Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:44):
If you would bow and pray with me.
Dear Heavenly Father, how wewould love to hold on to you, O
God.
For you've been there with us inour darkest times.
Lord, you've been there with uson our celebration times.
Lord, we recognize that it's byyour stripes we are healed.
(01:06):
It is by you, oh God, your wordthat we even exist today.
So, Father, we say thank you.
We thank you, oh God, for allthat you have done for us.
Lord, all that you're doing evenright now, and even that that
you have planned for us.
Father, we can't see it rightnow, but we know you can.
(01:26):
And you're working it out forour good.
So, Lord, we hold on to you.
When everything else fallsapart, when everything else
walks away, oh God, our desireis to hold on to you, to cling
to you, oh God.
And we just want to let youknow, beyond a shadow of a
doubt, that we love you, oh God,that we adore you, that our
(01:51):
every thought, our everymovement, oh God, is for your
glory and for your honor.
In Jesus' holy magnificent name,we do pray.
Amen.
And praise God.
(02:14):
Good morning.
Um, I want to take a moment.
If I could ask all of ourveterans to please stand.
We have any veterans in thehouse, would you please stand?
(02:43):
We just like to take a momentand say thank you for all that
you've done, for your sacrifice,for your willingness to play
your life on the line for thiscountry and for each one of us.
We just wanted to take a momentand say thank you.
Now to my Lord and Savior Jesusthe Christ, to our pastor in his
(03:04):
absence, Dr.
Terrence Archery.
Um this is a wonderfulopportunity for me to engage
with you.
And as always, I do not takethese moments lightly.
And I can tell because I need afan.
Y'all always do this to me,always, always.
(03:27):
So before I sweat out of mysuit, let's hasten on to this
word real quickly.
Um, we find the words of ourtext in Joshua chapter 4.
I know it's a very familiarpassage.
But in Joshua chapter 4,beginning there, like the sixth
(03:51):
verse, and then we'll drop downto the 19th verse.
We'll be reading into yourhearing from the New King James
verse of Joshua chapter 4.
And it reads as thus that thismay be a sign among you.
(04:13):
When your children ask in timeto come, say, What do these
stones mean to you?
Down in verse 19 it says, Nowthe people came up from the
Jordan on the tenth day of thefirst month, and they camped in
Gilgal on the east border ofJericho.
(04:37):
And those twelve stones whichthey took out of the Jordan,
Joshua set up in Gilgal.
Then he spoke to the children ofIsrael, saying, When your
children ask their fathers inthe time to come, saying, What
are these stones?
(04:58):
Then you shall let your childrenknow, saying, Israel crossed
over this Jordan on dry land.
For the Lord your God dried upthe waters of the Jordan before
you until you had crossed over,as the Lord your God did to the
Red Sea, which he dried upbefore us until we had crossed
(05:23):
over, that all the peoples ofthe earth may know the hand of
the Lord that it is mighty, thatyou may fear the Lord your God
forever.
I want to put a tag on thistext, and for just a few moments
with your prayers, I like to useas a subject from which to
(05:46):
preach.
What do the stones have to sayabout?
What do the stones have to sayabout?
Now Lord, use your servant'sprayer, that you would let the
words of my mouth and themeditations of our hearts be
pleasing and acceptable, O Lord,in thy sight.
Now, Lord, use me even in spiteof me.
(06:07):
In spite of my own flaws andshortcomings, O God.
I pray that you would stand upin my body and use it.
Take my mouth and speak yourwords, O God.
Place in my mind your thoughtsinto our hearts, O God, your
word.
Lord, that everything that issaid in this place at this time
might be to your glory and toyour honor.
Lord, that you might receivepraise.
(06:29):
Lord, that someone might besaved.
We thank you, O God.
In anticipation, we celebratewith you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
What do these songs have to sayabout it?
So on May 5th, 1868, GeneralOrder No.
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11 was issued, formallyrecognizing Memorial Day.
Or as it was called then,Decorations Day.
It was set for May 30th of eachyear to commemorate those who
had lost their lives in theCivil War.
Around 1971, Congress amendedthat thing and changed it
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officially to Memorial Day.
They established it on the lastMonday in May.
It was a day now to honor and tocommemorate, to celebrate, and
to make a memorial for all ofthose fallen soldiers in wars
past, in wars present, and inwars to come.
(07:40):
It was a celebration time.
And it was ironic that they setthe former state of Robert E.
Lee to be the National Cemetery.
It was there that this memorialbegan.
And so the question begs to beasked: why do we do memorial
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today?
The truth is found over inJeremiah chapter 18 and verse
15.
Jeremiah recognized and statedand declared, because we have a
propensity to forget.
That's part of our problem.
And so as I was studying thistext, the stone said, Roby, if
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you would allow us, we've beenwaiting a long time to tell our
story.
These stones said, I'd like totell you my story.
I said, Well, that's gonna taketoo long because you've been
around a long time.
Said, can we just limit it tothree things?
Said, okay, three things we wantto lift out of this text.
First is that the stones aredesigned to stand the test of
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time.
Secondly, they are designed totell the story.
And then finally, they aredesigned for everyone.
