Are you ready to claim your Canaan?

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

In Joshua chapter 5, we looked at last week crossing the Jordan and what a blessing it was to see the truth that God taught us there last week in Joshua chapter 4.

Joshua 5 · chapter mention Joshua 4 · chapter mention

And today we're going to go over to chapter 5, and we're going to be looking at, are you ready to claim your Canaan?

Are you ready to claim your Canaan?

Let's begin and let's look at verse 1.

And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel until we were passed over, that their heart melted.

Neither was their spirit in them any more because of the children of Israel.

Unbelievable.

Verse 1 here tells us that the heathen nations in Canaan saw the powerful movement and the powerful hand of God in which the Lord brought his children through this unbelievable, raging Jordan River.

And not only as we saw last week, that that he what?

He took the walls of the water and parted them back to about 18 miles.

We talked about the dimensions of that last week and how not only did he what make two walls of water, but then as they began to step into the water, they dried the land.

So there'd be no mud to what?

To sink the wagons and the heavy uh animals and all the stock that had to cross about three million, two and a half to three million people, not counting all their stuff.

Unbelievable.

And here they are now with a massive army like that.

We're talking about people as many as in Birmingham and all the surrounding counties.

In fact, really, we could say from here to Tuscaloosa.

Just all, that's how many people.

It's obvious that just, hey, five miles where Jericho is, especially the fort of Jericho, you know that they were on the walls watching all this happen.

Was that massive army, and not just an army, but the massive people that's coming across the Jordan River.

And they're looking and they see the walls stand up.

They see the dry land.

And all of a sudden they are terrified.

Because now they realize that God is with his people.

They had heard about it.

They had heard about the Red Sea.

They had heard about the manna, how he fed them in the wilderness.

They had heard about all the miracles.

They had heard about the cloud that led them during the day and the fire by night.

They had heard about the water coming out of the rock.

They had heard all of this, and they were already saying, Is this true?

And we know Rahab believed it and got saved.

But now the whole, hey, Canaanites themselves, the army themselves see it.

With their own eyes.

Which a lot of people have to, you know, that's the way they believe.

I won't believe it if I can't see it.

Well, that's not faith.

So anyway, we they see it and they are petrified.

And let me in fact, the word there, spirit, is in the Hebrew there means wind.

In other words, it was as as if somebody had just bam! knocked the wind out of them.

Literally knocked the wind out of them.

And they're terrified.

They're terrified.

And the reason they were so fearful is that, hey, what caused the fear was the miracle, the drying, and the duration.

Do you realize that had to take, I don't know how many hours.

There's been speculations as all the study I've been doing.

They said it was anywhere from maybe almost 24 hours for them to totally cross.

At least.

I think I told you two to three hours a minute.

We're crossing.

Boom, boom, boom.

Can you imagine?

They're sitting there watching this massive army come across and they're, what are we gonna do?

And then they see these walls of water.

They know God is on their side.

Now, it would appear with this kind of fear, with this come, this kind of fright, that it would be a great time, are you ready, to attack?

Would you not believe that?

Amen?

Yes.

Hey, we got them on the run.

They're ready, they're frightened to death.

The wind's been knocked out of them.

They have no will to fight.

Let's attack.

Yes, let's go.

There's only one problem.

That's not what happened.

God said, I'm sure Joshua said, We're getting ready to attack.

And then God comes on the scene and he tells Joshua, look what he tells Joshua.

Verse 2.

At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

Now he's not talking about circumcise the same people the second time.

What he was saying the first time took place back in Egypt when they were captive and it took place, they were, they did uh they uh there in Egypt when they did the feast, the Passover feast in order that the uh Genesis chapter 17 literally meant that in order God had made a covenant with God, Abraham had made a covenant with God early in his call from God, and part of the evidence of that covenant with God was that they had to be circumcised.

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

And circumcision was an outward testimony of an inward transformation of the heart, and we'll see that.

In fact, Deuteronomy says that they were circumcised, Deuteronomy 10, 16, of the heart.

But it was an outward sign of an inward heart transformation.

That's what circumcision was.

That they were, hey, we're children of God.

Can I get an amen?

It's the same picture that we do with baptism in the New Testament.

Baptism has nothing to do with salvation, but it has everything to do with our testimony.

It's an outward testimony of an inward transformation.

Can I get an amen?

And in fact, I did a comparison of that right here.

It's nothing we do, it's all that what God does.

Secondly, willing to believe God and to obey God, to be identified as a follower of God, no matter the pain or cost, and three, becoming identified with the people of God.

That's what circumcision meant.

Now, watch what baptism means for us in the New Testament.

Dying to self and the past.

If any man come after me, let him deny himself.

Take up his cross daily and follow me, Luke 9.23.

Secondly, being raised to a newness of life, willing to live a new life for Christ, no matter the cost.

Romans 6, 4.

You hear me quote it every time I bab someone, baptize someone.

