GILGAL
Joshua 5:9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
Gilgal means "Rolled away", a new beginning starts from the day God rolls away the stone of reproach in your life. Cheer up friend, there is a day of relief that is planned by God, you would not forever be in bondage, pain and humiliation. Wow, this needs celebration today, isn’t it?
A) TIME:
Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."
AT THE RIGHT TIME: Trust God’s time, direction and instruction in your life. Joshua 5:2 says: At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."
God selected a time when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel. Look at that! These guys were now terribly scared of the Israelites because of the miracles that they heard, I wonder how soon the news spread in those days that had no internet facilities or whatsapp. God will make it happen. Amen. Your enemies and your mockers will hear about your blessings, clap hands for God, will you? So, the right time was fixed for this process of circumcision of the people of God who made it to Gilgal. Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”
People who disobeyed God did not make it but they died in the wilderness.
Friend, when we go through sufferings, delay or pain we look at it as something that is concerning just you, but look at the above scripture, God circumcised an entire nation to make a new covenant with them of blessings and peace. There is pain, inconvenience and suffering involved in the process; however, trust God to bring you through. You will make it! Anybody listening to me? Proverbs 16:9 “ In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
When our family and ministry were relocated to Hyderabad in 2009 along with our two children Shalina and Joshua, who were just studying, my daughter had just finished inter college and my son class 4. Crucial period in all our lives; however, we JUST obeyed God as a family. We felt it is not the right time, since my daughter had to join Engineering college; however, in the eyes of God it was the right time for us. Was it smooth sailing and cake walk after that? Never, the trials and sufferings were innumerable and those were nightmare days; nevertheless, I write this after more than a decade of our ministry in the new city, Hyderabad where God established us. Habakkuk 2:3 “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. “ My daughter not only completed B.Tech, Computer Engineering, but also completed MBA and is now pursuing M.Div. Circumcision is necessary and mandatory for our walk with God. God would be with us and bring us through. Stay strong! 1 Peter 5:10”After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
B) CIRCUMCISION: SEPARATION:
8 Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. Just imagine the entire nation being circumcised and sitting in their respective places!
THEY REMAINED IN THEIR PLACES IN THE CAMP UNTIL THEY WERE HEALED: Wow, these lines directly spoke to me because we are too busy running around with jam-packed agenda and dead-lines, sometimes God, Bible, prayer and fasting is not in our agenda at all. God becomes curry leaves in the lives of busy people, God knows how to get our attention. The people of Israel while they were getting healed, had time to meditate the goodness of God in bringing them through from Egypt. He did that for me when I became bedridden during my second pregnancy , while 5 months pregnant, I was diagnosed with multiple fibroids in the uterus , the doctors strictly ordered me not to move from the bed. It is during this period that I started thinking of God and His Word in the emergency ward at hospital, I opened the Bible for the first time and started reading from the beginning. My hospital room turned into a church where I met the Lord Jesus Christ and I got saved. .Amen. Click link to read my full testimony of my miraculous healing, salvation and call to full time ministry.
https://worshipjesusministriestrust.org/aboutus.php
C) OBEDIENCE CAN BE PAINFUL!
SOMETIMES TOTAL OBEDIENCE WOULD CAUSE US PAIN: The people obeyed their leader Joshua and cooperated for circumcision, it caused lot of pain, isolation; yet, they obeyed. Our obedience should not be casual but our commitment must be serious. Anybody listening? God is watching our serious commitment and determination!
While I was still working, God opened a full-fledged out-reach ministry, prayer-cell ministry in the office and I was even invited to preach among doctors in hospitals, IT professionals and various other places. We had started our all-night-prayer services as well, once in a month. Beginning of 2004, I received a call from the Lord for full-time commitment, when I fasted and prayed, God gave me a clear indication to resign the job. It was a major decision in my life, while my elder daughter was 12 years old and my son was just four years old. I determined my heart to obey the Lord and follow Him. When I resigned and walked out of the bank, I had to walk out on many other things as well. I had to walk out on our beautifully air-conditioned apartment, give up luxury and give up on many other things as well. I was floating in the air with the thought that God was going to immediately increase the borders of my present ministry. After my resignation, when I had to stay at home and wait for further instructions from the Lord, the first thing I did was to get into my prayer closet. I never knew that I would be locked up there!
God slowly closed every door of our ministry. Hey, what’s happening? I did not know! People who used to call me for outreach ministry stopped calling me. Not knowing what to do, I started spending time only in fasting and prayer. Have you ever prayed until your mouth pained and your back ached? I did! It was a hard place to endure, “inactivity” was killing me but God kept me there and trained me for the ministry that He had kept in store for me. It is this “experience” that has stirred me to write the book, “Locked up with God.” I was lonely and the only roots I had was writing. God has a way of accomplishing His purpose in our life, there is simply no way out, but to say, ”Here I am.” God had to break my self-will and teach me to obey His will. God did not want to use an aggressive and ambitious person, but He was keen on making me humble and simple, content to be curled in His Hands.
