits from buying and selling houses.

Brothers and sisters, that is not a small amount! In fact, the percentage of my tithe is about 15-17%, which is not too much different from the tax I pay to the government or even more than the tax money. What I want to say is that it's not that I don't struggle, but after struggling, I choose to believe.

He saved me when I was on the verge of death, which I dare not forget. I have so many stories because I remember those stories in my heart.

Brothers and sisters, do not forget them! Why does our God record in this chapter that twelve stones were set up as a sign? Where did the stones on the shore go? They are gone, but to this day, the stones in the Jordan River are still standing there as a sign.

Until later days, until the restoration of Israel in 1948, the Jews were thrown around among the nations. Why is this? There is only one reason: they forgot that the LORD their God, is powerful because they did not believe anymore.

The Israelites crossed the Red Sea and the Jordan River as if they were walking on dry land. Three million Israelites crossed the Jordan River, and if they were to be transported by boat, if there were 100 boats, it would only take 10,000 people an hour to transport them. 3 million people would take 300 hours, and it would take 10 days to transport them day and night. What kind of project is that? It's an amazing project! But this project was finished by the word of our God.

Remember the Power of God Forever

With God, doesn't it make living simple? But I am shocked that many people forget that they experienced God in a blink of an eye. Brothers and sisters, up to this day, God has been especially gracious to me because I commemorate my God. I no longer trust in other things in my life, but in Him al
Know that the hand of the LORD is mighty! Do you really fear Him? I have served more people than I can count, and I was very surprised when they suddenly left the church. God wants people to commemorate Him because people have bad memories. I encourage brothers and sisters in the church, if you are willing to be like me and keep every day, every event, and every little thing you experience with God in your heart, then I tell you, you can preach the word of God wherever you go.

If you are a person who trusts God, you cannot help but experience God. What our God let us experience were things like crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan River, things that are beyond our imagination. The traditional church, on the other hand, believes in a powerful God as being powerless, and I am very surprised.

There are many church documentaries and testimonies that are told. I don't even know if they are testifying about our God or humiliating our God. For example, there was a Christian with nasopharyngeal cancer. From the time he got nasopharyngeal cancer to the process of treatment until his death, they filmed it all, and finally said, "Look! How strong this man is! That's their faith, how strong!"

And I was thinking, "God, where are you?" I rather find the events in the Bible more interesting. I'd rather believe in Jesus as recorded in the four gospels or in the book of Acts, in someone who is sick and Paul gets it right.

Our God is supposed to be powerful, and only by first believing in Him as a powerful God will our testimony be powerful! Some people who see you will say, "Look how good this person's life is." We need to be powerful witnesses to God, knowing that the faith we pass on is a powerful faith.

One sister told me that she once went to Korea to hear a Korean pastor preach on faith, and it just so happened that we had just returned from overseas, and when we saw her, we asked her what the pastor there was preaching, and she said the pastor was talking about if God doesn’t heal you, will you still believe?

I didn't find such words in the Bible! I do not know which passage he was quoting. Our God is the God who heals us, but why did that pastor preach that if God doesn't heal? How could he be healed if he preached such a sermon?

I think the reason God lets people remember Him is because people have bad memories and often fall short of themselves. In fact, we could have received more of God's grace, but because we have a bad memory and cannot remember the good, we only remember the bad. We need to remind ourselves to commemorate God's works. Our God says:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."(Acts 1:8 NIV)

So testimonies are very important. We need to remember our God and keep the power of God in our hearts. The hand of the LORD is mighty, so what are you worried about? In God's eyes, everything is nothing. If we fear God, we will fear nothing; if we do not fear God, we will often fear this and that.

Commemorate the Our Shepherds and Leaders

God also told us to commemorate Joshua because he followed God closely. This Joshua is remarkable! When Moses said, "Joshua, lead the Israelites across the river!" Did Joshua hesitate? Did Joshua have any doubts in his heart? Did Joshua think, "Did God say this? How do we cross the Jordan River? Do you need a boat? Where can I find wood? Do we swim across? If we swim, we will be lucky if we can get even one million people out of three million across, and the rest will be washed away, not even to mention the elders and the children."

I tell you, he hesitated, but this happened to a man with faith; Joshua believes in the power of our God! So, brothers and sisters, the faith of a leader is vital. Follow a leader who has faith, and I tell you, you are blessed.

This faithful leader will lead you across the Jordan River as if you were walking on dry land, and even if you encounter dangerous things, you will not die, and many things will be turned over.

We have a sister whose whole family lived a particularly hard life, full of the works of the devil. Her brother had a defecation tube inserted in his body because he couldn't defecate, and that was very disturbing, and she herself also had a lot of problems.

She was a believer in a church for six years! The pastor of her church was a good man, but when I say good man, I mean just a good man, without any power. Then she was introduced to us, and her life began to change dramatically.

On the day of her ministering, I learned that her husband had cardiovascular problems and was admitted to the intensive care unit. That night I took her to pray, and she got a great release, and her husband also got a great release.

Why is it that after six years of faith in the Lord and no release, we experienced God in just a few days among us? The kind of people you follow, the kind of God you will experience! A pastor without faith, who only thinks and discerns, takes you on the path of thinking; a pastor with faith will take you on the path of faith! And those who have faith experience the power of God!