So the stone just captured myattention.
He said, Roby, I want to befirst.
Let me tell you my story.
The first thing that you have tounderstand about my story is
that I've been around a longtime.
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You see, I'm not just any oldstone.
See, I was fashioned and createdby none other than God Himself.
When the first time he openedhis mouth and said, Let there
be, I came into existence.
I was somebody, I tell you, onthat day, because my God created
me.
And here it was unfortunate forme because after all of my
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smile, after all of my goodtimes, after all of my
celebrations, that my Godthought enough to make me and to
bring me into existence, I beganto really, really kind of doubt
him.
I began to have some problemswith God because after he
created me, I wondered why wouldhe put a strong, strong,
good-looking black man like mein an old muddy Jordan.
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He placed me here in this muddyJordan.
I mean, you don't understand.
All my life I've been here inthis muddy Jordan River.
I thought I was destined forgreatness.
I mean, I should, I should havebeen, if no other place, than in
the mighty Nile.
I mean, a great stone like me.
I'm not, there's no other stoneon the planet like me.
(10:17):
Can you imagine me of all peoplebeing placed in the muddy
Jordan?
I mean, stick your hand in thereand you can't even see your
hand.
I thought I was somebody.
I mean, I should have been, Ishould have been in boardrooms
commanding corporatecorporations and telling them
what to do.
I should have been presidentsand over countries and nations.
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I should have been somebody'sfather.
But instead, my God placed mehere.
What is it about me that Goddoesn't like?
I mean, you don't know my storywith all I've gone through.
I mean, this old muddy Jordan,it's had some torrential rain
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and it's overflowed its banks.
It's it's just nasty, and nobodywants to be associated.
As a matter of fact, people goaround the Jordan, they don't go
through the Jordan.
I mean, nobody likes to come tomy neighborhood.
Anyone here likes to go to thehood?
Oh, you live, okay.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stepon nobody's toes.
(11:23):
But this stone was talking tome.
He said, You see, I was from thebeginning, and then as I began
to sit here in the muddy Jordan,I heard some things as people
passed by.
I heard what God did for thosestones down at the Red Sea when
He parted the Red Sea and thechildren walked over and they
set up a memorial.
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I said, That should have beenme.
That should have been myblessing.
I was born for this.
But here I sit in this old muddyJordan.
I mean, everybody else isadvancing but me.
I'm just sitting here trying totrying to do what God said do,
and everybody else seems to bedoing so much better, especially
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those not heads that don't wantto do right.
All the evil people, they didn'tthat they down in the in the
Nile.
They're they're out in theMediterranean.
But hear a mighty man like me inthe Jordan.
You don't understand, Roby.
I was angry with God.
I told him, surely you can't notbe God and have me sitting here.
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Of all places, Christ community.
I mean, I should be part of amegachurch.
Y'all don't understand.
This stone said, you don't know.
Uh I mean, I'm strong.
When those currents came, Ianchored down and I stood firm
in the word.
When everybody, when when itcame prom night, I didn't take
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my date to a hotel.
I'm sorry.
You see, me and my wife, we wejust waited and abstained until
my honeymoon.
This is the stone.
This is not me, it's a stone.
(13:13):
See, when when they droppedtreasure in the Jordan and
didn't know about it, I didn'tput it in my pocket.
I took it to lost and found.
When everybody else was doingdrugs, I said, No, not me, I'm a
strong man.
And I thought after years andcenturies rolled on, God has
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forgotten about me.
Everybody else he's taken careof, but he's forgotten about me.
It's just me by myself.
I ain't got nobody else todepend on.
So I guess I'm going to have tostart taking care of myself.
So when the next current comes,I'm gonna go with it.
(13:56):
When AI comes my way, I'mjumping on board.
But I couldn't.
Something kept me rooted therein the Jordan.
40 years I watched someknuckle-headed people, they just
walk around in the wilderness,doing nothing, just walking
around, doing nothing.
(14:18):
They were rebellious people, andyet God fed them.
They were rebellious people, yetGod protected them.
And here I am doing what I'msupposed to do.
I go to church on Sunday, I sayglory, hallelujah.
When people ask me how thingsare going, I say, Oh, everything
(14:39):
is fine with me.
God is good.
But God, you let me down.
That's where I was.
Y'all don't understand.
This memorial, I thought it wasfor everybody else.
But this memorial, it camepersonal.
You see, if your if your walkwith Christ isn't personal, it's
(15:04):
about everybody else but you,you got a problem with your
walk.
Because everything God does ispersonal.
There's no rock or pebble thathas never been created that God
didn't have a purpose.
My brothers and sisters, God hasa purpose for you.
It is not by it is not byaccident God didn't have
anything to do on Saturdaynight, so he said, Well, I might
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as well create you.
This stone said, I'm designed tostand the test of time.
God placed me here for apurpose.
I know I have a purpose, and ifI hold on, he's gonna reveal it
to me.
And it came, it came on thatday.
It came on that day.
(15:47):
I remember the day I marked itdown.
I got it on the calendar whenGod showed up in my life.
Anyone in here had a moment whenGod showed up in your life?
You see, things were going badfor these folks.
