The Power To Change

Since We Have These Promises

Pastor John Talcott
Christ's Community Church

Read Part 1

(10/8) We are continuing our message series "The Power to Change" looking at what God’s word says about how we change and how that applies to our habits. As we learn to apply these truths, mastering the habits that matter most and cutting off the habits that are not helpful, I believe it’s going to be a life changing, life transforming series. And so, as we kick things off this morning, would you go to Joshua chapter five, and we’re going to read verse one through fifteen.

"Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites" (Joshua 5:1).

"At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth" (Joshua 5:2-3).

God is about to set them free, cleansing their hearts from the grief of Moses death, but also cleansing their hearts from the residual effect of Egypt. The reproach that has passed from generation to generation, and he gives Joshua this responsibility, and he has to do it with a flint knife. Verse four says,

"Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt — all the men of military age — died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not" (Joshua 5:4-5).

"The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So, he raised up their sons in their place" (Joshua 5:6-7).

In other words, that which he had for the father’s he gave to the sons because of their disobedience. He passed over that generation, and dropped it on the next generation.

"So, he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way" (Joshua 5:7).

And so, now the chosen ones, the elect of God are bleeding, but they’re blessed, because they have been traveling, moving along, progressing uncircumcised. Now there in pain, but they’re blessed, because they could only go so far before God had to correct what had been previously left uncorrected.

You see, in order to walk in the promise, they had to walk in covenant with God. That’s why the Bible says,

"Since we have these promises… let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Because as believers he has set us apart from the world, and so he said, "I’ve got to get some flesh cut out of the way." In fact, this is what God said to Abraham,

"This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10).

But the sons of Israel had been wandering, traveling through the wilderness uncircumcised, just like a lot of us move along through life, but that doesn’t mean that God is pleased. In fact, Jesus said it this way,

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:21-23).

In other words, just because you’re using the right words, just because you’re making progress, just because you’re moving doesn’t mean that God is pleased, because they were moving in an uncircumcised fashion. And so, sooner or later it’s going to catch up to you, which is why God says I’ve got to fix this. In fact, look what the Holy Spirit said in Colossians chapter two. He said, in Christ, in the Church,

"In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ" (Colossians 2:11).

And so, God commands Joshua to take things in his own hands before they settle in the promised land, before they receive the promise, because they are not in covenant. In other words, Joshua had to cut some flesh out of the way because they were too worldly and needed to be set apart in true righteousness and holiness. And so, verse eight says,

"After the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed" (Joshua 5:8).

This is interesting because it was God who told them when to move out and went to make camp. Now, he stopped everything to allow them time to be healed, because he didn’t want them serving in pain, wounded, and bleeding. In other words, God wants you to be healed and to recover so that he can get the fullness out of your life.

"Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you" (Joshua 5:9a).

In other words, the stain, the residue, the curse of Egypt had been rolled away. Even though they weren’t born in it, even though they were born along the way, born in the wilderness, they still carried the reproach of Egypt. They weren’t in Egypt, they weren’t from Egypt, but the reproach of Egypt was still on them. The sons were defiled by the residue of their father’s experience and so the Lord covenanted with them and rolled away the reproach of Egypt.

After this event the place was called Gilgal, meaning a rolling away or completely rolling off.

"So, the place has been called Gilgal to this day" (Joshua 5:9b).

Because it was there in that place that God completely rolled off the reproach of his people. It was in Gilgal that Joshua circumcised all the males, this was a fortified camp, and it was there…

"On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover" (Joshua 5:10).

Now the Israelites have transitioned from moaning and groaning, to celebration. The book of Joshua is a book of transition, a book of change, because it comes right after the death of Moses. And so, for Joshua and the Israelites, this is a time of transition, a time of change, so that they might discover who they are beyond Moses.

The book of Joshua signifies the end of grieving, the end of the old and the beginning of something new. It’s a benediction to what was and the birthing of what shall be; for the Lord had said to Joshua,

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you" (Joshua 1:5).

And now, God has anointed Joshua to possess the gates of his enemies, he would carry the mantle of the Lord, the anointing that was on Moses has come to rest upon him, because it was Joshua who would lead the people to inherit the land.

"You will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them" (Joshua 1:6).

But sometimes experiencing real breakthrough, real deliverance, truly getting free can be a messy and painful experience. And in this day and age, we are just too dignified, too self-righteous to roll around on the floor crying out to God, but real deliverance, true freedom is going to cost you something. It’s going to require some bloodshed, some pain, some swelling and suffering before you heal.

Nobody wants to hear that today, because we live in a generation where everybody wants to feel good. And so, if you’re not feeling good here, you leave and go to another church, but the truth is if you keep worrying about feeling good, you’re never going to get better. Because sometimes in order to get better, you’ve got to cut it off and you’re going to have to bleed a little bit. In other words, you’re going to have to experience some pain and some swelling so that you can get the breakthrough you really need. That’s what the New Testament tells us, that in Christ,

"In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature" (Colossians 2:11).

In other words, there must be a cutting away done by Christ, done by the Spirit of the living God, giving you the power to change and live a new life.

