The courage to commit

Our Theme for 2024 is Possessing the Land.

We are currently in a study of the book of Joshua called “Lessons in Courage.

Last time I spoke, Joshua and the Israelites were crossing the Jordan.

This was it! - The big moment arrived and they had their “crossing over” into the promises of God.

The nature of “crossing over” is that you have made a commitment.

You are not going back.

Even for the two and a half tribes who had families on the other side, they had bound themselves to an objective, not to settle down until everyone is settled.

Have you ever made a life choice that simply changed everything about your life and you knew there was no going back?

I’m thinking about my first ministry assignment in Denmark. I didn’t know much about what I was getting myself into. I just had a strong sense of God’s calling. God had shown up each step of the way.

We recieved and invitation to come and do church planting with a colleague that we knew from our internship in the US. We didn’t know anything about church planting, but “ho hard could it be?”

We were approved as missionaries by an organization that barely knew us, but they saw the potential and pushed us through the process.

We raised our funds in record time; just six months from the time we were approved as candidates until we left for the field.

And then I remember being on the airplane on our way to Denmark and suddenly having the feeling that we are really going and there is no turning back now. “We are out on a limb now!” Is what I remember saying.

The decision to follow Christ is a “crossing over” event.

John 5:24 (NIV)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Once you have crossed over, you realize the commitment that you have made.

Now the lesson in courage is to follow through and make permanent changes.

You will still celebrate what God had done in the past; but you are moving toward a new future.

Eventually you realize that all of your other changes come from your commitment to Christ.

The courage to make a permanent change.

We know that following Jesus Christ requires change, but how does that change happen.

I grew up in a church that required people to make significant lifestyle changes before they could claim to be a Christian or be part of the church.

Is it any wonder that many from my generation walked away from the church and from Christianity?

I think a better way is to encourage people to make a commitment to Christ, become part of the church, and then find the strength in Christ and the support of other believers to make the necessary changes.

But lets not be confused, just because we say, “come as you are” doesn’t mean that there is no need for change.

We are all changing - “from glory to glory”

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Change is part of the program.

It’s what we signed up for.

We didn’t cross over to stay the same!

Change happens primarily after we cross over into the new life that God has for us.

That is where we find out what we have committed to and we receive the power to change.

Find spiritual strength.

Joshua 5:1 ESV

1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

This statement says it all - when the Israelites crossed the Jordan - the people of the region were already defeated in their own hearts and minds.

Their hearts melted - they had no internal strength.

Their was no spirit in them - their life energy was drained away.

They were “whooped” before there was ever a fight.

The same exact words showed up twice in the story of Rahab.

And it is how Rahab knew that the God of Israel was the One True God -

because of the inner strength of His people.

Having a miraculous “crossing over” experience can be really inspiring!

However, becoming strong spiritually is not a one-time event.

Crossing over is just the beginning of a process that must continue.

We grow in spiritual strength as we continue to follow Christ.

As we continue to obey God.

As we continue to do what got us to the other side.

Take care of what has been left undone.

Joshua 5:2–5 ESV

2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

Ahem! So the first thing God commands them to do after crossing the Jordan is perform a mass ritual circumcision.

When I was doing my church internship after Bible School. The students asked our teachers about their most embarrassing moments in ministry. The pastor of the church said that when he was a new pastor he has a really great message that he was exited about preaching on circumcision. Part way into the message, he realized that at least some of the congregation had blank stares - they didn’t know what circumcision is. Then he had to try to explain it to them without being indelicate. He was not prepared for that!

I realize that there may be someone here who does not know about circumcision -

I will try to explain it as delicately as I can - and if you are at all familiar with anatomy, you’ll get the idea.

God gave Abraham a sign of the covenant that He made with him and his descendants.

Genesis 17:10–11 NLT

10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.

A sign of the covenant is a visible reminder of the vows that you have made, like your wedding rings.

When God made covenant with Abraham, he gave him a sign that involved his sexual organ, because his promise was to bless his descendants - it kinda makes sense.

But it is about more than just having children, because already in Deuteronomy, God says that circumcision is really about the heart.

Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV

6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

So how can I say this delicately?

When God makes a covenant with Abraham, he says “I want you to remove the skin that protects the most sensitive part of your most sensitive part.”

All the women say “ew!”

All the men say “ouch!”

But he is really talking about the heart!

Paul would later declare that physical circumcision is no longer a requirement for Christians to be part of the covenant.

Colossians 2:11 TPT

11 Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sin has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us.

He is talking about being vulnerable - extremely vulnerable!

That’s what it takes to be in relationship with God - you have to be willing to become extremely vulnerable to God with your heart.

