Why Must The Church Remember?

Why Must The Church Remember? (Josh 4)
Intro: Two Wrong Attitudes toward Past
(1) Idealizing/idolizing the past; Eccl 7:10, cf Phil 3:13-14.
(2) Much more serious danger: Forgetting it altogether.

1. God taught his people many difficult lessons in the past.
   Moses' warning in Dt 8:1-18; cf Mt 16:7-11. Forgetting is path to apostasy from faith.

2. We're to remember great works of God to encourage ourselves in zeal, faith, hope, love.
   Pile of stones in Josh 4 was both sign & memorial to encourage & embolden future generations. We tend to forget God's greatest works. See Ps 103:2.

3. We're to remember God's dealing with his people as standard of comparison.
   Israel forgot the Lord & his acts; see Judg 2:10. But God did not forget their former love & obedience; he brings it before them as standard of comparison. See Jer 2:2-5. Also Rev 2:5.

Conclusion
Monument was for all generations, forever, that all peoples of earth might know power of the Lord & fear Him throughout all ages. They were to remember that when God was with them, none could stand against them; and that God who stopped the Jordan was still with them. They were to ask themselves whether the zeal, faith, hope & love of that generation was still theirs, or if they had lost their first love.