As a matter of fact, the Jordanwas over its banks.
And and okay, y'all, y'all notfeeling, no, I'm not feeling.
And back in 1968, somebody said,you know, no, they didn't part
(16:11):
the Jordan.
You could have just walked overany old kind of way.
And so someone said, We're gonnaprove this thing.
And so a scientist got anOlympic swimmer, he was a
professional Olympic swimmer,and said, I want you to just
swim on across the Jordan.
It was overflowing its banks,y'all understand.
And so when the swimmer went outto try and swim across the
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Jordan, understand the Jordanisn't that wide?
I mean, you can see the otherside.
And so this swimmer is out theretrying to swim, and he cannot
make it across the Jordan River.
Now, can you imagine at least ata minimum, 40,000 soldiers clad
with their swords, with theirwith their banners, and they're
going across trying to crossthis river?
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It's ugly.
It's a muddy river.
And now, let me tell you whatthe real story is.
I said thank you because I heardenough of your story.
The story that this text isreally designed to teach us is
that God is a mighty God.
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Y'all, Mrs.
Y'all thought this was about,y'all thought this was about
their 40 years in thewilderness.
Y'all thought this was about allthe trouble that they were going
through.
No, you see, Roby, we were setup to tell this story that God
is mighty, that regardless ofwhat is facing you, if God has
to, he'll part it for you.
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If not, he'll tear it down foryou.
If not, he'll build a bridgeover it.
If not, then he'll give you away around it.
Whatever it is in front of you.
That's the story that God hasgot it.
But no, we kind of really wantto focus on.
We want to tell God all aboutour 40 years, how we were out
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here.
We want to tell him all aboutthe defeats that have been
happening, how the enemy istaking us out, and how he's
beating us down, and how peoplehave treated us, and I deserve
better.
No, that's not the story.
Is God able to bring youthrough?
I know your God may not be ableto, but my God has brought me
(18:19):
through.
See if I can use my sanctifiedimagination and call up some
memories.
I remember some times when Ishouldn't have made it through.
I was on the road driving homewhen I was asleep, coming home
from college, totally asleep.
I don't know how I got fromJacksonville to Lufton, Texas,
but somehow through the weavingroads of East Texas, I made it.
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I didn't hit anything, no deerjumped out in front of me, and I
still wake up sometimes andwonder how in the world, what
happened between Jacksonvilleand Lufkin?
Y'all don't have those kind ofstories.
Okay, okay, let me give you amore personal story since my
wife isn't here.
My wife, she is just a, oh mygoodness, she is just a goddess.
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She is a beauty queen.
If you ever see her, you justhave to stop.
All right, brothers, now y'alldon't need to linger and look at
her too long.
She's just a beauty queen.
I remember a day out in collegewhen we were back in college,
and I looked across the yard,and there she went.
She, I'm gonna tell you exactlywhat she had on.
She had on a black bow, she hadon a stone washed skirt, she had
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on a white blouse, fish neckpantyholes, she had some black
pumps with a little bow on theback.
I saw her, I saw her lookingacross, and I said, there goes
my wife.
My roommate said, in yourdreams, folks told me you ain't
got a shot.
I went up into the study room,looked across, and saw her light
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on my room.
I said, Lord, if you do nothingelse for me, that is what I
want.
And he said, if that's what youwant, go get it.
When he got it, put a line onit, and said, Come on, sister
girl, you mind now.
Not because I'm so bad, butbecause my God said, go get it.
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You've got to have some memory.
Remember some things of what Godhas brought you through.
Remember some times when God hasdid some.
God has done some uh things inyour life that only you know
about.
That's a terrible shame.
You ought to tell somebody ofthe good things that God has
done for you.
I mean, we're kind of tired ofhearing about your bad news, but
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what has God done for you thatis good?
That is something you need toremember, something He's brought
you through, brought you over,some enemy you couldn't handle
yourself.
And you went and told your God,I need you to handle this dude.
He's 6'4, 310 pounds, agile,mobile.
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I need you to handle him.
I need you to handle her.
She got some long nails, beenscratching eyes out everywhere
she goes.
I need you to have, y'all,y'all, y'all, I'm sorry.
That's an old country, EastTexas.
You need to go and tell God,Lord, I'm before the Jordan.
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I need to get over to the otherside if I'm going to walk into
my destiny.
So as long as I'm standing righthere, I can't walk into my
destiny.
But if you'll move, Lord,there's something in my way.
I can walk on into my destiny.
But Lord, I need for you tomove.
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I'm available, I'm standingright here, and I will not be
moved until you move theobstacle out of my way.
That's the story.
God will need it to let us knowbecause it Every now and then we
kind of think there's somepowers that are bigger than us.
There's some people that arestronger than us, they got more
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connections, they've got moreclout, they've got more money
than I do, uh, they got moreprestige.
You you understand, and and andand God is trying to let us know
this morning that listen, youforgot what I did yesterday.
When I got up and I spoke, andthe sun started marching across
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the sky.
You forgot what I did yesterdaywhen there was a drought in
Texas.
I sent the rain cloud andflooded you out.
You forgot what I did just onyesterday when you laid down,
could have been dead, but Ispoke a word, blew a breath, and
got you up.
