The Meaning of the Stones – 2

The Meaning of the Stones – 2

Subject – God’s Blessings for Land

By Rick Welborne

Joshua 4:1-7 (NKJV) ¹  And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying:
²  "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
³  and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.' "
⁴  Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;
⁵  and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
⁶  that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'
⁷  Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." 

--As we move closer and closer to the transition on January 25 and we continue to pray and fast seeking the Lord with all our hearts, we continue to thank Him for memorial stones.

--I believe that sensitivity to Holy Spirit is vitally important to those of us who follow Christ, especially those who are in leadership. Today I want us to look at the land around Life Church.

--We had only been here for just a couple of weeks as the Youth Pastors and Pastor Dykes took me to South Street to look at property the church was purchasing to re-locate.

--As we walked on the property, I felt Holy Spirit speak to me and it was very strong. “Purchasing this property was not my idea.”

--I spoke to Pastor Dykes and told him what I felt. He said he concurred with me but the time was not good to deal with the issue. The purchase was draining the church.

--Fast forward two years. Pastor Dykes went to the District Office to be the New Church Planting Director for the Decade of Harvest and I am voted in as the Pastor.

1. The Miracles Begin.

--Please do not tell me God is not interested in land. He has been defending a small piece of land called Israel for a long time. Many times the phrase “Possess the Land.” Was used.

Deuteronomy 4:1 (NIV)
¹  Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 

--I am in my first Board Meeting which I had never attended or been invited, I said to the men, “I want to see if you are going to follow my leadership or not.”

--I told them my feelings about the South Street Property (Not God’s Will) and that we should stay where we are. Can we get more property here? I don’t know. Land locked.

--Blaine Kimes (Wimpy) said let’s pray right now. The phone begins to ring over and over again.

--The man asked me, are you the pastor. I said barely. About two weeks. He said I have two acres right next to the church and I will sell it to you real cheap. We rejoiced. A memorial stone. 

--We sold the property on South Street and God helped us get totally out of debt. I hate debt. 

2. More Property.

--Four acres became available right next to the two we just purchased. The man was not very kind and his price was ridiculous. Lived out of state. I kept calling. I was nice.

Luke 18:3-5 (NKJV)
³  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
⁴  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
⁵  yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "

--I was wearing him out. He died. Oops. I called his widow several times and never said anything about the land. I would just pray for her and be kind. She sold it to us real cheap. Memorial stone.

--On the south side of us was a house and two and a half acres owned by a widow. She would not sell. I was very nice to her (widow) but she was determined. She died. Oops!

--Her son asked me to do her funeral and I told story after story about her that made them all laugh. They said, you really knew our mom. We will sell the property to you cheap. Memorial stone.

--A house and land next to that property was owned by a family in our church. Bill Mahan asked me if we wanted it. I said how much? He said free. I said yes! Memorial stone.

--On the north side of the property we had purchased from the man who died was the first missions house and the House of Hope. About 21/2 acres. He wouldn’t sell. In his 50s.

--He died. Oops! His family sold it to us during the financial downturn of 2008 for $225,000. Because we were giving to missions…we paid cash for the house. God had blessed us so much.

--As a side note, our giving to missions increased year after and our GF kept growing more and more. I even asked God why. He said you will know when it happens.

--When the financial crash of 2008 hit we had around $850,000 in the GF at our disposal. Not only did God sustain us, He helped us purchase the house and the HOH property.

--Early one Monday morning not very long after the purchase of the Missions House and the HOH building, a man walks in the front door of the office and He is very loud.

--Being concerned about the ladies in the office, brave pastor that I am, I decided to see what was going on. I walk in the office foyer and the man asked if I was the pastor?

--I said, yes, please come back to my office. How can I help you, sir? He said, most of my family are Mormons and I went to their church and no one was there.

--I said to myself, that church on Picciola Road is the nearest to my property so I will go there. So, I’m here. I  want to give you my property. Tired of Taxes. 

Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)
²²  A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. 

--I asked him where the property was and he said, come with me. So I went. I didn’t know him from Adam’s house cat but I went with him in his truck.

--This property was on the other side of mission’s house two which we had not purchased at that time. It was about 31/2 acres with lake access. 

--He asked me if I thought the Board of the church would let him give it to us. I said, sir, if they don’t want free property that you are willing to give, they shouldn’t be on the Board.

--He was a business man. He said, I like you. I drove to Orlando and signed a few papers and the property was ours. We had all been praying the prayer of Jabez. 

1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. 

--God was enlarging our territory and was indeed blessing us. His hand was with us.

3. Mission’s House 2

--Alonso Hensley lived on the north side of Mission’s House 1 and between the property the man from Orlando had given us. He was a good neighbor.

--I would go to the hospital to see his wife when she was there. We were connecting in a great way. He would even let my sons and I use his boat to go fishing. I would visit in their home.

--He had been watching the church for years purchasing property but he evidently had taken notice of how some of the people who wouldn’t sell to us were dying.

--He never came to my office but this particular day he did. He said, Preacher, if you want my property, you don’t have to kill me. I will sell it at a good price.

--We are getting older so we will move back to Kentucky to be close to family. He kept his word and sold us the property way below market value. This made all of our land contiguous. Connected.

--On the screen, the land we had 35 years ago and the land we have now. Someone should give the Lord praise for what He has done.

--Remember the question by the Board Member Blaine Kimes 35 years ago, Pastor, can we get more property here? Yes, sir! We can and we did. 2 Mission’s Houses and the HOH.

Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT2)
¹ Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
²  Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³  He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
⁴  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵  He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! 

Revelation 5:12-13 (NKJV)
¹²  "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
¹³  And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"