Shaping Up for God!
Joshua 5
What kind of shape are you in? We use the phrase “in shape” to refer to a person’s physical condition. When a person improves their physical condition we will say they are shaping up. Near the end of every summer, football coaches all over America will begin putting their teams through conditioning drills. They want them to be in top notch shape. Businesses cash in on the desire to be in shape. There are many gadgets advertised on television designed to help people get in shape. There are ab machines. There are riding machines. There are weight lifting machines. There is the bowflex that helps 50 year old grand mothers look like teenagers. When a person is in poor physical condition we will say they are “out of shape.“ I would like to use this concept as an analogy to learn a key concept in our spiritual lives. Are we in shape spiritually? Are you seeking to be “in shape” for the Lord?
What about a text? In Joshua 5 we find a text that will guide our thoughts. In this story the Israelites are in the promised land. They have crossed the Jordan River. They are standing at the edge of their first challenge after entering the promised land. They are standing at the outskirts of the city of Jericho. Before facing this challenge God put them through a conditioning program. God wanted them to shape up! God wanted to know they were ready for the challenges of the land.
Before dealing with the text we need to consider another preliminary matter. We need to think about desire. A person who is out of shape will not condition himself without a desire. A person who wants to lose weight will not do so without a desire. A person who wants to get out of debt will not do so without a desire. Even so, a person will not condition himself for God unless there is a desire. Do you have that desire?
If you have the desire you can learn from this text. From this text we see that the Israelites learned four key lessons. These four lessons enabled them to shape up for God.
The first lesson we must learn as we shape up for God is Subordination (vs. 2-9). A subordinate spirit is a spirit of submission or subjection to authority. God asked the Israelite people to do something that was difficult. He asked all of the males among them to be circumcised. Some of these men would have been approaching 40 years of age, based on a forty year wandering in the desert. Circumcision, among the Israelites, was normally performed when a child was 8 days of age. Such surgeries are much easier when performed as a child. A child heals faster. Thus, this was a very difficult task God was asking of them. According to Gen. 17 circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with the Israelites. To fulfill this act was to submit to an agreement with God.
God was not doing anything new. God has always asked His people to do things that (to the world) may appear difficult. He asked Noah to build an ark, one hundred and twenty years before the flood. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. God asked Jeremiah and Isaiah to preach to a stubborn people. If we are to obey God we must learn the lesson of subordination.
Ill- We see this pricniple illustrated in the training of Arabian horses. These horses go through rigorous training in the deserts of the Middle East. The trainers require absolute obedience from the horses, and test them to see if they are completely trained. The final test is almost beyond the endurance of any living thing. The trainers force the horses to do without water for many days. Then he turns them loose and of course they start running toward the water, but just as they get to the edge, ready to plunge in and drink, the trainer blows his whistle. The horses who have been completely trained and who have learned perfect obedience, stop. They turn around and come pacing back to the trainer. They stand there quivering, wanting water, but they wait in perfect obedience. When the trainer is sure that he has their obedience he gives them a signal to go back and drink.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by: Dana Visneskie) This is subordination.
In the military, a solider who will not submit to orders is accused of insubordination. He will not submit to authority. Even so, God’s people must learn the importance of submitting to God’s direction. This lesson is called subordination.
A second lesson we must learn as we shape up for God is the lesson of Celebration. In our text we read in verses 10-11 where God asked the Israelites to celebrate Passover. Passover was a celebration of God‘s actions in leading these people from bondage in Egypt. The event was not the significant lesson. The significant lesson was the truth behind the event. The truth was that God loved these people and had provided for their needs.
Our faith must become a faith that is saturated with a spirit of celebration. This is the spirit of worship and praise. This is the spirit that characterizes living and vibrant faith.
When I watch television shows or movies I like to watch stories that have a happy ending. I like to see people celebrating. Two of my favorite movies are “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Sergeant York.” Each of those movies end in celebration. In the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”, James Stewart rediscovers that life is worth living. He celebrates with his family and friends as he shares his joy. In the movie “Sergeant York”, America celebrates with sergeant Alvin York as he returns as a national hero after World War I.