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You don't understand what I didjust yesterday when you didn't
have money to buy food for yourfamily.
I brought somebody by with atruckload of food.
You don't understand.
You don't remember what I justdid for you.
I am a mighty God.
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And I and I know, I know, Iknow, I know biblical scholars
are there, they're they'resaying, Roby, Roby, you got this
all wrong, man.
Uh that is the story, but it'snot for you.
You see, that's just for aselect group of people.
I mean, uh blessings are not forpeople like you.
I mean, you're marginalized.
You you you're people that youyou're one of those.
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Uh somebody said to me thismorning, you're just a pong.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You you're you're indispensable.
We we can get rid of you.
You you you you don't havereally a purpose.
But the text, glory, hallelujah,said, hold up.
That's not what I meant.
It made me what they meant, butthat's not what I meant.
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Just so you know, you includedin the story.
Because in verse 24, he says,This thing is designed for
everybody.
See, I'm not just a stone forthe children of Israel, but
anybody that comes by, I'm hereto let them know that God is
able.
I'm here to let them know thathe is a mighty God.
(24:15):
I am here to let them know thatGod is the one who brought
people through.
God is the one who executes,he's the one who speaks and
there becomes.
This is designed for everyone.
And God Himself, God Himselfsays, this is for everybody.
I don't care what dictionary,you can go to Ebonics and to be
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everybody.
You you can go to a Texasdictionary and it be y'all.
You can go to whateverdictionary you want to, but all
always means all.
It means you and me.
So whenever they start tellingyou this ain't for you, you
ain't the right color, you ain'tgot the right money, you don't
have the right pedigree,understand.
My God said, Hold up.
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I died for everybody.
Everybody is brought into thehouse.
This thing is not just for thoseelite people, but it is for
everybody.
Y'all looking at me kind of likethat.
My youth used to look at me whenI was a youth pastor.
They they they kind of didn'tunderstand what we were doing
when we when we get up andpreach.
Right about now, I should betelling you about he died.
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Oh, yes, he died.
I should be telling you aboutFriday night.
When they hung him on a cross,they took him down and buried
him in a barrel.
I should be telling you aboutSunday morning.
But but but but but as my userssay, why y'all always do that?
We hear that every Sunday.
(25:40):
And I had to tell them, I said,the problem is why we have to do
that every Sunday, is becauseyou forgot last Sunday and went
out throughout your Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday and actedlike he didn't get y'all not
feeling.
(26:00):
Let me close, oh Lord, I've kepty'all too long.
I've kept y'all too long.
Let me go ahead and close thisthing out for y'all.
This is what I did.
I I got a little poem here foryou.
Maybe you can understand it thisway.
Since you don't uh you can'tunderstand a stone who says,
Listen, I can stand the test oftime, like every Christian ought
to.
When then when God comes intoyour life, He can bow, He uh
(26:23):
places in you the Holy Spirit soyou can stand the test of time.
Not only that, you need to tellthe story.
The story is that God is real,that he's overcome.
And since he's overcome theworld, hey, somebody talk to me.
You can overcome.
And it's not just for a fewselect folk, but everybody, if
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you can confess with your mouthand believe in your heart that
God is the, that Jesus is theSon of God, you shall be saved.
But this poem ought to help youunderstand this thing.
It is said, it is simply a poemcalled Say His Name.
Before the sun cracks the sky,before your worries multiply,
before your hope runs dry, sayhis name.
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Not just any name, not a halfwayname, part-time, sometimes name.
I'm talking about Jesus, thechain bearer, the storm tamer,
the death defeater, the soulsaver, Jesus.
The one who touched blind eyesand turned darkness into
daylight.
The one who stepped into yourmidnight and flipped the switch
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to all right.
Say his name.
When life gets loud, Jesus.
When fear gets proud, Jesus.
When the valley gets deep andthe climb gets steep, Jesus.
Because the enemy loves when wehave amnesia.
He loves when we forget, when weforget who brought you out, who
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pulled you up, who held you downwhen everything else let go.
But we don't forget.
No, we remember the God whoturned water into wine.
We remember the God who turnedsinners into saints.
We remember the God who turnedthe old rugged cross into a
throne of grace.
We remember the God who stayed,didn't stay dead.
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Death tried him, hell mockedhim, the grave locked him.
But early on Sunday morning, heshocked them.
Stone rolled, tomb empty, saviorrisen, victory permanent.
And now every time we say hisname, heaven leans in, hell
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breaks up, chains fall off,strength rises up.
Say it with your chest.
Jesus, say it like he saved you.
Jesus, say it like he healedyou.
Jesus, say it like he's comingback again.
Jesus.
So when life tries to make youforget, when storms try to steal
(28:54):
your praise, when trouble triesto mute your worship, lift your
voice, lift your hands, liftyour faith, and say it with your
chest, Jesus.
If you would bow and pray with me.
Dear Heavenly Father, how wewould love to hold on to you, O
God.
For you've been there with us inour darkest times.
Lord, you've been there with uson our celebration times.
Lord, we recognize that it's byyour stripes we are healed.
(01:06):
It is by you, oh God, your wordthat we even exist today.
