In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the story of Joshua chapter 4 in the Bible. The passage describes the Israelites' journey from captivity in Egypt to the promised land. The speaker emphasizes the significance of the stones that were set up as a memorial for future generations. These stones were a reminder of God's faithfulness and the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River. The sermon highlights the importance of recognizing and proclaiming God's work in our lives, even if it means that inanimate objects like stones would sing His praises.

In the name of your Son, our Lord, our Savior, thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit among us. Thank you for the work that you are doing in our present lives. Lord, we cannot come to your word without your grace opening our hearts, our eyes to understand and see, so come and do what we cannot do ourselves. Let us behold you and receive from you all that you've got for us today, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Good morning. I want to call your attention this morning to a passage in Joshua, chapter 4. I trust you've got your Bibles or have memorized them, or you've got a Bible app of some kind, Joshua 4, 19. And as we come to that text, I should bring to your mind first the importance of the day today is. And so I shall actually make my opening appeal to Exodus, chapter 12 and verse 3, where it finds in the beginning day of the Passover and the celebration of the Passover that the Lord says, tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, on the tenth day of this month, the very first, the beginning of months, on the tenth day of this month, every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household. The tenth day was a very important beginning to the Passover because it was a day that the lamb was taken. It was the day that would begin the four days of testing to make sure that the lamb was without blemish, without defect, spotless. And so today, the tenth day, the day that we call Palm Sunday, begins this conversation of taking the lambs. So when we come to the moment of the triumphal entry, understand first that what's really happening is that in Jerusalem on that day, you've got the triumphal entry of all the lambs coming into the Passover moment because today is the tenth day. And so we think of this moment of the triumphal entry and what we're actually seeing is a fulfillment happen, an extraordinary fulfillment happen because as all the lambs are getting ready and coming in and being taken in the triumphal entry of all the lambs, so we're beholding the triumphal entry of the Lamb of God himself who takes away the sins of the world. This is no unimportant event. There is nothing like it in all of Jesus' ministry that compares to what happened on Palm Sunday. Why do I say that? I say it because he had crowds attending him wherever he went. You can see it almost from the beginning. As soon as the signs, the wonders, the miracles, crowds were always around him. The disciples were almost like the first secret service. Crowds would come and bump up against the Lord. But the odd part about the crowds is they couldn't see him. They didn't know him. They wanted from him, but they didn't have the eyes to see the glory of who this person is. And even at the moment, as some of you walk through the gospel readings, you're going to find that even when Jesus turned to the disciples and said, Who do you say that I am? It is Peter that would say, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus would respond in Matthew 16, verse 17, My Father told you that. Flesh and blood did not tell you that. My Father revealed that to you. In other words, it takes an event of God to have the hearts, the eyes open to see who Jesus is. It takes that act of revelation. And that's why Palm Sunday is such an extraordinary event. Because the crowd is there. The crowd that heard or the crowd that saw Lazarus rise from the dead. They're there. But out of their mouths, out of their mouths comes praise and adoration. Because it's as if the kingdoms of heaven opened. It's as if the Spirit of God came down. Because the whole crowd sees. The whole crowd sees. They know him. They are testifying of him. They're beholding a glimpse of the glory of this person. As he's mounted upon the donkey. Ready to come into Jerusalem. And out comes the praise. In particular, we could spend so much time here. On each one of the different aspects of Jesus our Lord. Seen through the crowd's praise. But let me just give you three and do it with great speed. The first is that they are seeing that this is the King of Israel. The Son of David. The testimony of the Son of David in Matthew's account. Not only comes from the crowd. It also comes from the children. The children can see. I say that