GOD HAS TAKEN AWAY MY REPROACH
1. Joshua 5: 2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord - to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” 7 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. 8 So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. 9 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.
2. Colossians 2: 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
INTRODUCTION: GOD HAS TAKEN AWAY MY REPROACH
During Our Recent Trip To Israel, We Were At The Possible Site Of Gilgal - The place where God rolled away the prevailing reproach from the children of Israel. No More Reproach. It Is About 3 Miles From Jericho. Places And Names Do Have Significance In The Bible:
1. Bethel (House Of God): Expresses a desire to know God and be in His presence.
2. Jericho (Walk by faith): Excludes self-righteousness or personal strength from faith in God.
3. Jordan (Death & Resurrection): Crossing from the old life to the new life.
4. Bethlehem (Place Of Bread): Implies that we must live on God’s provisions.
5. Mt. Carmel (Fresh & Confrontation): Means we must confront the enemy & start afresh.
6. Gilgal (Place Of Separation): Disconnects & cleanses us from the flesh, the past & unto God.
In The Bible, Gilgal Was A Place Of Significant Events: Gilgal Was the 1st Place Israel Encamped After Crossing The Jordan. It also became the site where Saul later became king. At Gilgal Saul twice ignored God’s commands & Samuel informed him that God had rejected him as king. Gilgal is where David, after death of son Absalom, crossed the Jordan back to Jerusalem. The Prophets Hosea & Amos later rebuked Gilgal as a site of improper worship. It was a sacred site that became corrupted, but still important to Israel. Gilgal had a school of the prophets under Elisha. Was base camp for many battles of the Israelites against their enemies. Now, Gilgal is where circumcision was renewed. Where the Passover was kept. Where Manna ceased. Gilgal signifies God’s removal of Israel’s former disgrace before they could enter the Promised Land. What was this reproach that was so important that God had to deal with it before entrance?
WHAT IS A REPROACH?
Reproach Is Anything That Degrades, Shames, Blames, Embarrasses, Disgraces You. Sickness is a reproach. Failure is a reproach. Lack is a reproach. Disappointment is a reproach. Abandonment is a reproach. Whatever does not promote, enhance life but degrades & relegates it is a reproach. Whatever makes a person feel that life is no more worth living physically, socially, spiritually, financially, academically, professionally is a reproach. Whatever makes a person wish to die is a reproach. But God Says - No More Reproach. It is your season of rejoicing. The Journey Of 40 Days That Became 40 Years Has Finally Ended. You Are Now In Gilgal.
HOW DOES REPROACH COME?.
1. Israel Was In Slavery In Egypt For 430 Years.
2. They Were Beaten Down – Physically & Emotionally.
3. They Were Constantly Told They Were No Good,
4. They Couldn't Do Anything Right.
5. They Would Never Measure Up.
6. Over Time, They Let Those Words Steal Their Sense Of Value And Identity.
7. They Felt Inferior, Insecure, Like They Had No Self-Worth.
8. They Had To Hide Their Pregnancies.
9. They had to hide to give birth.
10. Their Young Ones Were Taken & Thrown In The Nile – Eaten By Crocodiles.
11. They hid their children like Moses’ mother did.
When A Person Is Mistreated, Abused, For A Time, They Start Siding With Their Abusers. It becomes easy for them to accept the blame & start thinking they deserve it. Examples: Some women get so used to abusive relationships, that they start thinking it’s their fault that the guy is beating them. Before long, they're not only ashamed of what's happening, but they become ashamed of who they are.
Helsinki or Stockholm Syndrome: A captive begins to identify closely with his or her captors, as well as with their agenda and demands. Examples: Derived from a failed bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. Four employees were held hostage in the vault for 6 days. A bond developed between captive & captor. When police intervened, one hostage sided with the captors & blamed police as the bad guys. Another is California newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst (1974) who was taken hostage 10 weeks & helped her kidnappers rob a California bank. Another was the hostage Crisis In Iran (1979–81). Another was the TWA Flight hijacking in 1987. Another: Christian evangelists Terry Anderson, Terry Waite, Thomas Sutherland were kidnaped by Islamist militants in Lebanon & claimed they were treated well by their captors, though they had been held in solitary confinement, chained in cells.
Another Example Is Israel – And Then Us. That's how the enemy twists things. So in the wilderness, Israel always thought about going back to Egypt because they thought freedom was wrong. They Were Out Of Egypt, But Egypt Was Not Out Of Them. After 430 years, God brought them out of slavery, out of abuse. Just when they were about to enter the Promised Land, God said to them: "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt off of you." They couldn't go into the Promised Land with shame, unworthiness. God had to roll away the reproach.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REPROACH IN THE BIBLE
1. The Reproach Of Jacob: Jacob had a reproach that God had to take away. He was a cheater. But God made Israel the one who prevailed with God & won. You feel like Jacob - made poor choices. You live with that sense of shame, but God is changing names today from “deceiver” to "Prince," "Princess," "Redeemed," "Forgiven," "Highly Favored". Jacob could've told the angel: "I don't see how God could ever make me a prince. I've made so bad choices". No, he agreed with God. He told the angel: "I'm not leaving here until you bless me". "I may not deserve it, but since the shame has been rolled away, I'm asking for favor, the new levels, my destiny".