I started my internet ministry and sent ‘daily devotions’ through which God gave me an international platform to reach the people with the DAILY DELIGHT DEVOTIONS.
When Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho was a young minister with several thousand members in his church, he felt greatly blessed and actually drifted into complacency in his ministry. Then God allowed the perplexity of physical weakness in his body. He developed a case of nervous exhaustion and some problems with his heart. He had difficulty to simply carry out even his daily tasks. During that period, God drew him close to Him and showed many changes that needed to take place in his life. (From Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho’s book “Solving Life’s Problems”) Sometimes through sickness God shuts the door to be close with Him.
D. OBEDIENCE WOULD CREATE HATERS FOR YOU:
JEREMIAH
JEREMIAH 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, Nor did I exult. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone, For You filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?
19 Therefore, thus says the LORD, "If you return, then I will restore you-- Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20 "Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you," declares the LORD.
21 "So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent."
Jeremiah was preaching strong sermons to the rebellious Israelites and therefore he was ostracized and isolated, when Jeremiah went with the above complaints to God, He said: Before Me you will stand! Gosh, He did not say leave the ministry, but said despite the mockery, pain and agony, continue to stand before me and be my spokesman.
When you make a decision to stay ‘undefiled’, all hell will be stirred against you. When you decide to stand up for God in your family or at your work place, be sure to be attacked and mocked. During such times, do not say, ”I cannot stay here anymore”; it is ‘here’ that God is going to polish your character, refine you in the midst of affliction and pain and make you a Daniel. Do you hear me? Allow God to operate on you. I remember when I was facing problems at my work spot, there were times that I wanted to run away. I was hurt, I was rejected, I was ignored and I was lonely. But my close relationship with God strengthened me to endure the pain. I did not discuss the issue with anyone in the office or at home, I silently cried to God who knew all that I was going through. There were times that I cried in the wash room at my office, but I still stayed in the same place for nearly five years, before I quit the job to work full-time for my Lord. God had to work in my heart and prepare me for the work that was ahead of me. As Paul says in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind (attitude or spirit) be in you which was also in Jesus Chrsit.”
E)TODAY:
Well, I would like you to take a closer look at verse 9 , "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
The Bible says ‘TODAY I HAVE ROLLED AWAY..”, now what is the TODAY that God is talking about? Let us scroll upwards and read verse 8 again: verse 8 says: “Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.” The DAY when the nation got circumcised!
After God watched the obedience of Joshua and the people of Israel, He decided to roll away the reproach from them. OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS! Amen.
F) OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS!
Elisha did not say, let me see how much money I have in my bank account, instead he gives instructions to the widow to use ‘her own resources’. 2 King 4:3” Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. 4 "And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full."
This was no spectacular modus operandi for a super flow miracle. It was the most weird plan. The widow takes a remarkable step which was the reason for the whole miracle! Verse 5 says, “So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her.” That’s fantastic faith! The important key to blessings is obedience! She did not linger behind to question the authenticity of the instructions, ‘she just obeyed.’ When she shut the door with a giant faith with her two sons to pour the oil into the empty cans, God stepped in to fill the cans. Hallelujah!
Leviticus 26:3-10
If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.read more.
Deuteronomy 6:24
So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
G) GILGAL BRINGS NEW BEGIININGS: “…they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.” (VERSE 12)
They were no more in the wilderness but in Gilgal which was in Canaan! God expected them to sow, water the ground, toil and eat the produce of the land. Are you listening? Stop depending on others for a living. Manna stops to turn us to a different direction! I am speaking to someone out there! If the door closes in one city, God would open another! I
Manna was meant only for a season not always; don’t take manna from Heaven for granted! Don’t expect for miracles to happen 7 days a week, live on faith. Knock until it opens, don’t expect magic. Have you heard of the fascinating story of ‘Alibaba and 40 thieves’ and his magic words ‘Open sesame ‘which instantly opened the wide doors of a cave that stored gold, silver and riches. Some of us love to say, ‘Open sesame ‘instead of hard prayers! Wake up!
Learn to fast, read His Word and pray for God’s blessings!
he theme of the book of Joshua is obedience to God. Joshua knew God so well and was able to therefore lead the people in knowing God as well. The only way that we can know God deeper is to seek His presence and to sink deeper and deeper into it!
God’s presence and a relationship with Him are better than anything else that we can have on the face of this planet! Joshua gets the perfect plan to cross the Jordan river! It was indeed absolutely flawless! Being in the presence of God, hearing His voice and obeying Him, makes you confident, efficient and proficient. God bless you!