Therefore I am buried with him by baptism unto death, that like as Christ is raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

And then the third thing, becoming identified with the followers of Christ, the church.

1 Corinthians 12, 13.

For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body.

So we see the beautiful comparison of circumcision with baptism.

So that is what we see taking place.

In other words, what we see here, and by the way, I know what you're saying.

Yeah, but now's the time to attack.

Now's the time we've got them.

But let me remind you that God's ways are not our ways.

Can I get an amen?

In fact, look at Isaiah 55, verse 8 and 9.

Isaiah 55:8

The ways of the Lord are not our ways.

And we see, verse 8, that their heart melted, neither was their spirit in them anymore because of the children of Israel.

And then Isaiah 55, verse 8 and 9, he says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways.

Isaiah 55:8

Hey, my ways, saith the Lord.

So, you see, God never gets in a hurry.

Can I get an amen?

I wished he did, but he doesn't.

I've been a Christian for a long time now, for 35 something years, and I have been trying my best to get God to do it on my time schedule.

Anybody else like that?

Amen.

But for some reason, he just decides that, hey, he's gonna do it in his time.

And then I thought about Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 11.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

And is that not true?

And by the way, God never gets in a hurry.

He has the liberty to take his time and do things on his schedule, and here's why.

He hath made everything beautiful in his time.

Ecclesiastes 3.11.

Can I get an amen?

Man, that's good.

So, while the things that happen in this chapter may appear strange to us, they're right on time for God.

He has them doing some things that appear odd.

I wrote this to me when preparing for the battle, but may I remind you that God's people are engaged in battles that go far deeper than physical battles.

Can I get an amen?

In fact, it is not in the physical realm.

It's, hey, the battle's already begun in the spiritual realm before we enter into the physical realm.

And we've got to realize that.

Because listen, think a minute.

If you and I are the captain of the army, they're ready, they're terrified, and now God says, wait a minute.

We're not going to attack.

Well, wait a minute.

You just brought us over here and you promised that we're going to, hey, we're going to claim our promised land.

Nope, not yet.

You're going to stay here, sharpen your knives, and now you're going to circumcise the whole army.

What?

Do you know what it means to circumcise somebody?

I can tell you what it does does mean.

They ain't going to be able to fight.

Hello.

Woo! They're going to be down for a few days.

In fact, about eight to, actually, it's about, when you go back and do the calendar, it was anywhere from about 12 to 16 days before they finally attack Jericho.

So they go down.

Now I don't know about you, but if I'm the captain and now I've got to circumcise my whole army, I'm thinking, good grief.

I'm going to give them a time to, they're going to think we're scared.

Next thing I know, they're going to attack us, and I don't even have an army capable to fight.

Think about it.

Don't think you wouldn't ask that question.

Lord, or I I wouldn't have maybe doubted him, but I sure would have questioned him.

By the way, it's okay to question God.

God, are you sure?

Can't we do the circumcision after we get in the after we take the city and get in the fortified walls?

Wouldn't that be a little better?

I mean, I'm thinking as a general now.

Nope! Right out here in the open.

Get the knives, boys.

See?

But you gotta realize.

Here's the key.

It's exciting.

It's spiritual preparation that they gotta do before they enter into the physical.

Man, that's so important.

And we miss that so many times.

We just rush right into the physical confrontation instead of being spiritually prepared, and we wonder why we get defeated so easily.

Because we don't have our relationship, our covenant right with God.

Boy, that's good.

In fact, let me show you some scriptures here.

2 Corinthians 10, 3.5.

2 Corinthians 10 3.5 says, For though we walk in the flesh, watch, we do not war after the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare, now watch, are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

Can I get an amen?

Verse 5, that's why we are to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

In other words, ladies and gentlemen, we have to be be prepared spiritually before we can physically take on our enemy.

And this is spiritual preparation that is taking place.

For example, this is what the Lord is doing right here in the life of his people.

Hey, and by the way, it's also what he wants to do in our life.

Let me tell you why most of us are defeated a lot of the times.

It's not because we're not physically prepared, it's because we're not spiritually prepared.

I was studying and I thought about this watching football yesterday.

God gave me a good example.

Our problem is today is watch this.

We want the product right now without the process.

Amen.

We want the product, but not the process.

And then I thought this we want the end results, watch, without the steps of the process that leads us to the end results.

Here's what else I thought.

We all love game day, but we don't like practice days.

Is that not good?

Everybody loves the game, but they hate the practice.

Everybody loves the game, but they hate the practice.

Tom Osborne, who used to be one of the greatest coaches that ever coached college football at the University of Nebraska, here's what he said.

It's not hard to find people who have the will to win, but it's extremely difficult to find people who have the will to prepare to win.

Wow, folks.

Man, is that not good?

So, and I was thinking about people talking about Nick Saban, and they don't, they said, how in the world, how in the world can this man have so many great years?

And I think what is he won five national championships, I think, right now.

But anyway, but every year he's in the top one, two, three uh teams in the country.

