Posted by: pastorapbell | October 7, 2010

as we learn the art of submission

At Gilgal, the training camp, each potential soldier has his flesh removed. What does this mean and how do we remove the flesh today as people who are submitted to Jesus Christ, the anointed one?

For the people of the Old Testament, removal of the flesh indicated that they were in a contractual relationship with Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that they were committed to do what God, through his servants, commanded them to do.

For us today removal of the flesh is not a physical thing. God told the Israelites to circumcise their hearts and ‘do not be stubborn any longer’, (Duet 10:16). When we accept that it is only Christ alone that can save us from the wrath to come and we put our faith in him, we are submitting our will to his. We are removing the ‘flesh’ that is, the propensity to do our own thing and go our own way, and are coming to God through Jesus saying, “Not my will, but let yours be done in my life”.

It is at the training camp that our minds are transformed. We naturally want to do our own thing and behave in manner that brings satisfaction to us. This is pleasing our ‘flesh’. God want us to follow Jesus and to follow those who he placed over us and are following Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote’ “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ”, (1Cor 11:1). Training is not easy but it is necessary. It requires obedience and sacrifice. It requires working as a team, where Together Each Achieve More.

Today cut away the flesh so that the Spirit can lead us to be more and more like Jesus who was fully human!

Read The book Galatians it is only 6 chapters.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | October 6, 2010

as we did deeper into Gilgal

There are two Hebrew words for a wheel around which the design of the Bible revolves; they are translated as orphan and galgal. The first one is the plural and the second is the singular.  The etymology of galgal is particularly relevant to the study of the Wheel of God. A closely related word is Gilgal, this differs by only in a single vowel which was not part of the original text as it appears in Joshua 5.9;

The shame of sin (bondage in Egypt) is gone!

‘Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.’

The root common to the two words rolled and Gilgal is galgal, which express the notion of something round, circular or rolling. It forms the root word for Galilee, the place where the lord Jesus carried out his ministry. It consisted of visiting a circuit (galeel) of cities. This was exactly what Samuel did when he judged Israel, he went from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah and resided at Ramah (1Sam: 7:16).  It also forms the root for Megillah which denotes the scroll or the roll of a book, as used by Zechariah about a flying roll and in Psalm 40.

All of these ideas come together in the meaning of the root Galah, which is translated as uncovered, discovered, opened, or revealed. It is used in Isaiah 53.1 “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” This is the Hebrew root – the root of the word Revelation – that governs the overall structure of Scripture!

Yet there is more – not only does this root express both the nature of Scripture (it is a revelation from God) and its geometric form (a wheel) it also encodes the axial theme about which this wheel of revelation revolves!

The name of the place where the Lord was crucified is the Aramaic Gulgoltha, which became Golgotha in Greek. It came from galgal through the Hebrew word for a skull, gulgoluth, because of its round form.

The name of the place where the Lord was crucified, therefore, differs from the Hebrew word denoting a wheel, galgal, by the addition of two letters, the Aleph and the Tav. These are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet that govern the overall structure of God’s Wheel. They correspond to the Greek Alpha and Omega, by which the Lord God identified himself.  The Hebrew Tav denotes the axis or the cross around which the wheel revolves. The two letters Aleph and Tav combine to form the word Eth which when added to galgal is an anagram of the word Golgotha; this became the centre for God’s revelation to humanity.  There is still more……..

 As you digest this morning, think about God wonderful design which all started at Gilgal.

Read the references given: Joshua 5, 1Samuel 7, Psalm 40 and Isaiah 53.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | October 5, 2010

as we understand the consequences of enlisting in the army!

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
   “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Hebrews 12:5-8 NIV).

When Joshua set up the camp at Gilgal not everyone enlisted. Those who did not understand or could not buy into the vision stayed away or died in the wilderness. They lost their inheritance because of disobedience and or rebellion. Even though they were people of God they did not fulfil their potential or walk in their destiny. Once they were released from the clutches of the merciless Pharaoh all they did was complain, grumble and moan about the leader God had placed over them.

So we come to the camp of Gilgal. This is the place where the new generation is being trained to fight the enemy.  We fight the enemy not each other! All throughout their lives they have seen their ancestors rebel, bad mouth their leaders and disobey their God. It was now time to make a separation. It was not time to CUT AWAY THE FLESH.

The first thing that Joshua did after setting up the camp was to circumcise them, that is, he cut away the flesh. This signified that they had made a new agreement /covenant with their God.

How is this significant for us? Let me say this, unless we cut away the flesh, that is, we stop looking at things through our natural eyes, we will not be able to see where God is taking us. Let me explain what I mean. God wants to bless us bless us. He is waiting to pour out and lavish on is all that he has in store for us. However, he cannot do it because we do not have the capacity to receive it. Look at it like this, would you give a ten year old £1000 for his pocket money? Or give a mortgage to someone who has never held down a job? Similarly God will not give his blessing to those who are undisciplined or will not come under the spiritual authority of the leader he has placed over them.