This remembrance of the role of leadership is stated in Joshua Chapter 3.

And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. (Joshua 3:7 NIV)

Look at chapter 4:

About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war. (Joshua 4:13 NIV)

The leaders that are used by God are those who are dedicated to following God, so when Joshua and Caleb are mentioned, it's emphasising that they are dedicated to following God. The 10 spies who went into the land of Canaan with them are long gone, but Joshua and Caleb are still strong.

Brothers and sisters, please do not think that churches are all the same and that pastors who believe in God are all pastors, so they are all the same. Can that be the same? That is not the same! Brothers and sisters need to know one thing: the Israelites crossing the Jordan River had a direct relationship with God and a direct relationship with Joshua.

If there were no people like Joshua among the Israelites, but all of them were like Korah, then everyone would have returned to Egypt to continue to be slaves. So, brothers and sisters, you all need to honour your leaders, but it is my responsibility to train your leaders; what can I pass on? All I can pass on is that we all need to learn to have faith. In fact, we don't need much faith, even if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

Enter God's Plan

The pile of stones commemorated three things: first, that our God is mighty. Second, the leaders of Israel were honoured before the people. Third, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to gain the Promised Land.

God's work with man is not to satisfy people's plans and needs, not to satisfy our desire to live our own lives, but to satisfy God's great plan, which He will come to fulfill, and we are just working with God.

I told everyone that we have to have destiny to be in God's plan. It's not that God requires us to be in His plan, but we are desiring to be in His plan! Because God's plan is about eternity, and our plan is only about this life.

In fact, everyone lives similarly, and in the end, they all die. But that is only in the eyes of man; in the eyes of God, it is only flesh! It is the spirit that keeps people alive, and the flesh is useless. So today, do we obey the flesh, or do we obey the Holy Spirit?

The Israelites crossing the Jordan River were fulfilling one of God's greatest plans, and God recorded this event in the Bible so that we could know that God is powerful. God will honour us. Never have your own plans. The world is really in turmoil, and man's plan keeps changing, but God's plan remains the same forever, and God's plan is in eternity.

People can experience God's plan because they have destiny. You are healed in the church because someone has laid down everything to fulfil God's will for the sake of destiny.

Why is it that the same church and the same God will have different results? I do know one thing: The percentage of pastors who get cancer is much higher than the percentage of ordinary people who get cancer.

What is the reason? If you are a pastor and you hear me, say this, you can examine yourself. What are you living for? If we live for God, how can we be tired of serving Him? Many people are not tired of playing computer games, and many elderly people can play mahjong for 24 hours without getting tired because they live for it.

The year I went to university, my mom got sick and was sent to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with cancer. It was a bolt from the blue. But then the doctor later said that there was a mistake, it's the other person who had cancer, you are fine, you are benign, and an operation will be fine. When my mother heard she had cancer, she was paralysed in bed for two days, and once she heard that it was not cancer, she went downstairs and played two rounds of mahjong.

What do I mean by these words? If people can serve God with the passion of playing mahjong, it'll be very good. I have asked people who play computer games, and the reason they are so tireless, playing games all night or watching TikToc all night, and going to work the next day as usual, is that they love it. But when I ask them to minister, they can't.

So, brothers and sisters, if we love God, the burden is light. If we don't love God, it's going to be painful, how can we not get cancer? If you ask me why I am so happy in my ministry? Because I love God, and I am just like those people who love playing computer game.

It is our destiny to fulfil God's plan! God commemorates His leaders to let us know that our God is powerful and awesome!

God Wants Us to Be His Witnesses

Commemorate what God has done in us, just like the Israelites did with the twelve stones they set up in the Jordan River. So, when your children and grandchildren ask, you will remember that God led you through the most difficult days of your life. So, brothers and sisters, share your testimonies boldly. In fact, Jesus did not ask us to speak about anything else, but God wants us to be witnesses for Him, to testify that our God is powerful.

We need to experience God often and trust Him. We read the Bible today not for the sake of Joshua and Moses, but for ourselves! Once Joshua led the Israelites through the dry land, and now brothers and sisters will also experience the power of God. If we do according to what is in God's heart and mind, the waters of the Jordan River and the Red Sea will be cut off.

You need to know that the Jordan River was originally at flood stage before it was split in half by God. If you are in the midst of ministry and you hear someone, say that this is the way it was, you need to know that that is an evil spirit. What we need is not a Jordan River that cuts off every day but a Jordan River that cuts off on that day so that we can go across, even if it goes back to the way it was going.

Originally, we were dead and without the image of God, but God changed our lives, and it was all because of the power of God. Someone may say, "I was born like this." But by faith, we will change what it was so it's no longer what it was, and God will manifest His glory through us; this is what we are experiencing now, and we will tell it to our descendants. The Doctrine of Destiny will not only affect this generation but many generations to come.

Conclusion

Our God is a mighty God who holds all things in the universe in His almighty hands. He guides us through the Jordan River as if we were walking on dry land, and there is no path that we cannot walk through. We need to fear God.

Let us always commemorate what God has done in us, and you will experience God more! May God make all our spiritual children know how God is leading us forward in this generation!

May God bless you!