Every year, not every year since he's been in Alabama, except the first one.

Every year.

And they ask him, what is the key to your success?

You know what he said?

Process.

I have a process.

And we're gonna take this process and we're gonna work, we're gonna have steps in this process that ends in victory.

And each step is as in step one is as just as important as step five.

And step one deals with the recruit.

How you recruit is just as important as how you end up on that game day, lined up on the line of scrimmage to, hey, play that ball game, to get to the best of the best that's on those lines or in that quarterback or running that ball.

It's a process.

And it starts with you contacting that first high school graduate.

It's a process.

A fantastic process that has to take place.

Well, here's Joshua.

God commands him and he says, before you can attack, hey, we've got a process that has to take place.

And that process, step one is renewing your covenant with God, and that takes place through an outward, hey, symbol, an outward sign of circumcision.

So before we can pick up one sword, we've got to do circumcision.

Is that not good?

So, you see, all of us.

You know who I thought about?

You know the greatest example here is Moses.

His life is divided into three quarters of 40 years apiece.

Moses spent the first 40 years of his life thinking that he was a somebody.

In fact, he was a somebody.

He was the prince of Egypt.

Can I get an amen?

And that's what we're looking for.

Step number one.

We're gonna do, we're gonna look at five steps that we've got to have in our lives if we are gonna conquer our Canaan land.

Number one is the renewing the covenant with the Lord.

And think about this.

Moses, he was a somebody, he was a prince of Egypt.

Now we know that he didn't follow the process because he took matters into his own hands.

He wasn't patient.

Instead of letting God deliver the nation Israel, he thought he would deliver them on his own, and he ended up killing the captain of the army, and then he had to flee for his life, and so God sent him to the backside of the desert where he spent another, ready, 40 years.

Now he spent another four 40 years being a sheep herder.

Now let me ask you something.

You don't fall any further from the totem pole or from the hey, position of authority, then it doesn't get any lower than being the prince of Egypt.

Now you're a shepherd in the desert.

Now, I don't know about you, but if I'm Moses, I'm thinking I'm through, it's over.

I might as well die.

I can't be used to God anymore.

And how often we feel that way when we mess up.

Now, folks, this is a beautiful illustration.

Hang with me.

This is good.

40 years.

Thinking now he's a nobody.

From a somebody to a nobody.

Man.

Then God calls him out of the, hey, the backside of the desert where he's a nobody, and he says, now I'm gonna make you a somebody for me.

And you're gonna deliver my people from the nation, hey, out of out of captivity from, and I you're gonna deliver my people from the bondage of Egypt.

Now, guess what?

He, you know what?

He lived 40 more years, and so the last 40 years, he is used greatly by God to deliver his people out of bondage.

So he spent the first 40 years, somebody, Prince of Egypt, next 40 years, nobody, backside of the desert.

Now he spends his last 40 years as God, somebody God uses in a fantastic, unbelievable way.

Now watch.

Forty.

Forty, eighty.

He spent eighty years preparing.

For the last forty.

Eighty years of preparation to be used.

Another great illustration.

I'm telling you, he had to go through the process.

Say this with me, church.

I've got to go through the process.

Say this with me.

I got to go through the process.

All right.

What about Joseph?

Joseph said, Oh, I'm the chosen one.

I'm somebody.

The brothers didn't like it.

They threw him into the pit.

From the moment he was thrown into the pit before he became the prince, hey, of Egypt was 13 plus years.

There was a process.

If Joseph had not been thrown into the pit, he would have never been sold to the slave traders.

Had he never been sold to the slave traders, he had never made it to Egypt.

Had he never made it to Egypt, he had never been bought by Potipred.

Had he never been bought by Potiphar, he would have never made it to Potiford's house.

Had he never made it to Potiford's house, he'd never become the servant of Potiphar's house.

Had he never become the servant of Potiphar's house, he'd never been falsely accused of trying to have sex with Potiphort's wife.

Had he never been falsely accused, hey, he'd have never been thrown into prison.

Had he never been thrown into prison, he'd have never met the baker and butler.

Had he never met the baker and butler, he'd have never interpreted their dreams.

Had he never interpreted their dreams, he'd have never been brought before Pharaoh.

Had he never been brought before Pharaoh, he'd have never interpreted his dreams.

And if he had never interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, he'd never been made the prince of Egypt.

And then to deliver Egypt and Israel and save his family.

My friends, when it looks like you, hey, you go and hey, when you're in the pit.

Hey, he went from the pit to the palace overnight.

There's a process that you've got to go through.

Amen.

So step one of that process is renewing the covenant with the Lord.

Now look at three things.

Look at the first thing.

Verse 2.

Men had to be circumcised.

Circumcision symbolized cutting away the sins of the flesh and being identified as followers of God.

Now look, watch this.

And this is so good.

Which brings me to the second point.

Not only were the men to be circumcised, cutting away, it was a symbol of cutting away the sins of the flesh and being identified as followers of God.