So, Father, we say thank you.
We thank you, oh God, for allthat you have done for us.
Lord, all that you're doing evenright now, and even that that
you have planned for us.
Father, we can't see it rightnow, but we know you can.
(01:26):
And you're working it out forour good.
So, Lord, we hold on to you.
When everything else fallsapart, when everything else
walks away, oh God, our desireis to hold on to you, to cling
to you, oh God.
And we just want to let youknow, beyond a shadow of a
doubt, that we love you, oh God,that we adore you, that our
(01:51):
every thought, our everymovement, oh God, is for your
glory and for your honor.
In Jesus' holy magnificent name,we do pray.
Amen.
And praise God.
(02:14):
Good morning.
Um, I want to take a moment.
If I could ask all of ourveterans to please stand.
We have any veterans in thehouse, would you please stand?
(02:43):
We just like to take a momentand say thank you for all that
you've done, for your sacrifice,for your willingness to play
your life on the line for thiscountry and for each one of us.
We just wanted to take a momentand say thank you.
Now to my Lord and Savior Jesusthe Christ, to our pastor in his
(03:04):
absence, Dr.
Terrence Archery.
Um this is a wonderfulopportunity for me to engage
with you.
And as always, I do not takethese moments lightly.
And I can tell because I need afan.
Y'all always do this to me,always, always.
(03:27):
So before I sweat out of mysuit, let's hasten on to this
word real quickly.
Um, we find the words of ourtext in Joshua chapter 4.
I know it's a very familiarpassage.
But in Joshua chapter 4,beginning there, like the sixth
(03:51):
verse, and then we'll drop downto the 19th verse.
We'll be reading into yourhearing from the New King James
verse of Joshua chapter 4.
And it reads as thus that thismay be a sign among you.
(04:13):
When your children ask in timeto come, say, What do these
stones mean to you?
Down in verse 19 it says, Nowthe people came up from the
Jordan on the tenth day of thefirst month, and they camped in
Gilgal on the east border ofJericho.
(04:37):
And those twelve stones whichthey took out of the Jordan,
Joshua set up in Gilgal.
Then he spoke to the children ofIsrael, saying, When your
children ask their fathers inthe time to come, saying, What
are these stones?
(04:58):
Then you shall let your childrenknow, saying, Israel crossed
over this Jordan on dry land.
For the Lord your God dried upthe waters of the Jordan before
you until you had crossed over,as the Lord your God did to the
Red Sea, which he dried upbefore us until we had crossed
(05:23):
over, that all the peoples ofthe earth may know the hand of
the Lord that it is mighty, thatyou may fear the Lord your God
forever.
I want to put a tag on thistext, and for just a few moments
with your prayers, I like to useas a subject from which to
(05:46):
preach.
What do the stones have to sayabout?
What do the stones have to sayabout?
Now Lord, use your servant'sprayer, that you would let the
words of my mouth and themeditations of our hearts be
pleasing and acceptable, O Lord,in thy sight.
Now, Lord, use me even in spiteof me.
(06:07):
In spite of my own flaws andshortcomings, O God.
I pray that you would stand upin my body and use it.
Take my mouth and speak yourwords, O God.
Place in my mind your thoughtsinto our hearts, O God, your
word.
Lord, that everything that issaid in this place at this time
might be to your glory and toyour honor.
Lord, that you might receivepraise.
(06:29):
Lord, that someone might besaved.
We thank you, O God.
In anticipation, we celebratewith you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
What do these songs have to sayabout it?
So on May 5th, 1868, GeneralOrder No.
(06:51):
11 was issued, formallyrecognizing Memorial Day.
Or as it was called then,Decorations Day.
It was set for May 30th of eachyear to commemorate those who
had lost their lives in theCivil War.
Around 1971, Congress amendedthat thing and changed it
(07:15):
officially to Memorial Day.
They established it on the lastMonday in May.
It was a day now to honor and tocommemorate, to celebrate, and
to make a memorial for all ofthose fallen soldiers in wars
past, in wars present, and inwars to come.
(07:40):
It was a celebration time.
And it was ironic that they setthe former state of Robert E.
Lee to be the National Cemetery.
It was there that this memorialbegan.
And so the question begs to beasked: why do we do memorial
(08:01):
today?
The truth is found over inJeremiah chapter 18 and verse
15.
Jeremiah recognized and statedand declared, because we have a
propensity to forget.
That's part of our problem.
And so as I was studying thistext, the stone said, Roby, if
(08:25):
you would allow us, we've beenwaiting a long time to tell our
story.
These stones said, I'd like totell you my story.
I said, Well, that's gonna taketoo long because you've been
around a long time.
Said, can we just limit it tothree things?
Said, okay, three things we wantto lift out of this text.
First is that the stones aredesigned to stand the test of
(08:48):
time.
Secondly, they are designed totell the story.
And then finally, they aredesigned for everyone.
So the stone just captured myattention.
He said, Roby, I want to befirst.
Let me tell you my story.
The first thing that you have tounderstand about my story is
that I've been around a longtime.
(09:09):
You see, I'm not just any oldstone.
