Coming to Your Gilgal
PM Service
May 25, 2008
1st A/G Herculaneum
Text: Joshua 5:1-12
Introduction:
Would you take a moment with me and look at the 9 verse once again of this text tonight:
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day (vs. 9).
Our Heavenly Father in His great love has taken each of us at one time or another through various batteries of testing in our lives to teach us three very important elements for growth in our life:
• Obedience through complete consecration to Him.
• Victory over the flesh.
• The fresh blessing of God.
This evening as we descend upon the nation of Israel in our text…over the last 40 years, God has desired to bless them with a Land of Promise if they would only trust Him completely and follow His direction.
Up to this point, this blessing never happened because Israel allowed fear of what they saw keep them from what God had promised them.
But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:31-33).
But now, we see 40 years has passed. Those who were full of unbelief had passed on. But the great news was this: the promises God had made them weren’t retracted…God was still ready to bless anyone who was willing to follow the Lord (including 2 from the previous generation—Joshua and Caleb).
In our lives we find that there are different areas that the Lord works with us on trying to bring about His promises in—finances, friendships, parenting, marriage, work, etc. Although God teaches each of us different specific things in areas of our lives, His general lesson always comes back to these same three general steps—obedience, victory, and blessing. These were the same three steps that Israel had to experience.
How many times have we wrestled with an issue wondering if we would ever get the victory over it?
How many times have we had to learn to trust God over and over because we felt afraid?
How many times has God been faithful to us to prove that He is faithful and will pour out His care and blessing if we will trust Him?
This story in the life of Israel shows us today that everyone must come and experience a Gilgal in their life before they can move on.
What is Gilgal?
Gilgal is the place where God has lifted the reproach of an area in our life. After we have struggled with an area in our life for a long period of time and now we have embraced the three steps of growth (obedience, victory, and blessing) by learning to trust God with an area of struggle…God has come along and LIFTED the reproach of it from our life and we are ready to receive the blessings from the promises God has given.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day (vs. 9).
From this point forward, Israel’s unbelief that they were just slaves and couldn’t accomplish becoming a nation with a country was no longer hanging over their head. They were finally in a position to receive the blessings God had promised them so long ago. They finally believed that God could be trusted to give them a land….they finally believed to the point of victory.
Yes, there were still battles to fight, but they believed that God could make them victorious. Fear was no longer a factor. There trust was in the Lord. They were no in a position to receive the blessing of the Lord.
So many times, our own belief keeps us from receiving the blessings of the Lord. His blessings are there all along, but we take ourselves out of receiving them because we have allowed a reproach to come upon our lives. Disobedience, fear, stubbornness, or unbelief can bring about this reproach. Until that reproach is lifted, we hinder ourselves from allowing the blessings our Heavenly Father has created for us to come.
Israel took some steps that placed them in the position for their reproach to be lifted and for God to pour out His blessing of the Promised Land. Look at what they did:
1. The act of consecration.
A. This is the victory over their flesh. For 40 years Israel struggled with consecration. It was their Achilles Heal.
Instead of believing the Lord, they “murmured, complained, rebelled, had stiff necks, and even turned on their leaders and God Himself.”
B. How long have you struggled?
What has been your Achilles Heal? That “thing” that you find yourself wrestling with over and over.
Today, you can say, “No more!”
Israel made a decision of faith…they were the Lord’s no matter what happened.
Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way (vs. 7).
How could the mere cutting of flesh be a step of faith?
This act of consecration was a shift of focus from how life would affect them to trust in what God could do in their life. They were giving themselves to Him. God had directed them to do it, and after 40 years they were deciding to step out in faith and embrace the promises of God.
C. There is always a risk to faith.
There is always an initial unknown. There is always the initial step of RAW COURAGE and TRUST. It is the moment where we abandon “ME” decide to rest in Him. This is always the first step to God lifting reproach from our life.
Illustration: The day the woman at the well’s reproach was lifted was the day she consecrated herself to Jesus.
2. The overcoming of affliction.
So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed (vs. 8).
A. There is always a price to pay for consecration.
After consecration to the Lord, there will always come a time where we demonstrate the genuineness of our commitment. This was where Israel had “dropped the ball” before.
B. This is also where many of us fail.
Israel’s men were vulnerable. They were open to the enemy’s attack. But they believed in their weakness that He would be strong.
We make ourselves vulnerable when we consecrate ourselves to the Lord. This is where God’s promises can get clouded and the affliction of consecration can be strong. The enemy tries to tempt us. But our affliction is where we lean upon the Lord and demonstrate that we are going to trust Him.
C. They remained faithful “until they were healed.”
Hear what I’m about to say here: in the quietness of their healing was truly where the victory was won. They were willing to place their trust in God’s plan…and God’s protection no matter what.
This is where we are victorious over reproach in our life. The day we are willing to trust and follow God’s way in our reproach NO MATTER WHAT… is the day we will be healed. For 40 years Israel was waiting for this healing.
God is waiting tonight to lift any reproach from your life that you may have.
3. God names our experience “Gilgal.”
This is when we have come to the place where we can claim, “Through God I have overcome. I am finally looking forward to Him by faith. I don’t know what the future holds, but I am ready for what’s ahead…because I know my God:
My finances are His…my job is His…my marriage is His…my fears are His…my personal problems are His…I am following His Word. I have consecrated myself to Him. God has proven Himself to me. God is lifting this reproach from my life.
Someone may be longing for Gilgal tonight!!
The promises of God’s purpose for our life can’t be fulfilled until we come to Gilgal—the place where through faith I allow God to lift the reproach of my struggles from my life.
4. God moves me forward with His blessing.
Notice what happens next in our story…
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. 10Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. 12Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year (vs. 9-12).
The day the manna stopped was the day God gave them food from the Promised Land demonstrating that He was faithful to His promises. Because of their obedience, trust, and victory, God was opening the door for His blessings to begin. This speaks to us two things:
A. God will be faithful to care for us…even while we go through an area of growth in our life…until we reach our Gilgal.
B. God will keep His promises of blessing to us everytime we overcome.
If God can make a mighty nation out of a people of slaves, He can make a mighty child of God out of you.
Driving it home:
So many people today hinder themselves from receiving the land of God’s promises because they have allowed a reproach to be placed upon their lives by the enemy. Through disobedience, a lack of commitment, fear, pride, or unbelief they are wandering around in the wilderness of their lives aching to live in the fullness of what God has for them. Perhaps that is you tonight.
God wants to lift your reproach tonight, but you too must come to Gilgal.