It's the same symbol of baptism.

When you go into the water, it's a symbol of you, hey, that God's washed away your sins.

The water doesn't wash away your sins, the blood of Christ washes away your sins.

Amen.

But baptism is a symbol of that, that you've buried your old way.

Hey, you've washed away.

Christ has cleansed you from your sins through the blood of the Lamb, and you've been raised to walk a new life, a life like Jesus Christ.

Does that make sense?

Is that not beautiful?

That's why baptism is so beautiful and so powerful.

Hey, and so important.

I'm telling you, it's very important that you identify, you're not ashamed.

It's that covenant relationship.

But now watch.

The second thing is a spiritual surgery has to take care in our lives, take place in our lives.

A spiritual surgery.

Men are to be circumcised.

And then B, we are to do spiritual surgery in our lives.

For example, now I'm not going to read the whole chapter, but I want you to, I want uh Jason to turn over, uh, he'll flip it up there.

In Colossians chapter 3, that whole chapter, you've got to read Colossians chapter 3 when you go home this week when you're reviewing this message, because this chapter is a beautiful example of spiritual surgery in our lives.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And here's what it says, starting at verse 3.

Well, start with me, Jason, at verse 1.

If you've then been risen with Christ, all right, now, hey, we've been raised, we've been saved, we've made a covenant with God, we've given him our lives, we've been raised.

Hey, those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Now he says, set your mind on things above and not on things of the earth.

Why?

You're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Now, watch this.

And when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye shall also appear with him.

In other words, you can't wait.

You're living for Christ, and one day he's gonna, the groom's gonna come back for its bride.

Now here's the surgery.

What's the surgery?

Verse 5.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections, that just means lust, evil desires, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

For which things sake, the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

We saw that with the nation of Israel.

The wrath of God came on the children.

Hey, why?

Because of their disobedience.

And we'll see you'll see that more as we go through this message.

Verse 6, for which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

Now watch.

In the which ye also walked sometime when you lived in them.

In other words, you were walking in disobedience.

But now, verse 8, he says, put off all these.

Here's some more surgery.

Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

It does matter how you talk.

Can I get an amen?

And then verse 9, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with the deeds, with all that was in the old man.

And verse 10, put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

And if you go on, you could go ahead and read it.

And it talks about a lot more things.

Forbearing one another, forgiving.

You got to learn to forgive.

Above all these things, verse 14, put on love.

And then verse 15, the peace of God brews in your hearts, to which also you're called in one body.

And then verse 16, let the word of God dwell in you richly, because it is the word of God that is the knife.

You remember when he said, sharpen the knives to do the cutting of the flesh?

For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of the soul and of the spirit and of the joints and of the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The word of God is our sword, and we sharpen it as we study it, and as we memorize it, and as we meditate upon it, and it goes in there and it cuts out those ungodliness and those ungodly things, those wrong thoughts, as we said, casting down imagination.

All the garbage that's in our hearts and our minds, the word of God cuts it out.

Is that not good?

Is that not good?

So we've got to have spiritual surgery.

That's our circumcision.

And then the third thing, when that takes place, to the Jews, circumcision was a reminder that they were a marked people.

And I love verse Deuteronomy 10, 16.

Circumcision, throw that up there, Jason.

He says, circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart and be no more stiff-necked.

Oh, that's good.

And that's what we do when we allow the Word of God to come into our hearts and to cut out all that ungodliness and bring it to our thinking and to our hearts' minds so that we can confess our sins.

And if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to what?

Forgive us of our sins and did what?

Cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Man, that's good.

So here we see the process that has to take place.

We've got to renew our covenant with God.

We've got to perform circumcision of the heart, not the skin.

That's what we do.

And then, hey, spiritual surgery takes place in our heart, and then we are a marked people.

Woo! I love that.

We are a marked people.

We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that should show forth the praises of him who's called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Man, that's good stuff.

Which brings me to step two.

Step one, we've got to renew our commitment.

We've got to get in the word, do spiritual surgery in our lives.

And then, and by the way, let me give you a verse I use every morning.

Psalms 139, 23, and 24.

Psalms 139, 23, 24.

Search me, O God, know my heart.

Try me, know my thoughts.

See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting.

I pray that every morning, right before I study.

God, show me.

I quote those verses.

Show me.

Make this a reality.

Now, number two, step number two.

Step number one, what is it?

Renewing the covenant with the Lord, our relationship with the Lord.

Go back and, and that's why when we have the Lord's Supper, that's what we do.

We remember our covenant.

We remember the time that we got saved.

And you hear me when I lead you in the center's prayer every week.

I say, Want to see the Lord come into my life and save me.

And now, Lord, help me to live that life that is pleasing to you.

That's making a covenant prayer to God that now you're a child of the king and you're going to live for him.

Number two, reaffirming the confidence in him.

Look at verse 8.

And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole.

