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Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010
Today: Sacrifice goes before success
Passage: Joshua 5: 8-9 NIV
8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal [b]to this day.
People like the name “Gilgal” very much
But before “Gilgal”, there is a painful process
Circumcision is not easy. All men had to go through that
In the New Testament, we see that God wants all people to be circumcised in their heart
Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jews. But Jesus told him that he has to be born again, to enter into God’s kingdom
After these people were willing to be circumcised, after their humiliation, God removed their reproach
When we want deliverance, we should be willing to pay a price for it
We may need to humble ourselves in fasting. We will have to put our pride and ego down
God put Joseph through the pit, Potiphar’s house and the prison, before making him second to Pharaoh; David went through similar situations
Jesus himself is our best example
It was easy for the people of Jericho to come and attack the Israelites when they were circumcised. All their men were weak
But God would not allow that
One of the tricks of the enemy is to prevent us from praying, fasting and reading the word of God
Devil will come with all sorts of justification as to why we should not spent time in prayer and the word
He (satan) will come up with so many theories
But God’s word tells us to pray, fast and read the word
There is no theory better than that
After we do that, the next step is to listen to God and make each and every step according to His will
Many a time, we fail because we chose our own steps without asking God
When the people of Israel made each step exactly as God told them, the walls of Jericho came down
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. 7 “What [a] are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!”(Zech 4:6-7, NIV)
Not by might, nor by power, but by the spirit of God
Is there a “Jericho” in front of us?
Doesn’t matter how big or strong it is
It may be a City. It may be a certain ministry you wanted to start
With God, nothing is impossible
If God sent you, if God prompted you, He will do it for you.
Did you pray about it?
God bless you and give you victory
BG
Prayer: Lord, help me to seek thy will and make the changes in me accordingly. When I become like you want me to be, I know that no mountain cam stand in front of me. Thank you for your work in me. Amen