See, I was fashioned and createdby none other than God Himself.
When the first time he openedhis mouth and said, Let there
be, I came into existence.
I was somebody, I tell you, onthat day, because my God created
me.
And here it was unfortunate forme because after all of my
(09:30):
smile, after all of my goodtimes, after all of my
celebrations, that my Godthought enough to make me and to
bring me into existence, I beganto really, really kind of doubt
him.
I began to have some problemswith God because after he
created me, I wondered why wouldhe put a strong, strong,
good-looking black man like mein an old muddy Jordan.
(09:55):
He placed me here in this muddyJordan.
I mean, you don't understand.
All my life I've been here inthis muddy Jordan River.
I thought I was destined forgreatness.
I mean, I should, I should havebeen, if no other place, than in
the mighty Nile.
I mean, a great stone like me.
I'm not, there's no other stoneon the planet like me.
(10:17):
Can you imagine me of all peoplebeing placed in the muddy
Jordan?
I mean, stick your hand in thereand you can't even see your
hand.
I thought I was somebody.
I mean, I should have been, Ishould have been in boardrooms
commanding corporatecorporations and telling them
what to do.
I should have been presidentsand over countries and nations.
(10:39):
I should have been somebody'sfather.
But instead, my God placed mehere.
What is it about me that Goddoesn't like?
I mean, you don't know my storywith all I've gone through.
I mean, this old muddy Jordan,it's had some torrential rain
(11:00):
and it's overflowed its banks.
It's it's just nasty, and nobodywants to be associated.
As a matter of fact, people goaround the Jordan, they don't go
through the Jordan.
I mean, nobody likes to come tomy neighborhood.
Anyone here likes to go to thehood?
Oh, you live, okay.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stepon nobody's toes.
(11:23):
But this stone was talking tome.
He said, You see, I was from thebeginning, and then as I began
to sit here in the muddy Jordan,I heard some things as people
passed by.
I heard what God did for thosestones down at the Red Sea when
He parted the Red Sea and thechildren walked over and they
set up a memorial.
(11:43):
I said, That should have beenme.
That should have been myblessing.
I was born for this.
But here I sit in this old muddyJordan.
I mean, everybody else isadvancing but me.
I'm just sitting here trying totrying to do what God said do,
and everybody else seems to bedoing so much better, especially
(12:06):
those not heads that don't wantto do right.
All the evil people, they didn'tthat they down in the in the
Nile.
They're they're out in theMediterranean.
But hear a mighty man like me inthe Jordan.
You don't understand, Roby.
I was angry with God.
I told him, surely you can't notbe God and have me sitting here.
(12:32):
Of all places, Christ community.
I mean, I should be part of amegachurch.
Y'all don't understand.
This stone said, you don't know.
Uh I mean, I'm strong.
When those currents came, Ianchored down and I stood firm
in the word.
When everybody, when when itcame prom night, I didn't take
(12:52):
my date to a hotel.
I'm sorry.
You see, me and my wife, we wejust waited and abstained until
my honeymoon.
This is the stone.
This is not me, it's a stone.
(13:13):
See, when when they droppedtreasure in the Jordan and
didn't know about it, I didn'tput it in my pocket.
I took it to lost and found.
When everybody else was doingdrugs, I said, No, not me, I'm a
strong man.
And I thought after years andcenturies rolled on, God has
(13:34):
forgotten about me.
Everybody else he's taken careof, but he's forgotten about me.
It's just me by myself.
I ain't got nobody else todepend on.
So I guess I'm going to have tostart taking care of myself.
So when the next current comes,I'm gonna go with it.
(13:56):
When AI comes my way, I'mjumping on board.
But I couldn't.
Something kept me rooted therein the Jordan.
40 years I watched someknuckle-headed people, they just
walk around in the wilderness,doing nothing, just walking
around, doing nothing.
(14:18):
They were rebellious people, andyet God fed them.
They were rebellious people, yetGod protected them.
And here I am doing what I'msupposed to do.
I go to church on Sunday, I sayglory, hallelujah.
When people ask me how thingsare going, I say, Oh, everything
(14:39):
is fine with me.
God is good.
But God, you let me down.
That's where I was.
Y'all don't understand.
This memorial, I thought it wasfor everybody else.
But this memorial, it camepersonal.
You see, if your if your walkwith Christ isn't personal, it's
(15:04):
about everybody else but you,you got a problem with your
walk.
Because everything God does ispersonal.
There's no rock or pebble thathas never been created that God
didn't have a purpose.
My brothers and sisters, God hasa purpose for you.
It is not by it is not byaccident God didn't have
anything to do on Saturdaynight, so he said, Well, I might
(15:27):
as well create you.
This stone said, I'm designed tostand the test of time.
God placed me here for apurpose.
I know I have a purpose, and ifI hold on, he's gonna reveal it
to me.
And it came, it came on thatday.
It came on that day.
(15:47):
I remember the day I marked itdown.
I got it on the calendar whenGod showed up in my life.
Anyone in here had a moment whenGod showed up in your life?
You see, things were going badfor these folks.
As a matter of fact, the Jordanwas over its banks.
And and okay, y'all, y'all notfeeling, no, I'm not feeling.