Now, first thing I want you to understand when you reaffirm the confidence in the Lord, what they had to do.

A, it took great faith.

They had to have great faith in order to stay there eight to fifteen days out in the open in Gilgal, waiting to heal so that they could march into battle.

That took great faith because there's the enemy right there.

And is that not true?

Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, that he is what?

A rewarder of them that seek him, that trust him, that believe in him.

2 Corinthians 5, 7, we walk by faith, say it with me, not by sight.

In fact, forsake, I love the word the crosstic, F-A-I-T-H.

Forsaken all, I take him.

They had to totally put their whole life, their whole family, everything they are, everything they hey, hey, have in the hands of God.

Right there.

Open, out in the field, in front of God and everybody.

What faith.

What faith.

Notice second thing.

Not only did it take great faith, but the second thing, as they moved through over to the other side, and as we move through in our lives, situations, we face, and I mean this, supreme times are great times of testing.

Great times.

There will be times of testing.

Great times of testing.

Here's what I'm saying.

35 years now in the ministry.

Before God uses you in a great way, He has to test you in a great way.

I'm gonna repeat that.

That's worth writing down.

Before God will use you in a great way, He has to test you in a great way.

I'll never forget when my wife died in my arms.

I just graduated.

Talking about a test.

I had a choice.

I could quit God or I could get up and hey, work for God.

I had a choice, but it was a great test.

It took my helpmate.

That's a test, folks.

And I've had test after test after test.

My little boy born dead.

I meant I just test after test after test.

But let me tell you, I believe what scripture teaches.

Every time God tests you and you pass the test, when the great test, he's refining you so that he can use you in a greater way.

And that's got a job for you that takes that kind of faith in order to accomplish what he wants you to do, but you gotta pass the test.

You gotta pass the test.

You're gonna take the test till you pass, or you don't accomplish what God wants you to do.

So that's very important.

Hey, there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful and just who will not suffer you to be tempted above that.

You're able, but with the temptation, make a way to escape.

Can I get an amen?

1 Corinthians 10 13.

Now notice the third thing.

The name, oh by the way, here's a verse.

God gave me this yesterday.

I was thinking about all going back through some of the trials I've been through.

And he said, Remember Proverbs 18, 10?

The name of the Lord is a strong tower.

And the righteous run in and they're safe.

And I thought, how many times in those great testing times that you have to run into the tower where God is?

And that's exactly what the nation of Israel was doing here.

They were in the presence of God.

And then the third thing the spiritual truth is taught over and over again in the Word of God.

And when God's people aren't able to take care of themselves, I love this.

God is more able to take care of us than we are.

God is more than able to take care of us.

Noah was protected in the ark while the rest of humanity perished.

Genesis chapters 6 through 9.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

The firstborn of Israel in the Passover was spared while the Egyptian children died.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was spared from the fire, Daniel 3.

Daniel was spared from the hungry lions, Daniel 6.

Elijah was fed by the ravens and the poor.

Hey, and uh Elijah was fed by the ravens and also by a poor widow in 1 Kings 17.

Paul was given grace for his race.

2 Corinthians 12.

What I'm trying to tell all of us this morning is that the Lord will take care of us during the difficult times of life.

Can I get an amen?

He is still God, and he is still able to provide what we need.

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, lean not on thy own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him and say it with me.

And he will what?

Direct our paths.

Notice the third thing.

Third step.

Step one, renewing the covenant with the Lord.

Step two, reaffirming the confidence that we have in the Lord, being totally, absolutely at his beck and call.

We've given everything to him.

We trust him for everything we have.

Thank him for everything we have.

Then number three, removing their condemnation by the Lord.

The Lord said, I'm going to remove your condemnation.

Now look at verse 9.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.

Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

The word Gilgal literally meant rolling.

In other words, he said, I have rolled away the hey, the reproach of sin from you.

Two times that God, hey, was ready to wipe out the nation Israel.

If you remember, the first time was when Moses was up getting the Ten Commandments and along on the mountain with God, and Joshua had gone halfway up and then stopped because he couldn't go into the presence of God with Moses.

And what was going on is they're coming back down, they hear this noise, and basically there was a big party going on.

They had taken all the gold, they had formed a golden calf as a God, worshiping a God.

They were having, it was immoral, it was just, it was a horrible mess.

It didn't get any worse than what was going on at the bottom of the mountain while they were up there with God.

I mean, it was a mess.

Moses came down.

God was so mad he says, That's it.

I'm gonna kill them.

And start a new nation with you, Moses.

I'm killing them.

Moses says, wait a minute, God, wait a minute, please don't kill them.

Don't kill them.

And he reminded God why he shouldn't kill them.

You know what he said?

He said, if you kill them, he's just gonna really make a mockery of you.

Because they're gonna say, you brought them out of Egypt, but you couldn't bring them into the promised land.

How can you be that great guy?

God said, hmm.

Good point.

So he saved them.

And guess what?

It happens again.

Does this sound like me and you?