Our faith must capture the spirit and essence of celebration. A lifeless faith is a faith that does not celebrate the goodness of God, mercy of God and blessings of God.
Ill-An illustration from dog obedience training might help us to understand this lesson. The philosophy for dog obedience training has changed quite a bit in the last few decades. It used to be that many dog obedience schools operated by teaching the dog, “you better obey me, because I’m your master. And if you don’t obey me, bad things will happen.” And plenty of dogs were trained this way, and trained well. They obeyed, but they obeyed out of fear. But now there has been a shift in the thinking of many trainers, though some still do it the old way. If the old way was punishing disobedience, the new way could be characterized as rewarding obedience. In this new way of training, you don’t strike the dog, you don’t yell at him any more than a firm “no!” But whenever you catch him doing something good, he gets praise and rewards. The thinking here is that the dog is going to want to do the things that make you happy, because positive things happen to him when you are happy.
Both obedience philosophies get results, but they produce very different dogs. The old way produces a dog that is terrified to do the wrong thing. The new way produces a dog that is eager to do the right thing. (Contributed to Sermon Central by: Peter Schmidt)
These two schools of thought could teach an important point about serving God. Our service to God should not be limited to serving out of fear or from a sense of legalism. There must be a spirit of celebration of God’s goodness and blessings in our faith.
A third lesson we must learn as we shape up for God is the lesson of Anticipation . In verses 11 and 12 we read where the people sampled the produce of the promised land. God was giving them an appetite for the promised land. After giving them a sample he withdrew the food. He was seeking to create a spirit of anticipation in His people.
This is similar to what many businesses do. For instance, if you go into Baskin Robbins they will offer you a sample of their ice cream on a small spoon. If you go into Sam’s Club you will often encounter sales representatives who will offer you a sample of their product. They are seeking to create a desire for their product. They will give you a sample. This is an enticement to buy their product.
This is the essence of faith, anticipating God’s blessings. The writer of Hebrews said “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.“ Heb. 11:1 NIV) Faith is an anticipation of better things. Faith is anticipating God’s promises. Faith is anticipating an eternal home in Heaven.
I have never heard a fisherman say “I do not expect to catch any fish today.” A fisherman is always positive. A fisherman anticipates a good day on the lake. I have never heard a football fan say “I hope we get beat today.” They are always anticipating a victory. God’s people should be an expectant people. When we come to church on Sunday we should anticipate the overflow of God’s blessings. When we get on our knees we should anticipate prayer being answered.
A fourth lesson we must learn as we shape up for God is the lesson of Resignation . As Joshua led the Israelite people to their first challenge, after entering the promised land, God brought him to a state of resignation. As Joshua approached Jericho he met a man on the road. This man stood in the road with his sword drawn. Joshua must have thought he was facing an enemy. He asked this unknown soldier if he was friend or foe. At that point the soldier revealed himself to be the commander of the Lord’s army. The Bible tells us Joshua fell on his face in the presence of this divine messenger. Joshua resigned himself to seek the Lord’s message. He said “What message does my Lord have for his servant?“ (vs. 14 NIV) The dictionary tells us that when we resign we give up possession. This is what Joshua did. Joshua gave up three things.
1. He gave up his inhibitions. He was the
commander of the Israelite people and yet
we find him flat on his face in the
presence of the Lord. He did not care what
people thought. He did not care that he
was the leader. He got on his face before
God.
2. He gave up control. Joshua’s first
impression must have been to see the divine
messenger as an enemy soldier. After
discovering the messenger to be an angel
from God Joshua yielded control to God’s
messenger. The essence of conversion,
obedience and submission is to yield
control to God.
3. He gave up his plans. When Joshua stood
before God’s messenger he asked for God’s
plans. This is the essence of what Jesus
said when he instructed us to pray “your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven.” (Mt. 6:9 NIV)
We tend to think of resignation as a negative concept. If your favorite football coach resigns you will see that as a negative. I remember when I was a boy one of our pastors resigned in order to follow God’s leading. My dad and mom were saddened by his resignation. However, resignation is not all bad, especially in the Christian life. God expects us to resign our will to His will.
Are you resigned to doing God’s will? Today is the day to make that right!
