A Change in Diet

Intro:

Church we live in a diet age. My wife often times criticizes my eating habits and my choices as it pertains to food. She tells me all the time what I should and should not eat and when and when I should not be eating. You have so many diets out now. Keto diet, Atkins diet, Low Carb diet, High protein diet, low sugar diet, Cardiac Diet, Diabetic Diet, Low calorie diet, Mediterranean diet, and I even saw the Omish diet! You have weight loss centers or eating support networks like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, The Diet Center, and many others who are more than willing to take your money in a promise of either loss of weight and/or inches. Now I know many of you are looking at me and saying well you are kind of a hefty dude yourself. Who do you think you are talking about all of these diets, well I would like to inform you that I have probably tried and failed at all of them. I have spent more money on the idea of a beach body than many of you can shake a stick at, but the truth be told losing weight and inches come down to a couple of simple ideals. Eat less and exercise more! Yes you should cut back on certain foods and replace them with healthier choices, but at the end of the day do you have the commitment and the discipline to stay the course???? Can you say no to Mckie D’s, Popeye’s, KFC, Hardee’s, and the local gas station for that tasteless chicken breast with green beans with no fat back in them? Can you get up early or stay up late consistently in order to hit the gym or the walking and/or running path? I know yall think I am just talking about food, but I am also talking about what you are hungry for???? Can you turn off Maury and who’s the baby daddy, or turn off Empire cause Cookie’s got a new boo, or turn off Power??? Because many of you don’t miss those shows for anything but will miss Bible Study, Miss Church, Miss Choir rehearsal, Prayer Meeting, Conferences, and other things pertaining to God. All I want to ask this afternoon Morning Start When is your diet going to change!!!???!!!???

Historical Context:

As we look at the text today I have to catch us up real quick in order to find contextual meaning in our pericope today. First we must note that the children of Israel in our context today had just experience the crossing of Jordan miracle. When the priest carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan it backed up before them and after them. And the biblical witness says that all of the children of Israel walked over on dry land. Somebody should have shouted, because God had ordained a new leader and the people actually followed that leader God showed himself faithful to Joshua just like he did Moses. After Crossing over the Jordan there’s some powerful experiences that occur within a few days. First they cross over the Jordan then they set up a memorial to remember what God did, then the Bible said that because these were all new born Hebrews who were born in the wilderness that many of them were not circumcised so Joshua had all of the men circumcised. This event serves to us as a model in that there are some things we need to cut off before we head into the newness that God has for us. Yes these men were circumcised physically, but we need to be circumcised spiritually in that we need to cut off negative mindsets, backwards thinking, hateful attitudes, bad traditions, evil outlooks, broke mindsets, selfish mindsets, sinful ways, and greedy spirits! Yes we need to cut it off!! Tap your neighbor and say Neighbor we need to cut it!!! Because church you cannot go into tomorrow with a yesterday mindset! You cannot go into a blessing while you mouth is still cursing, You cannot move forward always talking about what had happened. Can I preach it like I feel it?!?! Because in order for you to receive the newness of God have to rid yourself of the extra and cleanse yourself of the other! What are you saying preacher I am glad you asked. You cannot enter into God’s holiness until you have cleansed yourself of yourself!!! Some of yall will get that when you get home. Tell about three people on your row get over yourself!!!!!!! Because when you get over you God can bless YOU!!!!

Place:

Now notice church that they are at Gilgal. Gilgal is a place locate just off the banks of the Jordan east northeast of Jericho. Notice now that Gilgal is between the Jordan River and Jericho. When we look at Gilgal from a historical reference we see the name Gilgal comes from a Hebrew word meaning to roll away or to roll. While at Gilgal they were circumcised or cleansed as the word said, then they observed Pesur or the Passover which commemorated when the children of Israel wiped the blood over their doors and wherever the blood was the death angel passed by! So they were cleansed and celebrated the Pesur or Passover right and during the Passover they would eat spiced unleaven bread which represents fast food. In other words they were in hurry to leave Egypt so they didn’t even give the bread time to rise Yall don’t hear me this afternoon! See some of yall missed your shout! So let me break it down to you. God is about to roll way (Gilgal) all of the stuff that you did because you cleansed yourself (circumcision) and when you remember how God delivered you in Egypt (Passover) just like the blood that kept the death angel from your doorstep! This will cause you to get in a hurry instead of waiting on the bread to rise (comfort) you will get in a hurry and eat on the run! I just wonder if I have about two or three people at Morning Star that can be a witness to the grace of God that brought you out and now you are at a place in which you are cutting some stuff off, because you remember what God brought you out of but still have the hope of what God promised that he would do. Well let me help God is about to (Gilgal) your life in other words all of the wrong, all of the mistake, all of the mishaps, all of the evil in your life God is about to Gilgal or roll away some stuff so you can move from your past to your present and look to your future! Touch your neighbor and say God is about to (Gilgal) some stuff in your life!

Change of Diet:

As I get ready to close this afternoon. The bible says in verse 12 that the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce from that land. Which informs me church that sometimes God has to stop some things in order to do a new thing. Watch this now, The children of Israel had been eating Manna for 40 years! They had been eating the same thing for 40 years church. We looking like that and some of us still eating pork chops, fried chicken, maccoroni and cheese, greens Yall don’t hear me! they ate the same thing for 40 years until this date! But on this date God allowed them to eat something brand new! He added parched grain to their diet. See God allows us to taste success sometimes before we experience it. See church I am reminded of the Civil Rights movement when many practiced what they called “sit ins”. These events were designed to interrupt the Jim Crow laws that kept blacks and whites separated. These sit ins where a tool to force local businesses to allow black folks in their white only resturant. While the sit ins were a successful tool in illuminated discriminative pratices, but when God gave all of us the victory we could sit down and order what we wanted and they had to serve us. I said all of this to say that in verse 1 of the 5th chapter is said that the hearts of the Canaanite people melted because of what God did at the Jordan, and to top it all off God called for Israel to have a cookout on their enemies land! But how many know that when God gets ready to expand you that you have to expand! So God told them to change their diets! No longer will I allow you to eat manna as before, but now I am changing your diet you shall now eat from the blessing that I promised. I don’t know about you but I am excited about my change in diet! See you cannot go to a fine restarunt with a buffet mindset! You have to understand that God will sometimes do things a la carte! What are saying pastor I am so glad you asked and I am closing! God took the Children of Israel from an EBT card to a Debit card! See God used to provide the food for your for free, but now God is about cause your enemies to bless you so much so that you can order it a la carte! Somebody shout change of diet!