We make a commitment to God, he bails us out, man.

We live for him a little while, and next thing you know, we're right back doing what we're doing.

Can I say, can we all say, oh me?

Oh, I won't miss church a day.

And you go about a month or six weeks, and then next thing you know, you're missing.

I won't miss my quiet time.

You go about a month, don't miss quiet time, then you start back doing the same thing you're doing.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Start tithing for a while, God bless you, then all of a sudden you find a gun you want and you decide to take the I shouldn't have said that.

Or car.

You get the picture.

And then it happens again.

You know when it happens?

Happens in Numbers 14.

When they're getting ready to promise, to go into the promised land.

They're excited.

Twelve spies send it out.

They come back.

Joshua and Caleb say, Yeah.

Oh.

Isn't it amazing?

They never mention the giants.

Caleb and Joshua, they don't mention the giants at the beginning.

They just say, God, oh yeah, it is a land flowing with milk and honey.

Let's take it.

God's giving it to us.

Let's go.

And then the other ten said, there's giants, there's giants.

So guess what?

God said, I'm killing them again.

I'm gonna kill them.

Start a whole new nation.

Joshua says, Yeah, but he's gonna kill them all.

Joshua, Joshua said, Joshua said, I meant Moses said, No, God didn't use the Satan said, Hey, they'll they'll make fun of us, you keep saying, He said, Okay, you're right.

Yeah, I got it.

I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

Those all from 20 years, hey, and under that don't believe me, they're not trusting me, the next 40 years they're gonna wander in the wilderness, and they're gonna die in the wilderness, and then I'm gonna take them into the promised land.

That's exactly what happened.

So the griping, complaining, unbelieving wandered in the wilderness 40 years, and they were 11 miles from the promised land.

And they had to eat manna for 40 years.

Well, some quail.

Now, I I know a lot of people don't, but you know what manna is?

Anybody know what manna is?

Let me tell you what manna is.

It was sweet bread.

I don't think I'd have had a hard time with manna.

It's doughnuts, it's cinnamon buns.

I'd have had a pretty good time with that manna.

But they didn't.

They didn't, you know, they were just, they were always doubting.

So now, but now what?

The reaffirming of their confidence in the Lord.

Now they are going into the promised land, and here's what God says in verse 9 I am going to remove that that reproach that was on you, the horrible sin that was committed.

When you, hey, made the golden calf, the herbal sin of unbelief, it's wiped away, and I'm gonna put it as far as from the east as from the west, as far as from the deepest part of the sea, and hang a sign, no fishing.

I'm gonna remove it as if it was had never happened.

I'm gonna put it far behind me.

I'm gonna remove your reproach.

Is that not good?

And that's what B was, the reproach of Egypt.

In a sense, many of God's children were still living under that reproach.

I put it, I used B, I wrote this down for me.

The constant stab of self-condemnation.

The constant stab of self-condemnation.

That's B.

A is the reproach of Egypt.

B, the hey, hey, the constant stab of self-condemnation.

You know who's your worst enemy?

You know who's my worst enemy?

Me.

When I mess up, I just I have this horrible guilt and I just can't.

It's hard for me to to to accept forgiveness.

Am I the only one like that?

No.

Especially when you really blow it.

How could God use me?

I don't the first question is to me is how in the world could I have done that?

But then I'm reminded I'm a fleshly creature.

I live in the flesh.

Can I get a know me?

I live in that flesh.

And apart from the grace of God and the power of God, you can commit any sin.

That's what's shocking.

David, a man after God's own heart, look what he did.

Look what Peter did.

Denied and cursed God three times.

After he said he wouldn't.

So we see the power of Satan.

And then, see, the reproach of the old life has been removed forever.

And I quoted those verses.

I'm not going to read them.

Psalms 103, verse 12.

Psalms 103:12

Isaiah 38, 17, Isaiah 43.

Read them.

You'll love them.

But far as the east is from the west, I will remove your transgressions.

Paul said this one thing.

Paul said this one thing I've got to do.

I've got to forget those things which are behind me.

Got to.

Philippians 3.13.

I reached forth and I pressed toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God.

Philippians 3, 13 and 14.

God is telling Israel here that yesterday is forever gone, and they are to walk looking to the victory of today rather than the defeat of yesterday.

Can I get an amen?

Then number four, the fourth step.

Remembering the commitment of the Lord, verses 10 through 12.

Look at what it says.

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month, and even in the plains of Jericho.

And they did eat of the old corn of the land of the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

In other words, here's what happened.

Remember, he kept telling me, you got to get prepared.

You're getting prepared because soon you no longer, I no longer am I gonna hand feed you.

You're gonna be on your own.

You're gonna have to gather the corn.

You're gonna have to do the hunting, you're gonna have to feed yourself.

Oh church, if we can learn this.

You know, it's thank God for a church that sets up the feed you.

But let me tell you one thing about it.

Hey, as much as I study and I love preaching to you, I love you so much in the new Bible study classes we got that you gotta take.