And so, I’m not going to keep chasing after you, begging you to come back, because you’ve got the power to change. And when you believe that, when you begin to profess that you’ve got the power to change, demons begin to tremble, hell gets nervous, and hexes are broken, because Christ is in you and he said,

"I lay down my life… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again" (John 10:17-18).

And so, if you’re born again, if Christ is in you, you’ve got the authority, and you’ve got the power to change.

Someone here is believing that they have the power to change right now and the Holy Spirit is moving, giving you the power to change. In other words, you have the power to start or maybe you have the power to stop. But in John chapter eight, Jesus said,

"Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

You see, the truth is that you do what you do because of what you believe about yourself. It’s about your identity, and so when you question why you can’t change, why you still lose your temper, why you keep going back to the same bad habits again and again, if you want to change what you do, you need to change what you think about yourself.

In other words, for many of us it’s easier to believe the bad things about ourselves than it is to expect the good things. And the reason why is because your spiritual enemy, the devil, has been lying to you since the day you were born. In fact, Jesus said this about the devil, he said,

"There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).

And so, we’ve been lied to, we’ve been deceived, and we’ve heard the devil’s lies so much that it sounds like the truth. Some of you have become so accustomed to hearing the enemy tell you that you can’t change, that you’re not a real man of God or you’ll never be a good mom. Or maybe you’ll never overcome that debt, you’re always going to be addicted, you’re always going to be stuck. And it’s become easier, almost natural just to believe the lie, but the Bible says,

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ" (Colossians 2:8).

In other words, the devil is speaking through people, speaking through the world, and today it’s time to stop believing the lies, because you’ve got the power to change, and where God wants to take you there are some things that need to stop. And so, you may have been preprogrammed to believe the devil’s lies, but today the truth will set you free because the Holy Spirit wants to tell you who you are. I’m here today to declare to you the Word of God and the Bible says,

"You have been given fullness in Christ… In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature" (Colossians 2:10-11).

And so, if you’ve ever prayed wanting to know the will of God, he said it’s the putting off of the sinful nature, and you have the power and the ability because it is a circumcision done by Christ.

I remember when I surrendered to Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit, I used to drink all the time, but Jesus took away that desire. It was a circumcision done by Christ who said,

"Do not get drunk... Instead, be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

But here’s what happens, when you do something that you’re not proud of in a moment of weakness, the devil attacks your identity. He doesn’t tell you that you did something bad, he tells you that you are bad, you’re not worthy, you should be ashamed, and your pathetic hypocrite. He tells you; this is just the way you are, you’re a disappointment, you’re an addict, you’re a loser, and you’re never going to change.

But the truth is that you do have the power to change, the anointing of the Holy Spirit is on you, Jesus promised you the power. And so, change what you’re seeking, because if you want to change what you do, you begin by changing how you see yourself. The apostle Paul said it this way, this is how he identifies himself. He said,

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

In other words, as a follower of Christ the sinful nature is put off, cut away, it’s dead and crucified. And so, instead of focusing on what you want to do, you start with who you want to become, because it’s Christ living in you.

That means that we don’t start with the action, not with what we want to do, but we start with who we want to be, living by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. In other words, it’s focusing on having a Christ centered identity; because it’s Christ who we want to be like.

In fact, if you’ve been born again, the Bible says,

"Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29).

And so, it’s God’s will that we become like Jesus, giving us the motivation to spend time with him, to open up the Word of God, feeding our soul, and living a God honoring life. Every day that we do that, it reinforces our identity, and it strengthens who we are becoming in Christ. And the Bible says,

"We are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

And so, you want to be intentional in following Jesus, remaining pure, laying down your life, and as you do every step, every action you take is evidence of your new identity in Christ. But the moment you step out in faith believing that you can become who God wants you to become the devil is going to tell you that you can’t change, and that’s why the Bible reinforces this truth in Ephesians chapter four saying,

"Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21).

And so, you do what you do because what you think about yourself and your new identity in Christ is important, because verse twenty-two says,

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self" (Ephesians 4:22).

In other words, you cut it off, you throw it aside, because that’s not you anymore. You’ve been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you, and you were taught,

"To put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22).

And so, instead of believing the lies, even the deceitful desires, the Bible says,

"Be made new in the attitude of your minds" (Ephesians 4:23).

And so, you cut off the flesh, you put off the old self, and you let the Spirit of God renew your thoughts and attitudes. In Romans the Bible says it this way,

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

And when you believe who Jesus says you are, and you start to live how he says to live, it’s not so much about what you do as it is about who you are, because there’s been a renewing of the mind, a spiritual transformation, as verse twenty-four says,

"Putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

And so, as we close today, we are going to celebrate the fact that God has rolled away our reproach, casting off our sin and shame. And so, I want to ask you to reflect on this simple question, "Who are you?" And you might say like the apostle Paul,

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20, NLT).

And so, I want to remind you that you are not who the devil says you are, you are not who others say you are, you are not even who you think you are, but you are who God says you are. And the Word of God says if you have surrendered to Jesus and called on him, receiving his Spirit, you are born again, and you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old is gone and the new has come because you are a child of the living God who has been redeemed and forgiven through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. You have been called and chosen, set apart for the glory of God, and filled with the very same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave. That is the truth of who you are and the truth will set you free.

Read Part 3

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott