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-- © GodSpeak International 2004 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from <copyright@godspeak.org> --

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES
Author: Teresa Seputis ts@godspeak.net http://www.godspeak.net
Editor: Kevin Nolan

Are You Part Of
The Joshua Generation?

Lesson 8
Walking In Victory
Memorials and Renewing Covenants

By Teresa Seputis

Once God releases us into our destiny, we spend the rest of our life walking it out. So let's look at how we can walk out our destiny in victory.

Building Memorials

Joshua chapters 3 and 4 convey the story of when God parted the River Jordan for Joshua just like He had parted the Red Sea for Moses. This was an incredible faith-producing miracle for the Children of Israel. Many of them had not been alive at the parting of the Red Sea, and most of those who were alive back then were too young to understand what was happening. They had heard testimonies of the mighty delivering power of God from their parents, but most of them had not seen it with their own eyes. Now God showed the same miracle to this new generation because He wanted to build their faith and show them His power.

This miracle also had personal significance for Joshua. This was the first time that God moved through Him the same way He had moved through Moses. This made it real to him that he really would operate with the same power and anointing that Moses had. Think of what a confidence builder that must have been for Joshua. It was a milestone in Joshua's life and ministry.

Part of the reason that God asked them to collect stones from the river to build a memorial was because He never wanted Joshua to forget how God had moved though Him. God wanted that to be very real to Joshua, and He wanted to build confidence in him. So God gave Joshua and the people a tangible reminder of what He had done. God knew that reminder would help them have more faith and confidence in Him as they faced future problems. They could remember what God had done in the past and how He displayed His power and glory. That would give them confidence that God is able to help them in whatever difficulty they faced. Look at Joshua 4:5-7, 20-24:

5and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."

20And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?" 22then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; 23for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever."

The memorial that they built served as a constant reminder of what God did that day. Any time they felt battle weary or discouraged, they could go back and remind themselves of how wonderfully God had moved in their lives. The memorial was intended to sustain the faith that God released in their hearts when they crossed the Jordan. They had seen and experienced God's power in their lives, and God wanted them to remember that.

God also wanted their children to know about what He had done for them, so the memorial was also intended as a physical testimony. When people who did not know the story saw the memorial, they would ask about it and they would be told the testimony of what God had done.

We are warriors in God's army, and there will be times that we need that same type of reminder of God's power and faithfulness. The enemy of our souls works hard to breed doubt into our hearts, he will try to make us question our calling. There will be times that we need to build our own personal memorials to remind ourselves of the things that God has already done in our life. There are many different ways we can do this.

Some people journal as an attempt to remind themselves of what God has done. Others keep photo albums. Others collect some type of momento from a significant event. For instance, I was part of the ministry team for the first ever renewal conference in Russia in 1996. It was called "Moscow Catch the Fire" and Randy Clark was the main speaker. God showed up and did some incredible things as we prayed for people there. After the conference was over, the team went shopping so we could buy souvenirs that would remind us of Russia and of what God did there. I bought this little hand-painted wooden box, which sits on a shelf in my living room. Whenever I look at it, it reminds me of all the amazing things God did in Russia.

Another way that people build memorials is to keep and review the prophecies that God gives them. Some have a collection of audio tapes that they go back and listen to. Others transcribe the prophecies and print them out and keep them in a binder. Others keep them as files on their computer that they can bring up and access any time they want to. From time to time, they review the prophecies to remind themselves of what God has promised them and of what He has done/said at key points in their lives. And this breathes life into them when they are feeling weary or discouraged.

The way that I keep most of my memorials is by writing testimonies of significant things God does in my life. I to put them on the GodSpeak webpage, because other people seem to enjoy reading them. (My friend Karen hand writes her testimonies into those hardcover journaling books. She also writes out things that God says to her. She has a collection of about 30 of these journal books. She goes back and rereads portions of them when she is feeling discouraged.)

From time to time, I find myself in a desert experience or in the midst of great trials. It is very easy for me to become discouraged or to want to disqualify myself at those times. One of the ways I build my faith, (e.g., encourage myself) is by reading some of my testimonies. I do this to remind myself of what God has done for me, and of how good and how powerful He is.

Let me share an example. One time I was doing a 40 day fast and it was not going well. I did not feel very spiritual or close to God, I was hungry and grouchy and all I could think about was this pizza I had seen in a commercial. I came very close to giving up on the fast and I wondered why on earth I was even fasting. Then Satan started playing mind games with me. For a little while, he got me wondering if God was real or just a figment of my imagination. I felt so discouraged and defeated, so I went to my webpage and read some of my testimonies. I had temporarily forgotten about most of these stories until I read them on the page. They really encouraged me and reminded me of God's goodness, faithfulness and power. I stopped thinking about the pizza or the physical hunger, and I began to focus on God. Faith welled up within me as I reminded myself of powerful things that God had done in my life and the discouragement broke off of me. I did not break the fast and God met me in some amazing ways over the rest of the fast. These "memorials" had sustained me during a difficult time when my faith was weak.

I am firmly convinced that each of us needs to keep some sort of reminder of the significant things that God does in our lives, just like Joshua and the children of Israel did. It will serve as a strength and encouragement to us when the going gets tough.

Renewing Our Covenant With God

Joshua 5 contains the story of how the second generation was circumcised. Their fathers had been circumcised in Egypt, but for some reason they never circumcised the children who were born in the desert (Joshua 5:5). So God told Joshua to circumcise them to renew their covenant with Him (Joshua 5:2).

I think this is a prophetic acting out of many of our own spiritual walks with God. The circumcision represents our commitment to God. At first we start out deeply committed, just like the men who were circumcised in Egypt. But as we go about our walk and we end up in "desert experiences," God can feel distant or "far away." We can lose our zeal for the Lord and get caught up in our day-to-day life. We get so busy in our lives that we put a lower priority on God and our relationship with Him. This is similar to how the parents did not circumcise their baby boys as they wandered through the desert.

God was about to send that original Joshua generation to fight to possess their promised land. He planned to go with them and to give them great victory. But before they went, God asked them to renew their covenant with Him. At that time the covenant was circumcision, and it was a very painful and nontrivial thing for an adult male to be circumcised. But they wanted to be in right relationship with God, so they renewed their covenant with Him.

As believers and members of God's army, we do not live in the supernatural 100% of the time. There are seasons where God moves powerfully and there are what I call the "slow times" where God does not meet us in a tangible way -- we simply go about our day-to-day lives. I think that God gives us these times on purpose: He gave life to us as a gift and He wants us to live it and to enjoy this gift. There are times when God will use us strongly for His purposes. There are also times when He gives us a break and does not seem to be doing significant things in our lives. Sometimes He just wants to give us a rest so we are not weary. Other times He wants us to enjoy our lives and gives us some "time off" to do just that.

Of course, God expects us to stay in intimacy with Him during these slow times through prayer and worship and personal devotions. But sometimes those slow times drag on for a while, where God does not seem to meet us in any tangible way. At first we are hungry for God and cry out to Him. But over time, we begin to wane in our enthusiasm for God. We start doing the day-to-day life things (like watching TV, chatting on the Internet or playing computer games) instead of reading our Bible or praying. And we grow a bit cold. We still love God and we are still dedicated to serving Him, but we feel dry or carnal. God may leave us there for a while, but then He will meet us to pull us out of it.

As the slow season draws to a close, God begins to meet us in tangible ways again and to work His glory in our lives. If we have grown a bit cold during the slow season, He will usually ask us to recommit to Him. It may be a recommitment to His Lordship, where we choose to obey Him no matter what He asks. Or it may be a recommitment to serving Him instead of pursuing our own agenda. Sometimes there is a big price tag associated with the recommitment and we have to give up something we really don't want to give up or do something we really don't want to do. We may struggle with it for a while, But we end up choosing to obey God in it because we love Him. We renew our commitment to God. That is one type of "renewing of a covenant" with God.

There is another type. It is more of a regular reminding yourself of a commitment you made to God and a renewed decision to continue in it. That type of thing usually happens out of a good place with God, when we feel close to Him.

Personally I have three covenants with God, one with each member of the Trinity. For instance, I have a covenant with the Holy Spirit: I will do my best to cooperate with Him as He works in me to transform me into someone who He enjoys living inside of. God asked me to enter into a "formal covenant" with Him in that area; He has His part and I have My part. From time to time I remind myself of these covenants and recommit to keep my part.

The Holy Spirit invited me into the covenant with Him as I was driving. It happened at an intersection that I drive through several times a week. Each time I pass that spot, it reminds me of how the Holy Spirit brought me into covenant with Him. And each time I drive through that intersection, I pray to renew my covenant with Him. Once again I commit to do my best to cooperate with Him as He works within me to transform me.

You may not have any formal covenants with God, but I bet you have some agreements with Him. There are things you expect of God and you know that there are things He expects of you. From time to time, you should remind yourself of those things and make a fresh commitment to God about them. The more you remind yourself of those commitments and goals, the easier it is to stay on target with them.


-- © GodSpeak International 2004 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from <copyright@godspeak.org> --

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