2. The Reproach Of Rachel: Reproach of barrenness. When Rachael couldn’t conceive children, she became a reproach. In Jewish culture, to be childless was to be under a curse. Difficult to endure but “God remembered Rachel, and God opened her womb. She bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She called him Joseph: “May the Lord add to me another son”.
3. The Reproach Of Israel & David: The Philistinian Goliath was hurling insults at Israel and against God, In 1 Samuel 17:26, David was outraged & so David asked “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?”
4. The Reproach of Job: Job’s friends turned on him after first coming to console him in his afflictions so Job said in Job 19:3 “These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me”. But Job had already concluded in Job 17:6: “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days”.
5. The Reproach of Reuben: Reuben was cursed by his father Jacob. But Moses would later remove the curse in Deut. 33:6 "Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few."
6. The Reproach of Jabez: You delivered Jabez from parental reproach - deliver me.
7. The Reproach Of Hannah. You delivered Hannah from mockery and laughter - Deliver me.
8. The Reproach Of Elizabeth: Luke 1:24-25 24 Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
THEREFORE: DIFFERENT KINDS OF REPROACH – WHERE THEY COME FROM
1. The Reproach Of Barrenness: Says, “You will never be fruitful or significant.” Ever been told you are useless no good for anything, you will never amount to much in life. God has plans and purpose for you.
2. The Reproach Of Loneliness: Seeks to suffocate those who find themselves lonely in life. This lie says, “You will always be alone.” There is a cruel strategy of the enemy to oppress with a supernatural hopelessness that goes beyond the normal feelings.
3. The Reproach Of Failure: Settle in on those who have entered into life’s challenges only to come up feeling like losers. This lie says, “You are a loser in life” - in business, a failed marriage, maybe as a parent, could be in Christian work or ministry.
4. The Reproach Of Financial Difficulties & Poverty: Devastating but the Lord promises to take it away. This lie says, “If you don’t have much, you aren’t worth much.” Lack is like a disease that brings its own emotional & spiritual poison that can infect families, nations, cultures worldwide.
5. The Reproach Of Moral Failure: Is a merciless tormentor, especially in the case of fallen leaders. This lie says, “There is no hope for those who fail.” Once you have fallen in sexual immorality there is no way back - no redemption for this failure. Even though King David fell in adultery. God never removed his anointing or his kingship but restored him fully.
6. The Reproach Of The Sins Of The Fathers: The lie says “you are just like your father or mother – like Father like son, like mother like daughter” You are unique, you have choices to make & character that is different from either of your parents.
7. The Reproach Of Church Experience: God wants to speak about those who have been hurt in church life, maybe through controlling or manipulative leadership, maybe used and abused rather than encouraged and honored. Or they feel ashamed & the easiest blame is church leaders.
8. The Reproach Of Rejection. Ruth 2:15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Someone rejected them.
9. The Reproach Of Sicknesses & Diseases. Luke 8:43-44 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
TYPES OF REPROACH: GOD CAN TAKE IT ALL AWAY
Physical Reproach. Emotional Reproach. Career Reproach. Matrimonial Reproach. Financial Reproach. Spiritual Reproach. Academic Reproach. Mental Reproach.
HOW DO SOME REPROACHES COME?
1. Inherited / Family Reproach. Unfortunately we don't choose which family we are born into. Some are born to families of failures, cursed & poor. Example: Gen. 39:3-4 - Reuben was cursed by Jacob his father because he slept with his father’s wife - his children inherited the reproach.: In 1 Chron. 5:1-2, those who should inherit the blessing of first born became vagabonds & strugglers. Some born with condition they cannot explain. Jesus confronted such situations. Whatever reproach that has followed you from birth must be terminated.
2. National / Geographical Reproach: Unfortunately we don’t choose which country we come from or our color. Some are connected with countries of nothing but corrupt leaders. When you tell people you are from that country, they associate you with the same crime they see people of that country commit or the behavior patterns people from that country exhibit. Example: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Tell Someone: Come and see. Contend for your family.
3. Circumstantial Reproach. Unexpected tragedies - some reproach come while people are pursuing life. Example: Naomi – she emigrated from Israel to Moab because of economic challenges – “famine & drought”. Tragedies made her lose husband, sons & fortunes. She says: "…Call me not Naomi (sweetness), call me Mara (Bitter) for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full & the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” Life is unfair. People are raped, lied against, sent to jail falsely & suffer reproach. God must remove the reproach!
4. Self-Inflicted Reproach. Life styles such as idolatry, corruption, fraud, 419, party spirits, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, thievery, others are causes of reproach. Examples: Noah - a godly man brought shame & reproach on himself by becoming drunk. Lot - brought shame & disgrace when drunk & slept with daughters. Samson - brought shame & reproach on himself by his inability to control sexual appetite. David - brought shame & reproach because of sexual crimes. Amnon - raped his sister & brought disgrace & death upon himself.
