Celebrating 50 Years Of Westside
River Crossing Moments: What the Story of Joshua Teaches Us About Faith, Memorials, and Moving Forward
There are moments in life and in the life of a church when you can look back and clearly see the hand of God at work. The story of Joshua and the Israelites crossing the Jordan River is one of those moments in Scripture that speaks directly to how God leads His people, why He calls us to remember, and what He is asking us to do next.
Key Verses
Joshua 3:4
Joshua 4:6-7
Joshua 4:9
Joshua 4:20-24
Numbers 13:31-32
Numbers 14:9
Ephesians 3:20
What Does the Jordan River Crossing Have to Do With Us Today?
The year is 1406 BC. God had made a promise to Abraham back in 2091 BC, 685 years earlier, that He would give His people a land of their own. Now, that promise was finally being fulfilled. Joshua was leading an estimated 2 to 3 million people across the Jordan River at flood stage, a river swollen 10 to 15 feet high, during springtime.
God did not choose an easy crossing. He chose an impossible one, so that His power would be unmistakable.
The Ark of the Covenant, which represented the very presence of God, led the way. And as Joshua 3:4 reminds us: "Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before." That is a lesson for every one of us. When we follow God's lead, He will show us the way, even into places we have never been.
Why Did God Tell Them to Stack Stones?
After the crossing, God gave Joshua a specific instruction. He told the people to pick up two sets of 12 stones, each set representing the 12 tribes of Israel. One set was stacked visibly on the far bank at a place called Gilgal. The other set was placed at the bottom of the riverbed, under the water, where no one would ever see them.
The visible stones made sense. They were a public memorial. But the hidden stones? That is where things get interesting.
What Are the Hidden Stones Under the Water?
Joshua 4:9 says: "Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day."
As soon as the Israelites crossed, the water rushed back and buried those stones completely. No one could see them. And yet God told them to put them there.
So much of what God does in our lives is visible. Outward transformation. Changed circumstances. Things we can point to and say, "Look what God did." But so much of what He does is hidden. It is fruit we will never fully measure. It is stories we will never hear. It is faithfulness that happens quietly, behind the scenes, in ways that only God Himself sees.
The church is never built on the special gifts of a few people. It is built on the sacrifices of many men, women, and children who say, "Lord, I just want to carry some stones in this season, even if nobody else ever sees it."
What Does It Look Like to Carry Hidden Stones?
Carrying hidden stones looks like a lot of different things in everyday life:
Showing up to serve on Sunday mornings in ways that go unnoticed
Walking across the street to a neighbor who does not know Jesus and finding ways to serve them
Hearing someone's story of struggle and pointing them toward help and healing
Giving generously without recognition
Leading a small group or mentoring someone who is just starting their walk with Jesus
These are the stones that build the church. Not the platform moments. The quiet, faithful, daily acts of obedience that no one else will ever see except God.
Why Does God Call Us to Remember What He Has Done?
The visible stones at Gilgal were set up with a clear purpose. Joshua 4:6-7 says: "In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
God wanted future generations who had not witnessed the miracle to hear the story and know that the hand of the Lord is powerful. That the same God who helped their ancestors would help them too.
But here is something important about biblical remembrance. It is never just nostalgia. It is not about longing for the good old days. Remembrance in the Bible is always meant to empower us to keep trusting God into the future. When you look back at His faithfulness in your life, it is so that you know He will be with you in the days ahead as well.
Three Directives for a River Crossing Moment
1. Remember
Look at what God has done. Trace His faithfulness. Tell the story to the next generation. Not to stay stuck in the past, but to build the kind of faith that can face whatever comes next.
2. Cross
The Jordan River was not the finish line. It was the starting line for a new season. God was taking His people somewhere. And every time God leads us into a place of greater influence and greater impact for His kingdom, there will be opposition. There will be giants.
When the spies came back from exploring the promised land, some of them said: "We saw giants there. We can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are." But Joshua and Caleb came back with a different report. Numbers 14:9 records their words: "Do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
Be strong and courageous. When God wants something done, it gets done. And Jesus is going to continue building His church. We just get to be a part of it.
3. Build
Joshua 4:5 says: "Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder." Every person had a role. Every person carried something. The church is not a cruise ship where we show up, relax, and consume. It is a battleship where every person has a clear understanding of how their role is vital to the mission.
You do not come to church on the weekends. You are the church. The church is the people of God, the family of God, living together on mission.
What Is the Ultimate Reason for All of This?
Joshua 4:23-24 gives us the clearest answer: "For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
Everything points back to this. Not to us. Not to any building or program or milestone. But so that all the peoples of the earth might know the goodness and the power and the saving hand of Jesus Christ. So that we would bend our knees and say, not to us, but to You be the glory.
That is why the church does what it does. To lift up the name of Jesus so that He draws all people to Himself, because that is where hope is found.
Life Application
This week, identify one hidden stone you can carry. It does not have to be visible. It does not have to be recognized. It might be reaching out to a neighbor, volunteering in a way that goes unnoticed, praying consistently for someone who is hurting, or simply showing up faithfully in a role that feels small but matters deeply to God.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect on this message:
Pastor Randy shared that God is never early and never late, pointing to the 685 years between God’s promise to Abraham and its fulfillment. Can you think of a time in your own life when God’s timing felt frustrating but later made sense? What did that season teach you?
When I look back at my life, where can I clearly see the hand of God at work, and am I using that as fuel to trust Him in the season ahead?
The visible stones at Gilgal were set up so future generations could point to them and say, ‘The hand of the Lord is powerful.’ What are some visible memorials of God’s faithfulness in your own life that you could point to and share with others?
Am I showing up as a participant in the mission of God, or am I sitting in the bleachers waiting for someone else to carry the stones?
Who is the one person in my life right now that God might be calling me to reach with the hope of the gospel?
What giant am I facing that I need to stop running from and start trusting God to handle?
Pastor Jonathan described the church as a battleship rather than a cruise ship, where every person has a vital role in the mission. In what specific ways are you currently contributing to the mission of your church, and are there areas where you feel God nudging you to step up?
River crossing moments are not the end of the story. They are the beginning of a new chapter. And God is inviting you to step in, pick up your stone, and be a part of what He is building.
Setlist
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
Jesus Is Our King - The Collective KC
Do It Again - Elevation Worship
How Great Thou Art - Garett & Kate
WFC Speedway
No Services, at WFC Lenexa for 50 Year Celebration
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