And back in 1968, somebody said,you know, no, they didn't part
(16:11):
the Jordan.
You could have just walked overany old kind of way.
And so someone said, We're gonnaprove this thing.
And so a scientist got anOlympic swimmer, he was a
professional Olympic swimmer,and said, I want you to just
swim on across the Jordan.
It was overflowing its banks,y'all understand.
And so when the swimmer went outto try and swim across the
(16:32):
Jordan, understand the Jordanisn't that wide?
I mean, you can see the otherside.
And so this swimmer is out theretrying to swim, and he cannot
make it across the Jordan River.
Now, can you imagine at least ata minimum, 40,000 soldiers clad
with their swords, with theirwith their banners, and they're
going across trying to crossthis river?
(16:55):
It's ugly.
It's a muddy river.
And now, let me tell you whatthe real story is.
I said thank you because I heardenough of your story.
The story that this text isreally designed to teach us is
that God is a mighty God.
(17:16):
Y'all, Mrs.
Y'all thought this was about,y'all thought this was about
their 40 years in thewilderness.
Y'all thought this was about allthe trouble that they were going
through.
No, you see, Roby, we were setup to tell this story that God
is mighty, that regardless ofwhat is facing you, if God has
to, he'll part it for you.
(17:37):
If not, he'll tear it down foryou.
If not, he'll build a bridgeover it.
If not, then he'll give you away around it.
Whatever it is in front of you.
That's the story that God hasgot it.
But no, we kind of really wantto focus on.
We want to tell God all aboutour 40 years, how we were out
(17:58):
here.
We want to tell him all aboutthe defeats that have been
happening, how the enemy istaking us out, and how he's
beating us down, and how peoplehave treated us, and I deserve
better.
No, that's not the story.
Is God able to bring youthrough?
I know your God may not be ableto, but my God has brought me
(18:19):
through.
See if I can use my sanctifiedimagination and call up some
memories.
I remember some times when Ishouldn't have made it through.
I was on the road driving homewhen I was asleep, coming home
from college, totally asleep.
I don't know how I got fromJacksonville to Lufton, Texas,
but somehow through the weavingroads of East Texas, I made it.
(18:41):
I didn't hit anything, no deerjumped out in front of me, and I
still wake up sometimes andwonder how in the world, what
happened between Jacksonvilleand Lufkin?
Y'all don't have those kind ofstories.
Okay, okay, let me give you amore personal story since my
wife isn't here.
My wife, she is just a, oh mygoodness, she is just a goddess.
(19:03):
She is a beauty queen.
If you ever see her, you justhave to stop.
All right, brothers, now y'alldon't need to linger and look at
her too long.
She's just a beauty queen.
I remember a day out in collegewhen we were back in college,
and I looked across the yard,and there she went.
She, I'm gonna tell you exactlywhat she had on.
She had on a black bow, she hadon a stone washed skirt, she had
(19:26):
on a white blouse, fish neckpantyholes, she had some black
pumps with a little bow on theback.
I saw her, I saw her lookingacross, and I said, there goes
my wife.
My roommate said, in yourdreams, folks told me you ain't
got a shot.
I went up into the study room,looked across, and saw her light
(19:49):
on my room.
I said, Lord, if you do nothingelse for me, that is what I
want.
And he said, if that's what youwant, go get it.
When he got it, put a line onit, and said, Come on, sister
girl, you mind now.
Not because I'm so bad, butbecause my God said, go get it.
(20:13):
You've got to have some memory.
Remember some things of what Godhas brought you through.
Remember some times when God hasdid some.
God has done some uh things inyour life that only you know
about.
That's a terrible shame.
You ought to tell somebody ofthe good things that God has
done for you.
I mean, we're kind of tired ofhearing about your bad news, but
(20:36):
what has God done for you thatis good?
That is something you need toremember, something He's brought
you through, brought you over,some enemy you couldn't handle
yourself.
And you went and told your God,I need you to handle this dude.
He's 6'4, 310 pounds, agile,mobile.
(21:01):
I need you to handle him.
I need you to handle her.
She got some long nails, beenscratching eyes out everywhere
she goes.
I need you to have, y'all,y'all, y'all, I'm sorry.
That's an old country, EastTexas.
You need to go and tell God,Lord, I'm before the Jordan.
(21:25):
I need to get over to the otherside if I'm going to walk into
my destiny.
So as long as I'm standing righthere, I can't walk into my
destiny.
But if you'll move, Lord,there's something in my way.
I can walk on into my destiny.
But Lord, I need for you tomove.
(21:45):
I'm available, I'm standingright here, and I will not be
moved until you move theobstacle out of my way.
That's the story.
God will need it to let us knowbecause it Every now and then we
kind of think there's somepowers that are bigger than us.
There's some people that arestronger than us, they got more
(22:08):
connections, they've got moreclout, they've got more money
than I do, uh, they got moreprestige.
You you understand, and and andand God is trying to let us know
this morning that listen, youforgot what I did yesterday.
When I got up and I spoke, andthe sun started marching across
(22:29):
the sky.
You forgot what I did yesterdaywhen there was a drought in
Texas.