because when you actually go through the gospel readings. You're going to find very few people know him as the Son of David. The Canaanite woman. The Gentile Canaanite woman knows him as Son of David. Bartimaeus. The blind man. I love that story so much. Because here he is. Blind as he is. But he can see. He knows Jesus the Son of David. And cries out. Lord have mercy. Son of David. And here it is on Palm Sunday. And they know him as King. The second aspect is they know him as Savior. And this is the hard part behind the story of Hosanna. Because Hosanna actually comes from the psalm that we just spoke out loud. From Psalm 118. Hosanna has a dual meaning. If I could say it that way. The first one is that Hosanna is a sound of praise. And it's a sound of salvation. Salvation to the Lord. Or a praise to the Savior. It's a sound of joy. Adoration. That this one is the Savior. But undergirding the word Hosanna actually is a cry of desperation. Which is exactly how we said it. From Psalm 118. And verse 26. Save us we pray. Oh Lord. Hosanna. Hosanna. Save us we pray. It's a cry of prayer. We're in desperate need. Rescue us. Isn't that interesting? One from a desperate cry. The other a sound of praise. And yet they're recognizing him. Not just as king. But they're recognizing him as Savior. And the next part. The third one. Is they're recognizing him as Messiah. Out of the same text of Psalm 118. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The waiting of Messiah. All through the Old Testament. The one that would come to rescue. And come to save. And here he is. Son of David. King. Savior. Hosanna. And the Christ. The Messiah. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Is there any reason why. You can see. You can understand. Why the religious leaders. The academics. The Pharisees. Were so ticked off. Because the crowd is acclaiming him. As king of the line of David. The promised king that would sit upon the throne. As the Savior. And as the Christ. And the Pharisees. Are like. Dying here. They're like. This is. Shut them down. Shut. Shut down the crowd. Rebuke your disciples. That's what we heard. In the Lucan account. Just read to us. Shut down. That's my own word. That does not come from any. It comes. It's like. It's like. They've got to stop. Rebuke your disciples. And then Jesus. Comes out with his line. Are you ready for it? I tell you. If these were silent. The very stones would cry out. Now. For some people. They think that this. This line. And maybe it is. Maybe it's a throwaway. Listen. If they were quiet. The stones would sing their song. The same. The stones would hear. What I love about this. Piece of this. Moment of Jesus response. Is it easier? Can you hear this? Because if you can't. You're in trouble. I'm telling you. It's easier. For the stones. The dead. Lifeless stones. To come alive. And sing praise. Than it is. For the hearts of stone. To turn and be healed. Stones. Can you hear. The song. Of the stones. That's what I want to look at. For the next three hours. Why do I say that? Do you know what it does for me? It races me back. To the story. In Joshua. Chapter four. That I asked you. To take up. And to look at. With me. Why do I say. This passage. Why spend. Palm Sunday. On Joshua four. Oh. I help you. Got. Get this. Before we're done here. I say this. For this reason. This is an epic moment. In the life of Israel. It's. It's one of those. It's one of those moments. That we knew about. Right from the beginning. Right. When the Lord. Entered into covenant. With Abraham. In Genesis. At 15. And said. You are going to be. My people. And I'm going to enter. Into a legal. Binding covenant. With you. And what the Lord said. Even far back. In Genesis. To Abraham. Is. He said this. In chapter 15. Verse 13. No. For certain. Your offspring. Will be sojourners. In a land. That is not theirs. And will be servants. There. And they will be. Afflicted. For 400 years. But. I will bring judgment. On the nation. That they serve. And afterwards. They shall come out. With great procession. Verse 18. Sorry. Verse 16. They shall come out. And they shall come back. Here. In the fourth. Generation. They shall come back. To the land. And that's exactly. The story. That happens. They're taken. Into bondage. Into Egypt. They're taken. Into captivity. And affliction. For 400. Years. And what does the Lord do? He brings them. Out. Of the land. Of affliction. And brings them. Now. In Joshua. For. To the moment. Where they're about. To step into. The promised land. This wonderful moment. Of finally. Receiving. The inheritance. The promise. The blessing. Given to Abraham. They're ready to cross. Into the. Into the promised land. And here. They come. To the river. Jordan. And we find. In Joshua. Three. And verse 16. Verse. Verse 15. Or it could be 16. My eyes. Cannot tell the