You gotta get involved so you can be fed.

Hey, you need the truth.

It's the word that purges you, it's the word that guides you, it's your power, it's your everything, it's your walking in agreement and commitment to God and direction of God.

But I can't hand feed you, you gotta feed yourself.

And I love what he says: blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

So right now he's saying, we're gonna do the Passover.

And they did it, they did it in Egypt, right after they had been delivered, at the bottom of the mountain.

And he said, remember, and here's what the Passover literally means.

It's a time thinking back of God's delivering them from Egypt and the bondage.

And that's why when we have the Lord's Supper, you think back, I think back to the time God delivered me from my sins and made me a new creation.

Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.

Wow.

Wow.

So he says, remember the feast of the Passed over.

And then B, he said, remember the battles of life.

We must remember some of the great things the Lord has done for us in our past.

We need to remember when he called us out of sin into life.

We need to remember he saved us by grace.

We need to remember, hey, he forgave our trespasses.

He kept us when we fail.

He picked us back up when we fail.

He conquered our enemies in the past, and he'll conquer our enemies in the future.

He gave us victory when, hey, there seemed to be no hope.

We got to remember that.

And then verses 11 and 12.

He said, Israel needed to remember the Lord's commitment to them.

Look at it.

And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow, and after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the same day.

And the manna ceased on that day after they had eaten the old corn of the land, neither had the children of Israel manna anymore, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Now let me tell you, this is very important.

Then we hit the last point step.

And this is so good.

Passover reminded Israel that God had brought them out of Egypt.

But now the manna, let me tell you what it is.

It was and will be.

A constant reminder of what they had left behind in Egypt.

Exodus 16, 3.

It's a constant reminder of what they had left in Egypt.

And well, listen to me.

Here's the problem with most of us.

We get saved out of a worldly, and by the way, Egypt is always a picture of the world.

Worldliness.

Okay?

Always.

And what happens when we get saved out of Egypt?

We get delivered out of Egypt, and God puts a new, hey, hey, a divine nature in us.

That old sinful nature is still there, though.

But that new nature's there.

What happens if we don't grow and keep our commitment to that new nature in God Almighty?

And because, see, the more we grow, the more we crucify the old nature.

Make sense?

Or the flesh, either way you want to call it.

But if we don't consistently crucify the flesh and that old nature, guess what happens?

We have a tendency then to go back to that old nature.

What we used to do.

Or we want to.

Does that make sense?

Resonate with me.

This is so, if you catch this, this is liberating.

You got it?

You with me?

So, what he's saying is not only will you be reminded that he's delivered you from sin out of that bondage, out of that torment, out of that evil, out of that fornication, out of that drugs, out of all of that.

But all of them crucified about all the floor.

What he's saying is he was able to take, hey, the people of God out of Egypt, but he was never able to get all of Egypt out of them.

Is that not good?

Is that not good?

Well, they've been talking about when we go back to every time.

I mean, that's what our time did put us to say.

But why?

Because that's that sin nature, that flesh.

Now you understand how important Joshua's telling God's telling Joshua, they gotta renew their commitment.

They gotta, hey, they gotta, uh, those that need to be saved need to be saved.

They need to, hey, hey, and then after they get saved, they need to circumcise themselves.

What that means is with the word of God circumcise themselves in the heart, that's salvation, and then after they get saved, they gotta purify that ungodly thinking, that ungodly living out of their lives, out of their minds, out of their attitudes, so that they can live a life that is pleasing and exemplary and exalting to Christ.

Can I get an amen?

And that only comes through the teaching and the memorizing and the meditating upon the word of God.

That's good.

That's good.

Because, let me remind you, and it's so good.

Too many Christians are just like the Israelites.

That is, we have an appetite for the things of the world just like Israel did for the things of Egypt.

God help us to develop a hunger for the harvest of our inheritance.

God's kingdom.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Psalms 107, verse 9.

Psalms 107:9

He satisfies the longing soul.

Watch.

He fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Folks, we have no reason to be begging bread.

Can I get it?

Hey, begging for bread.

We are a child of the king.

Can I get an amen?

I love what he says in Psalm 37, 25.

I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Brings me to the final step.

Step one, got to renew our covenant.

Step two, reaffirming our confidence in God.

Step three, remembering the commitment the Lord has toward us.

And what?

And remembering our commitment to the Lord.

It goes both ways.

And then, number five, recognizing the control of the Lord in our lives.

Look at verse 13 through 15.

And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with a sword drawn in his hand.

And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us or for our adversaries?

And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, I am now come.

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot for the place whereunto thou standest is holy ground.

And Joshua did so.

Can you imagine?

Here Joshua, he's walking, and he's outside the camp, he's praying, asking God to give him, hey, the power to lead the army.

Do you realize the responsibility this man's got on him?

Two and a half million people, their family, everything they got, and now it's him.

His decision will mean that they enter the promised land or they all die.

