Date:  Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Day 42 of 180

How fitting that the sermon series during my stay in Taiwan would be on the Israelites conquest of Canaan.  What does this have anything to do with my time here in a foreign nation?  Well, imagine if you would that my years in high school and college up to and including my months in Taipei as my wilderness.  What is significant about this analogy is that like Israel, I’m being prepared and purified for the work that God has for me.  “Count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing,” James 1:2-4 (ESV).

For Israel the wilderness wasn’t just a time of punishment and pain, but it was a time where God could 1.) Raise up a generation fit and ready to inherit the land which He promised them; and 2.) Teach them skills and lessons that would be vital during their conquest:  steadfast faith and a worshipful attitude in the midst of pain and discomfort.  It was a time of testing and purification before He found that fit and ready to inherit the blessing He had prepared for them.  Now more than ever, I feel like I’m in the wilderness.  Add up the time in college and high school, and it feels like God has been preparing me for something glorious.  It all seems to be culminating now, but I’m not out yet.  God still has so much more to teach me now and through the next few years.  I know that after this time of preparation that my promise land will be more than I could even imagine or ask for.

Here are 5 key points that I gathered from Joshua 3-5:

1.)    It took 40 years of “wandering” in order to get them ready for this moment.  Sometimes God takes us through the wilderness of life—job insecurity, health complications, etc., yet all is for a purpose.  God is preparing us for an inheritance greater than all that we could ask or imagine.  We’re not on our own.  God is with us, molding us, shaping us, and preparing us for that moment of blessing.  We just need to learn a few lessons before we’re ready to receive it.  So trust and hope in the God who will give good gifts to His children because of the great love with which He has for us.
Step 1:  Bask in the love that God has for you.

2.)    Notice God’s intimate involvement in Israel’s preparation.  It is God who told them how and where to cross the Jordan, God told them how to setup the altar, God told them how to circumcise, etc.  Throughout the entire narrative account God is personally involved in the preparation process.  He is not distant.  He is not apathetic.  He lovingly cares for them.  He is careful to make sure they’re doing it right.  Only when they are really ready does He finally command them to enter.  But all along the way He is helping them get ready.
Step 2:  Marvel at God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

3.)    Preparation is not limited to just physical, mental, spiritual, or social aspects of the individual but involves a change of disposition affecting every part of the self.  The amazing thing is that we are not left to accomplish this change on our own.  God is responsible for the change.  God is with us, overseeing and guiding, as we change.
Step 3:  Watch in amazement as God is the one acting to prepare us for our inheritance He has prepared for us.

4.)    The importance of circumcision.  In the Biblical narrative circumcision has been used as an act of devotion of oneself to God in a Covenantal consecration.  It shows our devotion to faith, obedience, and reverence to God.  While today the meaning can be lost, by the obvious physical connotations, circumcision is still utterly important today:  a separation of oneself from fleshly desires and devotion to all that is beautiful and good with respect to the Cross of Christ.  Note that this heart-centered circumcision is not an act that we can do ourselves, but one that only Christ can do on the Cross.
Step 4:  Devote yourselves to faith and obedience to God’s Word, separating yourself from the world

5.)    Now for the most amazing part.  After all that has been done for us there is one more thing left to do before we can enjoy the inheritance:  earn it.  We still have a battle to win, a life to conquer.  But before you object, wait; even know God is watching over us.  We have a warrior sent to fight for us, bringing with Him the legions of Heaven—our Savior, Jesus Christ.  In the end, before we are about to set out to accept our inheritance, the Devil has one more objection:  humanity’s sinful reality.  It’s at this most desperate moment, when we have nothing to say for ourselves that Christ steps in and claims us as His own.  “That sinful, dirty, and smelly child is MINE.  I claimed and bought him when I went to the Cross.  The sin and guilt are MINE to bear, MINE to own.  He is sinless, guiltless.”  Clothed in righteousness and in his blood, we are finally allowed to enjoy the inheritance which God has prepared for us.
Step 5:  Worship the Holy Warrior, your Savior, who fought, who died, and who lives so that you might enjoy the riches of His glorious grace.

As you can imagine, this message was amazing.  It was one of those, “are you speaking directly to me,” moments when you think the pastor is directing his sermon to you alone.  Thank you God for the many blessings you have given me during my time here in Taipei.  Please keep me forever mindful of all that You have done, are doing, and will do.  You are amazing, help me never forget you love, you steadfast faithfulness, and grace which you continually pour out on me.  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

                                                                                Living towards a glorious and joyful inheritance,

                                                                                                                                        David Leong