difference. The waters. Of the Jordan. Are completely. Overflow. There's no way. That Israel. Can pass. And so. Here comes the story. The wonderful story. Of how the ark. Of the covenant. Is going to lead the moment. The ark. Of the covenant. The incarnate. Presence of the Lord. The throne. Of the almighty. Carried. On large poles. By the priests. Carrying the ark. When the priests. Have their feet. Touch the waters. Of the Jordan. The waters. Of the Jordan. Shall part. And. And they shall separate. And. They shall be up. In a heap. Up to the top. And they'll. Flow down. To the left. And the second. Miracle. All of that. Swampy. Mud. Of a riverbed. Will be completely. Dry ground. And down. Will go the priests. Straight in. The ark. Will rest. In the bed. Of the Jordan. Dry ground. And there. They shall stay. Until all. Of Israel. Has passed over. And we have this. Story of Joshua. Three. And verse. Seventeen. The priests. Bearing. The ark. Of the covenant. Of the Lord. Stood firmly. On dry ground. In the midst. Of the Jordan. And all. Israel. Was passing. Over. On dry ground. Until all. The nation. Finished passing. Over the Jordan. The miracle. Of it. And to remember it. And to. Show it. To be a sign. Forever. Joshua. Made sure. That the head. Of each tribe. Of the nation. Of Israel. Went down. To where those. Feet. Of the priests. Were. And they grabbed. A stone. And they put. The stone. Up. On their shoulder. And carried it. To Gilgal. Up. They went. Down. To the Jordan. Big stone. Up. On the other side. Twelve stones. Gathered. Interesting. Also. Joshua. Would set. Twelve stones. In the bed. Of the Jordan. Twelve stones. Down. In the Jordan. Twelve stones. Up. On the banks. Of the Jordan. Twenty. Four stones. Total. Both. Signs. And testimonies. Of what the Lord. Had just. Done. And all Israel. Had finished passing. Up. Came the nation. Of Israel. To the promised land. The moment. The priest. Came out. Of the Jordan. The river. Came straight. Through. And. What's the story. Behind it. The story. Behind it. Is that Joshua. Set up. Those stones. On the day. That Israel. Came out. Of the Jordan. That's exactly. What happened. The stones. Were set. Up. And they were set. Up. So that. Anytime. A child. Would see it. The next generation. Would rise. Up. They would say. What. What. Oh. What. Do these stones. Have to say to us. What. Is the song. Of the stones. And there you hear it. The wonderful story. That the stones. Sing. You'll find the actual words. In chapter. Four. And. You'll find it. In verse. Twenty. Two. Israel. Passed. Over this Jordan. On dry ground. For the Lord. Your God. Dried up the water. From the Jordan. Until. You passed. Over. As the Lord. Your God. Did. With the Red Sea. In other words. This. These stones. Are here. To declare. Once. For all. That the Lord. Has heard. Our prayer. In the moment. Of affliction. When. The people. Of Israel. Were under. Bondage. They cried out. For help. And the Lord. Sent. Moses. They cried out. Hosanna. Save us. We pray. And the Lord. Came to their help. When. They came to the moment. Of judgment. The Passover. Lamb. Was slain. The blood. Put on the doors. And they were rescued. Out of the. Destroying angels. Hands. And the Lord. Led them out. By his mighty. And outstretched hand. He led them. Out. Of the nation. Of Egypt. Out of bondage. And out of slavery. And there. They came. To the Red Sea. With the Egyptian. Army behind them. With the river. In front of them. Trapped again. And out. Came the cry. Of Hosanna. Lord. Save us. We pray. Lord. Save us. We pray. Has that ever happened. To you. Do you know. That prayer. Inside of you. You can't. Get out of it. Lord. Save me. I pray. And that's exactly. What the Lord. Did. As Moses. Said. Watch and see. And you will. Watch the salvation. Of the Lord. And the waters. Parted. Did they not. The ground. Became dry. Did it not. And the Lord. Led the people. With the clouds. By day. The fire. By night. Standing between them. And the Egyptian. Army. And they were led. Through. On dry ground. Down. Into the bed. Of the Red Sea. Up. Out of it. Onto the shore. Where they began. To sing. The other part. Of Hosanna. Not just Lord. Save us. But Lord. Praise you. You are our strength. And our song. You have become. Our salvation. Hosanna. From. From. Pray. To intercession. Help us. To. You've done it. You've rescued us. You've saved us. Sounds. Of Hosanna. Are everywhere. And the sounds. Are found. In the stones. You can hear them. Look at what the Lord has done. He has not forsaken us. From the days. Long gone. Days that we left Eden. Days we've been in bondage. Look what the Lord has done. He has promised. He has come to our rescue. And he has saved. He did that out of Egypt. He brought us safely. Out. Of Egypt. Out of bondage. Through the Red Sea. Look at what he has done. Cry the stones. And