5. Reproach From Others Sources. People can bring reproach on you just because they hate you, your parents, your family. Israel Suffered Reproach from Egyptians - Exodus 1:11: "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom & Raamses. People are sacked in offices for what they know nothing about. Stop putting yourself in situations that will bring reproach on yourself & other.
6. Bearing Reproach Because Of Christ. There is one reproach God wants you to bear - reproach for His name - the gospel - Suffer for the truth rather than evil. Many servants of God, in carrying out their commission, suffer reproach. Jer. 20:2; 20:8: "Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks… For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. 1 Peter 4:14-16 "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. 16 But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear this name"
WHY YOU MUST GET RID OF REPROACH
1. It Limits & Stagnates Your Potential.
2. It Is An Embarrassment To Your Destiny.
3. It Is A Life Terminator & A It Is A Future Killer.
4. It Could Lead To Suicide. Rachel Said Give Me A Child Or I Die.
5. Reproach Turns A Man Into A Laughing Stock For His Enemies (Psalm 44:13).
6. Reproach Will Make People To Ask Where Is Your God (Psalm 42:10).
7. Reproach Will Make People Look Down On You With Shame & Disdain (Ps. 109:25).
8. Reproach Will Make Helpers & Comforters Go Far From You (Psalm 69:20).
9. Reproach Makes You Look Down On Yourself In Rejection & Loss Of Self-Confidence.
CONCLUSION: HOW REPROACHES ARE REMOVED – GOD, YOURSELF, OTHERS.
1. God Removes Reproaches. God removes reproaches by divine visitation. Sarah, Hannah & Rachel suffered reproach of barrenness. God visited them in set time & reversed the barrenness. Sarah had Isaac, Rachel had Joseph & Benjamin, Elizabeth had John the Baptist, Hannah had 3 sons & 2 daughters including Samuel. For us today, God removes reproaches by spiritual circumcision. Like the Hebrews, Circumcision is practical, bloody, painful. For us, Jesus paid a price for our reproach on the cross by shedding his blood. Colossians 2:11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ. After salvation, God expects us to work out our salvation by living a godly life. Go through a painful process of cutting off whatever brings you shame. It takes blood. It takes endurance. It takes suffering. It takes waiting to heal.
2. You Remove Reproach. You can be in church and your life is not redeemed. Reproach is like a curse, if you don't do anything about it, it will remain. For 430 years the Israelites were in bondage. In Exodus 2:23, they cried to God to remove the reproach and God answered them. Every reproach in your generation will be removed forever. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10: Jabez was labelled pain. He did not quarrel with anybody but used prayer to remove his reproach.
3. Someone Praying/Interceding For You To Remove Reproach. It took the prophetic mantle of Moses & his prayer for Reuben’s Generation to remove the generational reproach that their father incurred. Deut. 33:6 "Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few." Eli prayed with Hannah. Jesus prayed for Peter. Bartimaeus & Man by Pool of Bethesda. I see Jesus working in your situation & removing reproach.
GOOD NEWS IN CONCLUDING
Colossians 2:13 …God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Isaiah 54:4 "Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don't be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood. Note: God Rolled Away The Reproach For Israel. For Us, He Cancelled It. The difference is – one is still in sight; the other is gone away.
CONFESSION FOR ROLLING AWAY THE REPROACH
O Lord forgive me my sins. Cleanse me. Purify my heart. Lord I am tired of being a church goer & a baby Christian. I want to go higher in faith. Lord, heal me from emotional hurts, pains, bitterness, hatred, acrimony & unforgiveness. Help me to leave my past in the past. Lord, I renounce every reproach, failure, stagnation. Every reproach of joblessness, barrenness, homelessness, relationship struggles, academic struggles, business failure, loneliness, sicknesses &diseases, poverty, generational curses, premature death, immigration issues. Lord, take away my reproach!
BREAKTHROUGH PRAYER FOR ROLLING AWAY REPROACH
Lord, by your divine power, I destroy every garment of reproach & shame covering our lives IJN. Every reproach in our lives due to sin are removed because we receive forgiveness from the throne of grace IJN. Every problem that has become a reproach in our lives, I roll away by your divine power IJN. Lord, by your divine authority I destroy the seed of inherited reproach in our lives IJN. Lord, by Your divine power, let the miracles that belong to the generation of our fathers & mothers descend on our lives IJN. Oh Lord, roll away all physical & spiritual reproach in our lives today IJN. Father, I declare that for every shame & reproach we have suffered, we shall receive double honor IJN. I proclaim that in Jesus name, all shame of our lives have been brought to an end. I prophesy to our destinies that we shall be lifted above & beyond reproach IJN. Lord, turn every reproach in our lives to our advantage IJN. By your divine authority, Lord give us divine rest from every attacks of the enemy IJN. Father I thank you for answering our prayers today IJN.