Now that's responsibility.

And so he's out there, he's got his sword sharpened, and he's got his sword with him because he's in enemy territory, and all of a sudden he sees this captain of the host of God's army.

Now he doesn't know that.

And I'll tell you who I think it is.

Some think that it was Michael.

I think it's the Lord.

And he said, Huh, I can see him draw his sword.

And he says, Who are you?

Are you for us?

Are you against us?

He said, Joshua, I'm not for you, nor against you.

Hey, I didn't come down here to take shots.

I came down to take over.

I'm Jehovah Jira.

The Lord of hosts.

The Lord that provided.

I'm gonna lead you to victory.

You're no longer in command.

Woo! I'm in command.

Now, folks, when we get to the point in our lives when we drop our swords at the feet of Jesus, and we say, it's no longer my life, it's your life.

You're in control, you're fixing to enter into your promised land.

Yes, yes, yes.

It's Romans 12, 1 and 2.

That's what it is.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

That's what it is.

And that's what we see right here with Joshua.

Letter A.

Who's in control?

He was a captain of the Lord's host.

He told Joshua that he did not come to take sides but to take over.

That he was in control of the Lord's army in heaven and in earth.

Now, watch this.

He told Joshua that he was in charge.

General Joshua had just met the commander in chief.

That is, we must lay down our swords at the feet of the captains of the Lord's army.

Now, watch this B.

We must relinquish leadership to the will of God.

He is Lord and we're servants.

Therefore, what he says must be followed to the letter.

I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live yet, not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I leave live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

And then see.

Let us not miss this great blessing that is contained here.

Watch.

Joshua's under a great deal of pressures trying to lead the army.

Now watch this.

What he needs right now is the reaffirmation of the promises of God.

Can you imagine?

God had just told him in the beginning in Joshua 1.5, as I was with Moses, I will be with thee.

Now watch this.

Now he's fixing to take on the greatest command of his whole life and never will be.

And not only did he reaffirm his promises, watch this.

God showed up in person.

I'm gonna lead you.

Follow me.

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced their greatest, hey, their greatest, greatest trial and greatest confrontation.

They looked down one, two, three, four.

There was a fourth man in the fiery furnace.

It was the captain of God's army.

And then when Daniel was thrown in the lion's den, oh, there was another lion in that den.

Oh, the line of the tribe of Judah.

When you pass all the tests, and it's time for the greatest test.

He comes down.

Can you imagine the relief?

Joshua just experienced.

Folks, can you imagine?

You don't have to lead this army anymore.

I'm here.

You just follow.

Woo! Hallelujah! I'm no longer in charge.

You are.

Now that's the same feeling you get.

Listen, I'm fixing to help you right here and we're close.

When you really give everything to Jesus and you don't try to hang on to it, that's the same feeling you get.

Where you go, I will go.

Where you lead, I'll follow.

That's not awesome.

You say, Well, what's our responsibility?

Our responsibility is to be right with God.

Be right with God, and then He has everything.

Amen.

So I close with this.

Are you ready to conquer your caning?

Can I get a hearty amen?

Now listen, I'm gonna give you a few things and I'm through.

Not if there's sin in your life, you won't be a conqueror.

Not if there's rebellion in your life, your heart, you'll not be a conqueror.

Not if you have uncontrolled appetites for the things of the world, you will not be a conqueror.

Not if you're filled with doubt and fear, you'll not be a conqueror.

Not if you've forgotten where the Lord's brought you from, you'll not be a conqueror.

Not if you instead of Jesus is in control of your life, you're not a conqueror.

Child of God, if we want the victory, we have to deal with these things in our life that keep us from having that victory.

So let me ask you.

Are you ready to conquer your land?

Are you really ready?

Amen.

Man, that's good.

I don't know about you, but I am.

Quit fighting.

Quit fighting what God wants for you.

Because I got news for you.

You're gonna lose.

You can wander in the wilderness if you're saved, die miserable, die not accomplishing anything for God, or you can accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ, enter into the promised land, and claim your Canaan.

Amen.

We're gonna do it together here.

I'm telling you, CCW, we've got an unbelievable opportunity set before us.

It's happening.

I don't think a lot of us realize that we're seeing God do miracles every week.

I mean, Steve's father law, that's a miracle.

He got saved Tuesday afternoon.

Give God ahead.

Miracles at every week.

You ain't seen anything yet.

I'm gonna keep telling you.

Hey, we're we're entering the promised land.

God didn't give us that 90 acres for nothing.

Not to just go by and look at it.

Every time I ride by it and I ride by it every day, claiming it, God, hey, we're gonna walk it pretty soon.

We're gonna circle that sucker seven times.

That's where we're going next.

You don't wanna miss today, not next Sunday, but two weeks from right now, we're gonna we're gonna take Jericho.

We're gonna take Jericho.

You don't want to miss that message.

Unbelievable.

Do you know him today?

Do you know him?

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day and again, God bless you.