now look what he's done. He's brought us faithfully. To the promised land. The Lord. Has been faithful. In the past. The Lord. Has been faithful. In the present. The Lord. Is faithful. Always. And forever. Sounds. Of Hosanna. Sounds. Of stones. Crying. Out. You know why I run to this passage? Do you know why? On a Palm Sunday. You're going. Why is he here? Why isn't he in Luke? Or Matthew? Or. Do you know what day it was? Do you know what day it was? When the people of Israel. Came. Out. Of the Jordan. Do you know what day it was? When. These stones. Were set up. Do you know what day it was? On the 10th day. Of the first month. It was. It was. Palm Sunday. When that happened. Did you see it? You can find it. 419. You're staring at me. You're saying. I don't believe you. Don't. Look. Here it is. Here. Here. Here it is. In the Bible. It's Palm Sunday. The sound. Of the stones. Have always been. Set up. With the promise. That he. Who has saved us. Oh yes. He's in the process. Of saving us. And oh yes. One day. One day. We shall cross the Jordan. One day. We shall be home. One day. The promised land. Will be ours. See. The thing that's amazing. About the picture. Of this whole conversation. Of Passover. Is it incorporates. The fullness. Of the Bible. From the moment. We rebelled. The moment. We send. The moment. We fell. Into disobedience. And were taken. Out of our homeland. For which we were born. We were born. To be with the Lord. We were born. To be in communion. In fellowship. With him. But we landed. In his valley. Of the shadow. Of death. And here we've been. Crying. The ancient cry. From the day we left. The garden of Eden. Hosanna. Lord save us. We pray. The picture of it. The bondage. Of Egypt. The affliction. The slavery. The captivity. Of our souls. Not just Egypt. The world. The flesh. And the devil. That pound us. That hurt us. That try to destroy us. And all the way through the Bible. You hear the echo. A savior is coming. Son of David. He's coming. Blessed is he. Who comes in the name of the Lord. There's a sound coming. The sound. The song. Of the stones. He's come. He's coming. He will do. The work. He promised. He would do. Oh no. Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday. Maybe nobody understood. But all of a sudden. The crowd. They understood. We were in the presence of the Savior. We were in the presence of the Lord. We're in the presence of the son of David. He who promised David. That a son would come. And a king would rise. And a king. Would take back. That which was taken from us. By the hand of the devil. From the beginning. A king. Would ride victoriously. In humility. On a donkey. Oh yes. The crowd knew that day. Hosanna. Hosanna. Save us we pray. And yet. Praise be the Lord. The Savior. Is here. The Savior. Who hasn't done his work yet. That's coming in four days. That's coming as we come to Good Friday. When the Passover lamb shall be sacrificed. Oh yes. It's not done yet. But on Palm Sunday. It's as if it is done. They're celebrating. As. I'm sorry. The Palm Sunday. Feels a lot like Easter. And Easter. Feels a lot like Palm Sunday. It's just that Palm Sunday. Is the prophecy. That Easter's coming. Because Good Friday. Is real. Do not think that Easter morning. Is the day of our salvation. The cross is the day of our salvation. That's where the work was finished. When the work was complete. And his blood given to his father. The Passover lamb. Having accomplished all things. Rose from the dead. To declare victory and triumph. It's done. In its full measure. It's over with. Death is defeated. Sin is defeated. The devil is defeated. That's why we come to Good Friday. Because that's the ride. Of the triumph of our Savior. Who comes to rescue us. And to save us. Ho. Sha. Nah. Savior. Savior. For us. Let me just tell you right now. If your heart has turned to stone. You have no idea what I'm talking about. None. Whatsoever. The heart that has turned to stone. Can't hear the song. And every time the song rises up. The hearts of stone says. Stop them. Stop them. What are they saying? Is it. Is it. This is the. This person. Is the one who's going to save. I'm so sorry. The answer is. Uh huh. And guess what. Guess where the stones are now. Guess where the stones are. Who sing. Hosanna. The New Testament calls us. Living stones. Bible calls us living stones. That are built into the cornerstone. Foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus our cornerstone. We're being fitted into a holy temple in the Lord. Why? Because you and I have got a job to do. We've got a song to sing. The procession of Palm Sunday. Goes from the first day. Of the tenth day of the first month. When our Lord rides in. To the. To the present time. Where we're still crying out. Hosanna. Palm Sunday lives. And those who've gone before us. Who crossed over the