Today let us ask the Lord to open our eyes and remember that discipline is learning, and as a learner you must follow the leader!

Read Joshua 5:8 & Hebrews 12:5-12.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | October 4, 2010

As we reposition ourselves at Gilgal

And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.  He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’  tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. ‘He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:20-24 NIV).

For the month of October I will be focussing on the significance of Gilgal and its relevance for us today. The first instance of Gilgal in scripture is found in Joshua 4 and is the place where he set up camp for the soldiers of Israel before they marched on Jericho to take possession of the Promised Land. He gathered twelve stones and built an altar to commemorate the greatness of God who had just parted the Jordon River so that they could cross over.

Have a memorial of the past, don't live in the past!

As the people of God, there must be a time in our lives when we cross over from the past and all the negatives that it presented to us and move onto our Gilgal. It is here that we remember the goodness of our God and recognise that it is he who gives victory to those who are obedient to his calling. Gilgal became a camp for the fighting men of Israel. And as we shall see as we dig deeper into this wonderful resource that God has given us,  training is essential for all those who want to walk into their destiny.

 No soldier who enlists in the army and is placed on the front line immediately.

 All soldiers must undertake the necessary training programmes and must be kept up to date with the latest development in weaponry.

 All soldiers must be under authority; those fighting a spiritual battle must be under spiritual authority.

Discipline is essential.

Obedience is a vital prerequisite.

It is at Gilgal that training occurs and the individual is prepared to go forward and take possession of his or her destiny. The altar reminds us that there is no going back. The river of God has washed away the past and we now look to the future trusting that God who brought us out of bondage in ‘Egypt’ will lead us on to our Promised Land.

Today the disgrace of the past has been rolled away if allow our leaders to train us!

Read Joshua 4 & 5 and research Gilgal.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | September 4, 2010

Words to live by as we remember that God always keep his promises

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you (Joshua 23:14 &15 NIV).

He will lead you to green pastures

The Lord always keeps his promises. Is this is still applicable today? During the time of Joshua and Moses God made promises to his people as recounted in Joshua 24.  Almost 400 years before the birth of Moses and even before the birth of Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise, God told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land where they would be oppressed (Gen 15:13). 430 years later God raises up Moses and along with Aaron, Joshua, Caleb and about 600,000 – 1m people they are delivered from the hand of their oppressors and journey towards to land of promise to worship Yahweh their deliverer.

God did deliver the descendants of Abraham and he did bring them to the Promised Land. In fact, he gave them land for which they did not labour, towns which they did not build and fruit, vineyards and olive groves which they did not plant (Josh 24:13).

According to this narrative, God has kept his promises. However there is a caveat, were they to turn from following God and follow other gods, then all the blessings would turn to curses and once again they would be under oppression. So Joshua warns the people and makes this declaration, which is a declaration that I want to make and I recommend that all those who are serious about God make.

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14+15 NLT).

Serve the Lord wherever he has placed you, but do so with understanding.

Read Joshua 23&24.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | August 27, 2010

Prophetic words to live by as we set aside a place of refuge for those who make mistakes

Then the LORD said to Joshua: “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood (Joshua 20:1-3 NIV).

He restores me soul

Within our fellowships there must be places where those who have done wrong can go to be restored.  The fact that our God is compassionate allows for him to cater for those who do the wrong things accidentally and are condemned for it. This is an exhibition of mercy. In most of our economy we have no such concept of mercy. Once the wrong has been committed the penalty for that wrong must be paid, and for a charge of manslaughter or murder, it is often death.

For us in our day we need a place where those who wittingly or unwittingly wound people with their actions or their tongues to be restored. This does not mean that there should be no discipline, on the contrary part of the discipline is the process of restoration, where the offended and the offender is given a grace period to repent and to be restored. Because our God abounds in steadfast love (Psalm 145) his remit is to see people delivered, revived restored and set free to fulfil their purposes.

Today even if you have made a mistake and have been ostracised by your community, God still yearns to forgive and restore you. So stay a while in the place of refuge, be healed and then step by step find your way back home to the arms of father God!

Read Joshua 20

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Posted by: pastorapbell | August 22, 2010

Prophetic words to live by as we pinch ourselves to realise that we are also included!

There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord has given you?” (Joshua 18:2&3 NRSV).

