Holy Surrender

Cleansing before conquering

Text: Joshua 3:5 “And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Recap:

Israel had been redeemed from Egypt

God sustained them in the wilderness

Israel has now crossed the Jordan

The people built a memorial of remembrance for future generations where they crossed

God calls His people to Holiness

Point : God tells the people to sanctify themselves ( make Holy ) ( set apart).

This also took place before God gave the Law to Moses on Sinai Ex 19:10-11

Leviticus 20:26 “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.”

Notice: Israel was not becoming God’s people, they already were God’s people.

Circumcision

Joshua 5:2-12 God renews the covenant with the people who were born in the wilderness journey through circumcision setting them apart rolling away the reproach of Egypt from the people .

God renews the covenant sign among the new generation, not because the Abrahamic covenant itself expired, but because the covenant sign had simply been neglected during the wilderness years.

God calls His people to surrender

Grace

We never earn God’s grace by living Holy, we live Holy in response to God’s grace and goodness! Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Holy Surrender

When Joshua meets the Captain of the Lord’s Army in 5:13 he asked a profound question ( are you for us or for our adversaries? )

notice the response:

vs 14-15 Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I 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? 15 And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

The question is not if God is for us, but are we for Him?

Before Israel ever draws a sword in conquering the promised land, Joshua is reminded that the battle belongs to the Lord, and His heavenly host stands under His sovereign command.

Questions to ponder :

Is there anything in my life I'm holding on to

Am I fully surrendered to God?

Is there any divided loyalty or areas of compromise ?

Is there unconfessed sin in our lives we haven’t dealt with ?

What is God asking us to put away, or leave behind ?

Joshua’s response:

Joshua fell on his face and worshiped, and said to Him ( what do you have to say to your servant? )

God gives His people the perfect Example

Consecration / Sanctification begins when we stop asking God to bless our plans and we begin surrendering to His!

We see obedience displayed in the life of our Savior Jesus Christ as He prayed Father let this cup pass from Me nevertheless not My will but Yours be done!

Jesus presented Himself as a living Sacrifice and beckons us to do the same by taking up our cross and following Him

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Ephesians 5:25–27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Remember all our Righteousness is as filthy rags Is. 64:6 and there is none righteous no not one Rom. 3:23 but we are made whole in and through Christ , Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1:6

Of-times our greatest enemy is not the culture, governments, or even other people, but our own desires.

Closing:

The previous generation stood at the border of the Promised land and rebelled in unbelief. This generation stands at the same border, but the difference is, they humble themselves before God. The difference we will see isn't their military strength. The difference is a heart surrendered to the Lord.