Make a total commitment.

Joshua 5:6–9 ESV

6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

Forty years prior to this, the Israelites came out of Egypt.

The problem is that Egypt had never come out of them.

The previous generation was circumcised in their bodies, but not their hearts.

The sign of the covenant had fallen by the wayside because it was separated from the reality of the commitment that it represents.

Now we have a new generation that has entered the promised land.

But crossing the Red Sea did not make the previous generation automatically fully committed to YHWH.

This generation realizes that they need to do things different to get a different result.

They need to fully commit to God - hold nothing back!

What better way to commit yourself fully to God than to give Him your most vulnerable area?

Perhaps its the secret sin that nobody knows about.

Perhaps it’s that nagging self-doubt that you don’t want to admit.

Maybe it the thing God asked you to do years ago, but you said, “no, anything but that!”

If you really don’t want to go there, you may have just found what circumcision represents for you.

By the way, Gilgal means to roll - because God rolled away the reproach of Egypt.

I think there was a lot of “rolling around” going on.

While they were rolling in their pain, God was rolling away their shame.

The courage to remember where you came from.

While crossing over means you can never go back, we learned last time that it is, however, important to remember where you came from.

The past can be painful - we all have things that we would probably rather never talk about, ever again.

But its part of your story - and if you have crossed over - it should be or is becoming a story of victory.

You are not in Egypt anymore, and more importantly - Egypt is not in you!

God has rolled away the reproach of Egypt.

Celebrate your deliverance.

Joshua 5:10 ESV

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.

So while they are at Gilgal, recovering from their surgeries, they celebrate the Passover meal.

I don’t know how regularly they celebrated Passover in the wilderness.

We know that it happened, at least on a few occasions.

But this Passover was special, because the setting was just like the first Passover - God had delivered them again!

Have you ever been in a situation that reminds you of a difficult situation in your past and you dread it because something about it is eerily similar to a painful memory.

If you think about it, especially if you invite the Holy Spirit to help you think about it, you might realize that your present situation is actually very different.

The first Passover meal happened right before they crossed the Red Sea - this one is right after crossing the Jordan.

Last time they were leaving a settled place and going to a place of wandering - this time they are leaving a place of wandering and coming to a place where they can settle.

Last time they left in the middle of conflict, plagues and even death but God spared them - now they are entering a season of conflict and warfare and God’s promise is that He will be with them.

When you think about all that God had delivered you from, you might also think from time to time that you see the same patterns emerging again.

But its not the same.

You are not the same as you were then.

You know things that you didn’t know then.

You have grown spiritually and you know God like you didn’t know then.

Now you can celebrate! -

because even though you are not perfect, God really has delivered you!

And He will deliver you again, as often as He needs to until His purpose is accomplished!

Enter into a new season.

Joshua 5:11 ESV

11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.

Something special happened at this Passover; they ate the last of the food that they brought with them.

The day after Passover, they are eating grain that they found in the fields nearby.

They haven’t had a single battle yet and they are literally eating the fruit of the land.

It’s just there for the taking.

This reminds me that there are so many unexpected blessings that God has for us, but we may miss them because we are only counting on our own resources.

When God is bringing you into a new season, you can’t rely on what you brought with you.

Your resources are going to run out; and you will need to rely on God’s provision.

Matthew 6:25–27 ESV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

How is Joshua going to feed and army?

I don’t perhaps the people of Jericho were all holed up inside their fortress leaving the fields completely unattended?

It would be a shame to let all that grain go to waste?

Maybe there is plenty of food just growing wild - whatever the case - God has them covered!

If God has brought you into a new season, He will take care of you.

Come out of your wilderness.

Joshua 5:12 ESV

12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

And another thing changed at that same time of Passover- the manna stopped.

The manna was the supernatural provision that God gave them in the wilderness stopped.

Deuteronomy 8:3 CEV

3 so he made you go hungry. Then he gave you manna, a kind of food that you and your ancestors had never even heard about. The Lord was teaching you that people need more than food to live—they need every word that the Lord has spoken.

Wait a minute? Of course God would provide for them,

He was already supernaturally providing for them.

But not the supernatural provision gave way to a naturally supernatural provision.

God was still supernaturally providing, but in a different way.

Just like the passage in Deuteronomy says, the most important thing is not the provision - the most important thing is learning to know God and to trust God.

They came out of the wilderness, but they had to get out of the “wilderness mentality”.

Sometimes we go through a dry season of learning to just trust God.

That can be really difficult.

But just as difficult is when God changes things again.

God starts to bless us but we don’t know how to handle abundance.

