DIFFERENT AND DEVOTED (PVL)

(Joshua 5)
A Message by Rev. Dr. Vincent Leoh 16th April 2000

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!
“…that you may know that the Lord does put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exo.11:7)

“And that you may put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean…” (Lev.10:10)

“And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezek.22:26)

The world is dying to see people who are different, to observe someone who has an alternative. So, what’s the Difference between Believers and nonbelievers?

I. DEMONSTRATE BIBLICAL STANDARDS OF MORALITY AND CONDUCT
(Joshua 5:1-9)

A Whole New Generation Had Not Been Circumcised!

Rite of Circumcision (5:1-9)
Through the ritual the Jews became a “marked and separated people” because they belonged to the true and living God. The mark of the covenant reminded them that their bodies belonged to the Lord and were not to be used for sinful purpose.

Circumcision of the Heart (Dt. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; 19:26)
- God is prescribing for His people a radical spiritual surgery. He is tired of our stiff-necked ways, our forgetfulness of Him and His commands.
- He calls His people of all generations to a circumcision of the heart, to a spirit of brokenness and openness before Him which provides the true identity for His people.

HOW DIFFERENT ARE WE FROM OTHERS?

• Changed Character
• Changed Values
• Changed Lives

II. DEMONSTRATE THE POWER AND VITALITY OF HISTORIC AND BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY
(Joshua 5:10-12)

A Whole New Generation Had Not Celebrated the Passover!

Observing the Passover (5:10-12)
The first Passover in Canaan was memorial of that first Passover some forty years earlier when God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exo. 11-14). The Canaanites knew that the God who could strike down every first born of Egypt; the God who could hold back the Jordan River would be a dangerous God with which to tangle in battle.

Christ our Passover
Like the blood of the lamb which saved the Hebrew people from destruction in Egypt, the blood of Jesus Christ, as the ultimate Passover sacrifice, redeems us from the power of sin and death.

How Powerful is our Faith?
Has our Christianity become boring, tired and limp? We must live out what it means to hold fast to our confession of faith and to experience the full power of the authentic gospel.

III. DEMONSTRATE A READINESS AND WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE
(Joshua 5:11-12)

The Manna Ceased (5:11-12)
A whole new generation of people had become dependent on the miraculous daily appearance of the manna that God had provided. Now it was no longer available; they had to work to provide their own food.

The Workings of God
God shifts His methodologies to match the needs of the people because of their changed circumstances. BUT have we accommodated too comfortably to the status quo?

GOD IS DOING A NEW WORK IN OUR MIDST
A New Dispensation is Dawning.
Don’t expect GTPJ forever to be the same old church. Expect God to break through in fresh, new, creative ways that will stretch us and enable us to live closer to Him.

IV. DEMONSTRATE THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST IN ALL DIMENSIONS OF OUR LIFE AND WORK
(Joshua 5:13-15)

No Compromise
“Are you for us or for our adversaries?” (5:13, cf. Matt.12:30; Lk.11:23)

Not Just to Help, But to Lead
“No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” (5:14)

Ready to Obey
“What does my Lord say to His servant?” (5:14b)

First Order
“Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy”  (5:15)