I sent the rain cloud andflooded you out.
You forgot what I did just onyesterday when you laid down,
could have been dead, but Ispoke a word, blew a breath, and
got you up.
(22:50):
You don't understand what I didjust yesterday when you didn't
have money to buy food for yourfamily.
I brought somebody by with atruckload of food.
You don't understand.
You don't remember what I justdid for you.
I am a mighty God.
(23:11):
And I and I know, I know, Iknow, I know biblical scholars
are there, they're they'resaying, Roby, Roby, you got this
all wrong, man.
Uh that is the story, but it'snot for you.
You see, that's just for aselect group of people.
I mean, uh blessings are not forpeople like you.
I mean, you're marginalized.
You you you're people that youyou're one of those.
(23:32):
Uh somebody said to me thismorning, you're just a pong.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You you're you're indispensable.
We we can get rid of you.
You you you you don't havereally a purpose.
But the text, glory, hallelujah,said, hold up.
That's not what I meant.
It made me what they meant, butthat's not what I meant.
(23:54):
Just so you know, you includedin the story.
Because in verse 24, he says,This thing is designed for
everybody.
See, I'm not just a stone forthe children of Israel, but
anybody that comes by, I'm hereto let them know that God is
able.
I'm here to let them know thathe is a mighty God.
(24:15):
I am here to let them know thatGod is the one who brought
people through.
God is the one who executes,he's the one who speaks and
there becomes.
This is designed for everyone.
And God Himself, God Himselfsays, this is for everybody.
I don't care what dictionary,you can go to Ebonics and to be
(24:35):
everybody.
You you can go to a Texasdictionary and it be y'all.
You can go to whateverdictionary you want to, but all
always means all.
It means you and me.
So whenever they start tellingyou this ain't for you, you
ain't the right color, you ain'tgot the right money, you don't
have the right pedigree,understand.
My God said, Hold up.
(24:56):
I died for everybody.
Everybody is brought into thehouse.
This thing is not just for thoseelite people, but it is for
everybody.
Y'all looking at me kind of likethat.
My youth used to look at me whenI was a youth pastor.
They they they kind of didn'tunderstand what we were doing
when we when we get up andpreach.
Right about now, I should betelling you about he died.
(25:20):
Oh, yes, he died.
I should be telling you aboutFriday night.
When they hung him on a cross,they took him down and buried
him in a barrel.
I should be telling you aboutSunday morning.
But but but but but as my userssay, why y'all always do that?
We hear that every Sunday.
(25:40):
And I had to tell them, I said,the problem is why we have to do
that every Sunday, is becauseyou forgot last Sunday and went
out throughout your Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday and actedlike he didn't get y'all not
feeling.
(26:00):
Let me close, oh Lord, I've kepty'all too long.
I've kept y'all too long.
Let me go ahead and close thisthing out for y'all.
This is what I did.
I I got a little poem here foryou.
Maybe you can understand it thisway.
Since you don't uh you can'tunderstand a stone who says,
Listen, I can stand the test oftime, like every Christian ought
to.
When then when God comes intoyour life, He can bow, He uh
(26:23):
places in you the Holy Spirit soyou can stand the test of time.
Not only that, you need to tellthe story.
The story is that God is real,that he's overcome.
And since he's overcome theworld, hey, somebody talk to me.
You can overcome.
And it's not just for a fewselect folk, but everybody, if
(26:43):
you can confess with your mouthand believe in your heart that
God is the, that Jesus is theSon of God, you shall be saved.
But this poem ought to help youunderstand this thing.
It is said, it is simply a poemcalled Say His Name.
Before the sun cracks the sky,before your worries multiply,
before your hope runs dry, sayhis name.
(27:05):
Not just any name, not a halfwayname, part-time, sometimes name.
I'm talking about Jesus, thechain bearer, the storm tamer,
the death defeater, the soulsaver, Jesus.
The one who touched blind eyesand turned darkness into
daylight.
The one who stepped into yourmidnight and flipped the switch
(27:25):
to all right.
Say his name.
When life gets loud, Jesus.
When fear gets proud, Jesus.
When the valley gets deep andthe climb gets steep, Jesus.
Because the enemy loves when wehave amnesia.
He loves when we forget, when weforget who brought you out, who
(27:46):
pulled you up, who held you downwhen everything else let go.
But we don't forget.
No, we remember the God whoturned water into wine.
We remember the God who turnedsinners into saints.
We remember the God who turnedthe old rugged cross into a
throne of grace.
We remember the God who stayed,didn't stay dead.
(28:11):
Death tried him, hell mockedhim, the grave locked him.
But early on Sunday morning, heshocked them.
Stone rolled, tomb empty, saviorrisen, victory permanent.
And now every time we say hisname, heaven leans in, hell
(28:31):
breaks up, chains fall off,strength rises up.
Say it with your chest.
Jesus, say it like he saved you.
Jesus, say it like he healedyou.
Jesus, say it like he's comingback again.
Jesus.
So when life tries to make youforget, when storms try to steal
(28:54):
your praise, when trouble triesto mute your worship, lift your
voice, lift your hands, liftyour faith, and say it with your
chest, Jesus.
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