We think we have to work so hard for everything,

it just doesn’t seem right that anything should come easy.

The important thing is to remember that no matter how God provides - its all God!

Philippians 4:12–13 NLT

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

It’s all good as long as it’s all God.

I’m not beating myself up when life is hard and I’m not patting myself on the back when its good.

I’m just trying to follow Jesus the best that I can; sometimes its good and sometimes its hard.

But the secret to success is the same, I'm not looking at my circumstances - I’m looking to Jesus .

The courage to follow Christ.

We are in the Old Testament - why do I say the courage to follow Christ?

There are a few places in the Old Testament where a divine being with attributes that can only be described as the One True God appears in human form.

The proper term for these is “theophanies”.

Most likely a pre-incarnation of Jesus Christ.

How is that possible?

I guess when you are outside of time and space you can do all sorts of things - like time travel.

I think that this passage is most likely one of those occurrences.

Recognize God’s messenger.

Joshua 5:13 ESV

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

So Joshua is the leader of Israel’s army and when he is out scouting around he comes across another army man.

Who could it be?

Joshua can only think of two possibilities:

You are either here to help me

Or you are out to get me.

He didn’t consider a third category, “you’re wrong!”

You might be surprised how often we do that - think in black and white categories:

You either love me or you hate me.

You either support me or you are against me.

You can either do things my way or get out of my way.

What is the common denominator in all of those options?

It’s all about me!

What I think of you is determined by your response to me.

There is not middle ground.

No “none of the above”

No concept of a position completely unrelated to “my agenda”.

Before we are too hard on Joshua, I think anyone who encounters God has had the experience of having your mind blown - and being humbled.

Moses had a similar experience:

Exodus 3:13–14 NLT

13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”

God’s message and sometimes His messengers will not fit your categories.

The best way to receive a message from God is to consider the distinct possibility that you might not understand what you are hearing.

You might be wrong.

You might not WANT to understand what you are hearing.

If you still don’t understand, just pretend like you don’t know anything (cause you don’t)!

Humble yourself and come a a child.

Say, “Lord teach me to hear what you are saying!”

Joshua is about to get put in his place.

Receive God’s correction.

Joshua 5:14 ESV

14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

Here’s why I don’t think this is not just and angel - angels do not receive worship - Jesus does!

The Angel of the Lord (probably Jesus) says to Joshua “ I’m neither - and I’m here to take over!”

He is the commander of the Army of the Lord!

Joshua probably thought that he was commanding the Lord’s army - you know - Israel, “the people of God”.

But Israel, God’s earthly people, are just part of the picture.

God’s plan of redemption on earth fits into a much bigger picture of God’s ultimate restoration.

So Joshua has the sudden realization that He is talking to a divine being.

This is his superior officer.

So Joshua does what anyone should do when confronted by a superior, you hit the dirt.

You fall in line - show your respect.

Why? because now Joshua has two choices -

He can either work with God or work against Him.

He can be part of the problem or part of the solution.

This is not about you - it was never about you.

This is about God and what He is doing in the earth and you can either submit or rebel.

Joshua saw a vision of Jesus that John also described in the book of revelation:

Revelation 19:11–16 NLT

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I just want to hit the dirt like Joshua.

And that is the appropriate response...

Honor God’s presence.

Joshua 5:15 ESV

15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Holy ground = God’s manifest presence on earth.

It’s the intersection of heaven and earth where spiritual reality meets the material world.

It’s an echo of Eden.

It’s where we have relationship with God, fellowship with our Creator.

It’s what we were made for, but it’s also what was lost when sin entered the world.

It’s what Jesus came to restore.

If you have the courage, you can join God in his quest.

But it is going to require commitment - total commitment!

Like “circumcision” kind of commitment - total vulnerability.

Like, “now you have manna and now you don’t” kind of commitment- total dependence.

It’s “look into my eyes blazing with fire” kind of commitment - total worship.

Are you in?

Questions for reflection:

When you think of your commitment to Christ, what are some changes that are still happening or needing to happen in your life? Are you perhaps, trying to do those things in your own strength? How might an encounter with Jesus give you the strength to do what you haven’t been able to do?

Have you found yourself stuck in the past? Is it sometimes difficult to see yourself as victorious? God wants you to remember that He has delivered you. You are not the same person you were. Let Holy Spirit show you the difference. Let Him fill you with courage!

Can you say you are totally committed to God? Where can you go deeper in your commitment today? Is it in vulnerability? Is it in greater dependence on God? Is it abandoning yourself in worship? The captain of the Lord of Hosts wants YOU, all of you!