Faith in the Wilderness
Embracing the New Season
April 26, 2020
Joshua 5:10-12 NIV
“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.”
God always provides, but not always in the same ways.
• This was God maturing Israel. Food was no longer going to just fall out of the sky.
• They would now have to work for it. God was still with them, but it was time for them to grow up.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Innovation is birthed out of dissatisfaction or change.
Luke 5:37-38 NIV
“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.”
Our generation understands how quickly technology can change. What was cutting edge one day can be obsolete the next. Jesus was not mocking the past or saying that nothing good happened yesterday.
He was introducing something new and better – the New Covenant age was here. Forgiveness was the central theme and it could be received just by repenting. No more animal sacrifices, no more ceremonies, no more visits to the Temple.
God has prepared us for this season.
He’s about to show us something new.
The old has to be destroyed, often times, before we’ll even consider something new.
The food will be different, but it’s still from God.
Joshua 5:13-15 NIV
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Are you for us or our enemies?
We often ask God to choose sides.
Jesus isn’t returning to take sides.
Jesus is returning to take charge!
