Possessing the Land - Part 5
Breaking The Manna Mentality - Read: Joshua 5:10-12
1. Introduction
The children of Israel crossed the Jordan in full view of the enemy stronghold of Jericho, which lies in the great open plain (3:16). From this city, especially from the vantage point of its walls, the whole Jordan valley from Adam to the Dead Sea was visible. After the Children of Israel had crossed the river Jordan in that great miracle, and were camped at Gilgal, they did six things before taking possession of the Promised Land:
1. Their faith put fear in the hearts of the Enemy (2:2-11; 5:1)
2. They stopped but they didn’t stay (4:20-24)
3. They renewed their commitment to the covenant with God (5:2-9)
4. They remembered their roots (5:10)
5. They destroyed the manna mentality (5:12)
6. They worshipped the Lord
They did all these six things, before they fought one battle, before they attacked one city stronghold. All these things were done in full view of the enemy (3:16). These are principles that we need to follow prophetically.
The fifth thing the Israelites did, after crossing the Jordan, was to break the manna mentality.
Josh 5:10-12 "On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan."
In verse 11, they ate the fruit of the Promised Land for the first time. The next day, the manna stopped forever.
2. Putting fear in the Enemy’s heart - recap
We have read much about our miraculous God, in the book of Joshua. But, experiences of God don’t, in themselves, put fear into the enemy’s heart. What does?
* Attending church on Sunday to worship the Lord, together, and hear His word
* Opening your Bible to read the Word of God, then obeying it when it tells you how to:
* Run your marriages
* Raise your families
* Operate your finances
* Relate to one another
Reading the Word of God, and applying it to your life; doing what it tells you puts fear in the heart of the enemy! An obedient Christian is an awesome weapon in the hand of God!
Here in the plains of Jericho, the enemy observed an unselfish, unified, committed people; a God-centred people.
3. Breaking The Manna Mentality
a. Manna stops
Back to today’s topic - manna. The manna stopped the day after they started eating the produce of the Promised Land. Why is this significant?
(i). Miracles
The miracle of manna was an incredible event ... but it was not God’s best for Israel. We are definitely going to see miracles in revival, but people can see miracles and still not believe in God. Jesus, himself, said, "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." -- Matt 11:21
Some people say "If I see then I’ll believe." This is not belief ... "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." -- Heb 11:1
The Israel that God rescued from Egypt lived in the miraculous environment of God; a cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night ... and manna every morning. Also their clothes and shoes never wore out, yet they were wandering in the desert! "During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet." -- Deu 29:5
(ii). More than miracles
But there is more to God than miraculous signs. As I said before, we do expect to see them (Mark 16:20). More important, though, is obedience to the Word of God in our:
* Marriages
* Lifestyle
* Relationships
* Jobs etc.
(iii). Breaking poverty thinking
For 40 years, a generation had lived in God’s good, and not His best. We, too, have lived on God’s good, not His best. The day we break the manna mentality and start to eat from the fruit of the Land, we will see:
* Giants fall
* Cities conquered
* Land possessed for God that has never been possessed before
b. Promised Land (Canaan) Christians
We have to stop eating manna to become ’Promised Land’, or ’Canaan’ Christians. The characteristics of Canaan Christians are that they leave the manna, and:
* Start eating the produce of God’s Promised Land
* Are prepared to pay the price of obedience
* Have the courage to do it
* Step out of their comfort zone, and begin to eat the food of faith
c. Manna Christians
We can read the Bible, and read the Bible! The word that brings faith doesn’t come from your 5-minute daily devotions - which have their place. It can come from there, but it’s not very effective. A Manna Christian lives on this inadequate diet. If we want to be a Canaan Christian, we have to begin to make demands on ourselves to appropriate the Word of God into our lives.
Do we read the Bible for information, or revelation? Information will never change you, but revelation will. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." -- Rom 10:17. The Greek for ’word’ in this verse is ’rhema’, not ’logos’. It means a living, God-spoken word that ’jumps out’ at you, when you are seeking revelation from God.
Unfortunately, many Christians in Europe are full of Bible information (which can lead to a religious spirit), rather than revelation (which leads to revival) ... they are Manna Christians!
d. Manna, the background
This manna was a fine white flake, and it was God’s provision for a whole nation, while they were living in the desert. This manna fell every morning, 6 days a week for 40 years; what a faithful God!
* Consider this immense breakfast that God gave to his people. To feed the whole nation required approximately 4,500 tons of manna every day. That’s the equivalent of 10 trains each pulling 30 carriages every morning. And, on Friday, there were 20 trains, since twice the amount fell, as none came on the Sabbath.
Although miraculous and wonderful as the manna was, it wasn’t even in God’s plan. God’s original plan was:
* To bring Israel out of Egypt
* March them for 10 days
* Enter the Promised Land
* Eat the fruit of Canaan, the food of faith
Yet consider that:
* This miracle was not in God’s plan
* It was His good and not His best ...
* Because the people didn’t follow His plan.
Manna speaks, clearly, of the wonderful grace and love of God. Even when we hold ourselves outside His will and purpose, He can still give His good ... but He will always hold back His best.
e. Manna is survival food
’Manna Christian’ or ’Canaan Christian’? We are one or the other.
* No cities in Canaan were pulled down with it
* No giants were defeated with it.
* They built no cities in Canaan with it
* Nor gained any of the Promised Land with it.
Manna just kept them alive in the wilderness. As long as the people ate manna, it meant that Israel was in the desert, going around in circles - no threat to any of God’s enemies.
The moment they stopped eating manna, and started eating the produce of the land, the enemy was shaking with fear. "Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites." -- Josh 5:1
f. Yet, what really is a ’Manna Christian’?
A Manna Christian is saved, and is not going to hell. God’s grace is still available, but through choice, Manna Christians have lives of carnality (flesh wins over the spiritual). They choose a lifestyle that:
* Is uncommitted
* Really stands for nothing
* Believes everything and everyone
* Lacks the vital gift of discernment
* Blames others for their own failures
* Chooses to just ’get by’
People who turn up to church when they feel like it, or have a ’holding the fort until Jesus rescues me’ mentality, are Manna Christians.
g. Is there a way out?
If you recognise that you are a Manna Christian, you can do something about it, today!
* Don’t blame anyone for your spiritual condition; "So and so hurt me and I can’t get over that.", "I was upset about the thing you did / the things you said."
* Come on, we’ve all got to grow up, now! We - no one else - have got to work out our own salvation "... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," -- Phil 2:12.
* Don’t stay in the house because someone’s hurt us, and not:
- Come to church, or
- Read your Bible, or
- Worship the Lord
We have to take responsibility for our own lives!
* We have to work at it:
Eph 4:1-3 ... "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
Unity in the Church, unity in the family - these are not requests from God’s throne: they are His commands!
Psa 133:1-3 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore."
However, some choose to stay in the ’Poor Old Mes’. God wants you to stop eating manna. Stop living in this survival mode. The Lord wants you to start eating the faith food, so that we can:
* Take cities
* Win people for Jesus
* Possess this land for Jesus’ sake
* Speak the Gospel to the Secular, the Moslem and the Hindu world
* Take the Good News to ends of the Earth ... including our own country, town and village
h. Manna is maintenance-only food
Although manna was in incredible abundance - 4,500 tons per day - it was still only maintenance food. It just kept Israel alive in the desert.
Some Christians read their Bibles, do their daily notes and are happy "I’m saved, hallelujah!" ... is that it? There’s no desire to get inside the Word of God, in order to get real food from it - faith food obtained from meditating on this eternal Word.
Although the manna seemed in great abundance, when you went out every morning there was only enough for yourself, and no one else.
Exo 16:16-18 "This is what the LORD has commanded: ’Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ "17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed."
Please note that there was no manna left over from the gathering, so you couldn’t share with anyone else.
A Manna Christian is concerned only with maintenance - "me & mine". There was no manna left over to share and none left to seed. All it did was see you through the day. On the following morning, any unused stank and had worms in it. There was no surplus, it met your body’s need, only keeping you alive until the following day.
i. Manna mentality can be broken
God’s plan is not ’just enough’, but abundance "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." -- Luke 6:38.
This is God’s plan; this is His best - abundance!
Manna was only for you. No one else was blessed by it, they had to gather for themselves, look out for themselves.
Now, some Christian’s live like that. We’ve all been there at some point ... maybe some of us are there now. How many of us have reached the place of "As long as we get by." God doesn’t want us to eat maintenance food. He wants us to eat abundant food - not just for ourselves, but receiving a whole lot more, which can be freely given away.
We each have to break the manna mentality of just surviving. We, in this church, are going to grow and take streets that belong to us; to take lives that belong to us ... through Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son saves all. Hallelujah!
j. How do I break the manna mentality
How do I - not someone else - break the manna lifestyle of maintenance and survival?
* When you begin to believe that you can be a channel of blessing for someone else!
Manna mentality says "Enough for me - that’s all." Things like:
* "I can’t tithe, because I’ve only got enough to get by."
Listen, you’ll always be like that until you break the manna mentality, and think how you can be a blessing to someone else;
* "I can’t do anything for God, because I need 47 more counselling sessions to set me free, so I can’t possibly think of meeting someone else’s needs."
Start to give, and you will receive the blessing Scripture promises, in Luke 6:38.
* "I can’t pray for anyone else,; I’ve got plenty of problems of my own."
Sorry, but until you put others first, you’ll always have your ’feast’ of manna. You need to start sorting out your poverty.
(i). A challenge
Mother Theresa came to the UK, some years ago, and went to visit an old people’s home. When she arrived, she went to one room where the oldest people were sitting in their armchairs and wheel chairs. What shocked Mother Theresa was that they all had their chairs facing the entrance to their room. When asked why those in charge had arranged the chairs this way, she was told that the old people, themselves, had requested it.
The reason? They constantly hoped that someone they loved would visit them.
What about you? Would you be willing to meet these people’s need for love and care? This is what we are called to be in this world ... people who look for needs to meet, who seek an opportunity to give love to those who are desperate to receive it.
(ii). A thought
The vast majority of Christians would never need counselling if they obeyed the Word of God. "Lord help me be a channel of blessing to others.", and so you become a ’giver’ not a ’getter’.
For this you need to be filled with the Spirit of God, and with His love, making you His chosen channel of blessing ... if you’ll only "go". "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -- (Mat 28:19,20)
k. Manna is not food for survivors
To go into Canaan, meant that a whole generation had to come to the point of knowing:
* To stop eating manna meant starting to fight, but,
* It also meant starting to take possession of the wonderful promises of God.
This is for our generation ... not the next one. Let us eat of the fruit of this Land!
APPENDIX
A. Challenge
* Seek opportunities to become a channel of blessing to others
* Become a giver, not seeking only to receive (just in order to get)
* Start sowing out of your poverty - not financial poverty, but spiritual poverty. The rest follows getting this right.
B. Commitment
* To know my God leads to discernment
* What do I stand for in my job/marriage/family/church etc.
