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THE LESSONS OF
GILGAL PART II
2005 Summer Series on Joshua
Rev. Kevin Baker
Intro
READ JOSHUA
5:1-12
·
So
far in our series on the Book of Joshua, we have learned that
complete trust and obedience to the promises of God is the
groundwork for success in all we do.
·
We
have learned that receiving the promises of God hinges on following
God’s priests by faith as they lead us into the presence of God.
A.
GILGAL IS THE PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE—DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE…
·
Gilgal means “the reproach has been rolled away.” Thank God he rolls
away reproaches!
·
The
people who so long were in bondage and who walked so long in the
wilderness, are now to walk in a newness of life by the baptism of
crossing the Jordan into the abundant life!
·
They
were to always remember the Jordan crossing, the baptism as the
place where God brought them forth from the wilderness.
B.
GILGAL IS THE PLACE OF RESURRECTION
·
The
crossing of the Jordan becomes a foreshadowing of baptism; and the
coming up out of the Jordan on to the victory side at Gilgal is
especially a good symbol of the newness of resurrection life.
·
The
reproach of an old life of sin and failure is rolled away by the
victory we have through the resurrected Christ.
Now, today
we learn that:
C.
Gilgal was also the place of renunciation.
·
When
Israel crossed the river and camped at Gilgal, God said,
2
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and
circumcise the Israelites again." 3 So Joshua made flint
knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.
·
This Joshua did. Vs. 3-8 explain why.
·
All
the men who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but these had
all died in the wilderness. Here with Joshua was a generation of
Israelites, none of whom had been circumcised. The parents in the
wilderness had failed at this. They failed to pass on the faith to
the next generation.
·
God
knew before there could be victory in Jericho, there must be
circumcision.
·
Circumcision was an outward testimony to the fact that the land was
to be possessed in the weakness of the flesh, the suffering, very
often, of the body.
·
It
symbolized the weakness of everything that man can be, in order that
the possession of the land should be given to them unmistakably by
the sovereign grace of God.
·
Here
the people were submitting to the knife of God to remove any fleshly
sinful thing that would hinder His grace from their lives, or his
power in assuring them victory.
·
This
circumcision was prophetically first a reminder of the cross; and
that all of our power for victory is because of him who has wrought
a spiritual circumcision in us.
·
Listen to Paul say it in
Col. 2:10-11
10and
you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every
power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised,
in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a]
not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the
circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with
him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power
of God, who raised him from the dead.
·
St.
Paul says that New Testament baptism is the circumcising of our
sinful nature and resurrection to new life in God.
·
But,
that circumcision, our baptism, is also a picture of how important
it is, however painful, to take the knife of God's word to the
sinful areas of our lives—to cut away the flesh.
·
God uses clean vessels in his service. Listen to him
say it in II Tim. 2:19-22
19Nevertheless,
God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:
"The Lord knows those who are his,"[a]
and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away
from wickedness." 20In a large house there are
articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay;
some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a
man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for
noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do
any good work.
22Flee
the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and
peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
·
Pure
hearts: clean vessels. That's what God wants; and there's where his
power can best be demonstrated.
·
God
wants to give us great victories, so we need clean vessels. Jericho
and Jerusalem will become ours if we cut away the flesh--unforgiveness,
bitterness, pride, materialistic ambitions, sexual lusts, a critical
attitude, bad habits, and such things.
·
However deep it must go, and however painful it may be; before we
proceed to Jericho, Ai, and Jerusalem, God calls us to Gilgal to put
the knife to the sins in our lives.
·
Otherwise, defeat, not victory, is ahead. And God does not want us
to be afraid of the knife in your life. It is God's way of removing
the hindrances to his power.
D.
Gilgal was also the place of restoration.
·
It
had been 39 years since Israel had observed the Passover. They
observed it first in Egypt just before they left, and once at Mt.
Sinai; but never since. THEY CHOSE TO LEAVE PARTS OF TRUE WORSHIP
OUT OF THEIR LIVES. True worship had to be restored for victory in
the land.
·
Now,
here at Gilgal, Josh. 5:10 says, "And the children
of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the
fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
·
God
had said in Ex. 12:48, "No. uncircumcised person
shall eat thereof." Because Israel had refused circumcision, they
had forfeited their right to the Passover, and surrendered it's
privileges by their living in disobedience and unbelief. NOW, TRUE
WORSHIP IS BEING RESTORED.
·
Immediately after circumcision came the Passover. The moment they
obeyed and resotred true worship, heaven opened, and they feasted in
fellowship with God.
·
As
believers, there can never be any feasting on the Lord in our
hearts: never any real, heartfelt worship of God, as long as there
is disobedience in our lives, with which we refuse to deal.
·
Circumcision precedes Passover; baptism before eucharist; and
repentant confession precedes true, worship of God.
·
Look
at what happens: Joshua leads them in the rite of circumcision which
rolls away the reproach of Egypt which was a live of fleshly
living.
·
Then
the Passover is celebrated and they move on to victory at Jericho.
8
And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where
they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the LORD
said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from
you." So the place has been called Gilgal [b]
to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of
the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the
Israelites celebrated the Passover.
·
What
Joshua teaches is the victories of entering the land of abundant
life comes when we cut away the flesh, and when we engage in true
worship.
·
Those are what the people had to do before they could go on to
mighty victory at Jericho.
·
At
Jericho, Israel’s enemies awaited them. Jericho was the gateway
city into the land of abundant life. To win the victory over their
enemies, they had to cut away the flesh and come back to the heart
of worship.
TODAY, GOD
CALLS TO US TO CUT AWAY THE FLESH OUT OF OUR LIVES AND ITO RESTORE
TRUE WORSHIP IN OUR LIVES.
Barclay quotes William Temple, the
renowned archbishop of Canterbury, as defining worship as:
1.
Quickening the conscience by the
holiness of God
2.
Feeding the mind with the truth of
God,
3.
Purging the imagination by the beauty
of God,
4.
Opening the heart to the love of God,
5.
And devoting the will to the purpose
of God
That is what the people did at Gilgal
before they won the victory over the enemy at Jericho.
Today, God calls us to renounce the
works of the flesh in our lives.
Today, God calls us to restore true
worship in our lives.
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