Jordan. Guess what song they're singing. They're singing the same song. That the stones sang. Our Savior. The Lamb. The Son of David. He lives. He reigns. He's rescued. And we who are here. Who can't fully see yet. Yet the songs inside of us. We know that the Savior has come. Do you believe that? See. See the thing is this. Is that what I want to say. Is that. If you do believe this. I want to say that you might be trapped this morning. In a very real trap. Because I talk with Christians. It's my job. I work with pastors. It's my job. What do I find? I find a testimony among us as Christians. Where we know the song. In the past. We know the song. In the future. We are stuck. In the song of the present. What do I mean by that? I mean that. When I ask a person. Do you know this Savior? Do you know Jesus has saved you? Do you know that's what he does? Have you experienced that salvation into your heart? And I get a yes. Do you know what's coming? Do you know the glories of the Lord that awaits you? Do you know the salvation that is yet to come? When you've done this journey. You've gone down to the Jordan. You've risen to the other side. You've come to the promised homeland. Where we will be with the Lord forever. Do you know that? Yes I know that. But do you believe that Jesus saves now? Why do I say that? Because so many of us. So many of us Christians are in bondage now. Bondage to addictions. Bondage to. Bondage to power. And money. And lust. And porn. And all kinds of things that the devil grips into our heart. I had a guy the other day. His addictions are the best. He's a workaholic. And it's like. I don't know why. But there's like a self-righteousness that kind of comes over us. Like I'm doing my part. I'm exhausting everything. I'm giving everything I've got. And his family is just completely ruined. His job's almost done. He's exhausted. Does he know the sound of Hosanna behind him in his past? Yes. Does he know it coming? Yes. In the middle he's stuck. And all he can do is feed on anti-anxiety meds because he's dying inside. And I asked him the same question I ask you. Do you believe that Jesus saves today? He can rescue us out of the grips that the devil has on our hearts today. Do you believe that? And he looked at me with such honesty. And I get this a lot. I don't think so. I mean, I know it's here. But I've been so messed up here. That I've come to believe I'm going to be like this for the rest of my days. And you know what I say to that? Praise the Lord. Because here I come. Right alongside. That's what the body of Christ does. When we see a brother or sister stuck in the grip of the devil, what do we do? We come alongside. We come alongside. Why? Because our Savior, who has saved, who will save, saves today. Do you believe that? Do you believe he can rescue us where we are now? You don't have to have the faith to say yes. But can you bring us in? Can you bring the body of Christ in? And let us walk with you until you are set free in the present for what the Lord has for you today. Because as long as the Christian people no longer have the belief and the understanding of the freedom the Holy Spirit wants to give us today, our song stinks. We're out of chorus. We're out of tune. You sound like me when I sing. The Lord wants us back in tune. Why? That all the world might know the mighty hand of the Lord and fear him forever. Oh, we've got a song to sing in our day. I don't know what's happening in the world today. Do you? All the stories that we're hearing about the shootings and the disruptions. And people are all saying that what we're watching is just simply people who've got mental illness. I don't see mental illness. Don't quote me on any of these things. I'm not diagnosing. I'm seeing that the devil is stronger in our day than I've ever seen. He's torturing our young. He's torturing us. This is the church's hour to rise and stand. You and I, we are stones on the banks of the Jordan or inside the depths of the Jordan. We have got a story. We've got a song to sing. Our Savior, Jesus, he saves. He is Lord. He is the king, the son of David. He can reign triumphantly over our present story. We come alongside the people of this world who are crying out. Help us. Help us. We don't know what to do. Help us. Hosanna. Oh, my goodness. You and I, we were made for this moment. If you're held in bondage, let us come alongside and get you out so that you can sing the song that the Lord has given us on Palm Sunday. Because when you are free, we get to sing it everywhere. When we together are free, oh, the song of the stones. Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Dear friends, this Jesus who saves, how are you doing? Have you got the song inside of you? Are you bound or are you free? If you're free, sing. If not, let us come alongside and help you sing. Amen.