Gos has made provision

As descendants from a people who were enslaved, it is very difficult for some of us to realise that God has made provision for us. He made promises to us and he constantly reminds us of those promises and that he is faithful to fulfil them. Like the Israelites, the slavery mindset is still troubling so of us. They were battling with the fact that God had already gone ahead and put fear into the hearts of the current occupiers. It is God’s intention that his children enjoy that best and benefit from the land Now!

If you are one of those who wonder if God can, let me encourage you to think again. We are reminder by our brother and apostle Paul, that God can and will do immeasurably, abundantly more than we can think or imagine if we put our trust in him (Eph 3:20).

Today whatever God has put in your heart to do, he will confirm it and then all you have to do is…..Just do it.

Write down the plans God gave you and start to pray them into being. It will come to pass.

Read Joshua 18 & 19.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | August 18, 2010

Prophetic words to live by as we understand the significance of Gilgal.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day (Joshua 5:9 NIV).

enlist in the army at Gilgal

I have gone back to this since we need to understand the significance of Gilgal and the prophetic relevance for us today. Earlier in the month we spoke about the circumcision that occurred at Gilgal and how for us who follow Jesus it is our mind that needs to be circumcised. The act of circumcision is cutting a covenant. At Gilgal we are called to renew our covenant of commitment to the Lord. Joshua called the New Generation to make a fresh commitment to the Lord by cutting away from them the reproach of Egypt. After the ‘shame’, ‘low self-esteem’ and rejection of the things of God was removed then the healing process could begin.

Later on in the history of Israel Gilgal became part of the circuit that Samuel visited. Starting from Bethel, the house of God, then unto Gilgal, the camp of God and unto Mizpah, the watch tower and finally Ramah his home, from where he Judged all Israel.

So Gilgal is a place of new beginnings where the sin of slavery has been removed from us. It is also a place where the shame of being in slavery and in relationships that were not Godly can be rectified. It was also a place where Joshua set up his camp and from where he went out to fight the enemies of Israel.

Gilgal is also a wheel or a round object in Hebrew. It is the root word from which Golgotha the place where Jesus was crucified is derived. It was at Golgotha that the reproach for all humanity was removed as Jesus, who knew no sin became sin for us.

Today let us understand the significance of Gilgal as the camp where soldiers are trained and let us remember that the reproach has been rolled away so that we can walk in newness of life because we have made a commitment to serve the Lord for the rest of our lives. Enlist in the army and obey the commands that God is issuing to his generals.

Read Joshua 5

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Posted by: pastorapbell | August 18, 2010

Prophetic words to live by as we fulfil the promises of the Lord in our time

The allotment for the tribe of Judah, clan by clan, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south (Joshua 15:1 NIV).

Moses walked so that we can fly

Moses dreamt about the land and possessing it. Joshua walked all over it so that we as the New Generation who have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus can possess the whole earth. The land was very significant in the days of old. And today people are still killing each other over land/real estate/properties. For us as Christians Jesus has expanded the ‘land’ beyond the confines of Canaan to the whole earth. Yes we need somewhere to live and rest our head but our greatest desire now is to see the earth covered with the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 6:3).

During the middle ages Christians used this zeal to disposes many natives from their land and used the scripture to enslave those who they thought were inferior. In fact once the monetary rewards from subjugating others was realised a Pope made slavery acceptable for Christians to do until this was changed after the reformation and after many uprisings among slaves.

Judah possessed one of the largest parts of the physical land in his day. They were the nations of Praise. For us today however, although we may not be from the largest tribe or have the prestige of others, once we are faithful to the cause and can fulfil the mandate that God has given us, we will possess the land where we are, and in doing so will allow His kingdom to come and His will to be done.

Read Joshua 16

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Posted by: pastorapbell | August 17, 2010

Prophetic words to live by as we wholeheartedly follow the Lord

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly‘ (Joshua 14:7-9 NIV).

do everything wholeheartedly

After 40 years wandering around the wilderness waiting for the rebellious people to die out, Caleb eventually got his inheritance and the land promised to his tribe. He put this down to following the Lord wholeheartedly. There is a lesson for us all here. This was no quick fix thing. Caleb and Joshua were part of the team that went to ‘spy’ out the land. Whilst 8 of them reported that the land was good but was occupied by giants, Caleb and Joshua also reported that the Land was good and that the Israelites were more than capable of taking the land from the giants who occupied it.

They gave and honest report and were up for the fight since they knew the God always kept his promises. Forty years had rolled by now that the doubters had all perished in the wilderness. The only survivors were Caleb one of the oldest men at 85 and Joshua the prophetic progressive leader.

Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise that Moses made to him and at 85 wanted the most difficult terrain for his people to possess. He said this: “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said”(vv11&12).

Today we need people with this Caleb anointing to fight the giants in our land! The giants of sexual immorality; greed and the pervasive media industry, let us destroy them and drive them from among us!

Read Joshua 15

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