Paul Daugherty - How to Lay Down What is Holding You Back
Summary
This sermon is all about "necessary endings" – God closing old chapters in our lives so He can open brand-new ones, just like He did with the Israelites at the Jordan River. Drawing from Joshua chapter 3, the preacher stresses that to step into God's promises for 2025, we must follow His presence, consecrate ourselves by cutting off old habits, sins, and attachments, and trust that the painful endings lead to healing and a fresh start. The bottom line: true breakthrough comes when we surrender everything at the altar today, because tomorrow God is ready to do great things.
Powerful Testimonies of Deliverance
Tell everyone your names! These are two mighty men of God, friends right here: Clayton Hunt and GR. What does this mean for you tonight, man?
“When Pastor Paul took over in 2013, my family and I were living here. We started coming to church here around 2017, and I always told Paul that if I was able to come back around this area, we were going to come to church. I work for a job that does fiber optic work, and we’re in Stillwater. I said, 'Hey, it’s our way; I want to go to church!' So we came to church a couple of times, then Jason decided to come with us on that Saturday that we came.
The pastor was talking about weeds to wheat, and we decided to get rid of some weeds that night. Come on, weeds! Come on, Jesus!
A Right-Now Salvation Moment
The next morning, like I told Pastor Paul, I texted him that Sunday morning. We both woke up that morning, and I walked outside. Y’all, I’ve been a pastor’s son; I’ve been in church all my life. But that doesn’t mean that sin does not come in, and the devil does not try to attack. He’s tried to attack me; he’s tried to attack my wife; he’s tried to attack my kids; he tried to attack my co-workers, my brothers, my friends. But that Saturday night, I wasn’t going to let him do that anymore.
That Sunday morning, we poured out alcohol that we had in the ice chest. We decided to start praying that morning when we woke up. We already knew we were going to do this, but we woke up this morning, and we’ve been having praise and worship all morning—from Victory Worship to whoever else.“
Come on, Jesus! And I’m going to tell you right now: if you haven’t made that decision to totally let God take control of your life, right now is the time! Yeah, right now. Right now! We’re getting too close for Jesus' return to be playing games—mind games, whatever kind of games is going on in your life. Let God deliver you from them right now! Come on, Jesus!
Jason, do you want to say anything?
“He pretty much said it all, but I tell you what: it’s been the best three months. I quit drinking; I even quit smoking! So come on, woo! Great! God’s good! God is good! Church, can we celebrate not just their sobriety but God’s deliverance? Thank you, Jesus! Everybody say, 'Right now!'
Calling People to the Altar
I love what he said. He said, “Right now is the time!“ Right now is the time! I don’t know who that word is for, but I felt it in this service. It’s a right-now salvation moment for somebody. If that’s you, I want you to just leave your seat, come down to the altar. It’s a right-now salvation moment! You are done with sin; you are done with the past! We want to celebrate!
I’m not even going to preach for a second. If that word is for you, if you are in a right-now salvation moment, leave your seat! Heads up, eyes open! This is a day of salvation; this is a day of new beginnings! You are done with the old you; you are done with the past. Thank you, Jesus! Somebody say, “Right now! Right now! Right now! Right now!“ Come on, we’re going to wait! There are more coming from the back! It’s a right-now moment!
I am done with this; I’m done with the devil; I’m done with the mind games; I’m done with all the darkness. I’m ready for Jesus; I’m ready for his light; I’m ready for his salvation; I’m ready to repent! I’m ready to receive his grace! I want to be saved; I want to give my life to Jesus; I want to live for Jesus!
Church, it’s a right-now moment! It’s a right-now moment! It’s a right-now moment! Today is the day of salvation! Today is the day of salvation! You don’t even need to hear a sermon to get saved! Just give your heart to Jesus! Just a testimony will do it—thank you, Jesus!
A New Day and New Beginning
Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Lord, that it’s a new day for this family! It’s a new day for you! It’s a new day for you! It’s a new day; it’s a new beginning! God’s giving you closure today on the past! He’s saying you don’t even need to go back. Don’t go looking for it. Remember Lot’s wife! Don’t even look back! He says it’s closed; that chapter is done! Today’s a new day; it’s a new beginning!
I hear God saying, lay down all the stuff you’ve been holding on to—the strongholds, the addictions. Pour it all out, just like you heard from Clayton and Jason! Throw it all on the altar! Get rid of all the weeds that have been messing in your garden, choking out the life in you—in Jesus’ name!
I’m going to lead us into a prayer of salvation. Let’s all pray this together.
Say, “Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sins, and I repent. I receive your forgiveness. I’m done with the old ways! I want your way, your salvation, your grace! Change me, Jesus! Save me, Jesus! Be my Lord and Savior!
I believe you rose from the grave, and I believe because you rose from the grave that I have resurrection power! My best days are not behind me; they’re right in front of me, and you’re just getting started! God, this is going to be my year of victory! In Jesus’ name, amen.“
If you believe it, say, “Amen!“ Church, come on! It’s a right-now moment! Man, that is powerful! Y’all inspired me today! Yeah, right now! Right now! Right now!
I love every single one of y’all! Some incredible people right there! Some incredible people!
Victory Confession
I’m going to get right into the message, but a divided world needs a united church. So, we’re going to lift each other’s hands up on our left and on our right. Liam, come join me!
In a world that speaks death, we need a church that speaks life! So on the count of three, let’s say this victory confession! The words are on the screen. Here we go—1, 2, 3! I’m here on purpose because I have a purpose! My heart is open; my mind is ready to receive because God is not finished with me yet! My best days are right in front of me, and I have victory in my life because Jesus lives in me! Come on! Woo! Man, what a moment!
All right! I want to preach to you today on necessary endings. If you got a Bible, go to Joshua chapter 3. Woo! Verse one.
Necessary Endings in Joshua 3
Joshua 3:1, and Joshua was getting ready to step into the promised land. The truth is, we all have necessary endings in our lives where God is closing a chapter and starting something new and fresh. Every necessary ending is an invitation to a beautiful new beginning. You know, the ending of 2024 is ushering in the beginning of 2025. The ending of one four-year term of a president ushers in the next four-year term. There are necessary endings!
I hear the Lord saying, if you look in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you see moments of necessary endings where God was birthing something new, something fresh. God was getting his church ready for a future promise, and he was taking us into a new season.
In Joshua 3:1, early the next morning, Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing. They were camped right at the promised land. They had been waiting for 40 years! They had wandered in the wilderness.
A little Bible background context: the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. They were slaves under Pharaoh, and they were treated harshly. They would get whipped every time they didn’t do something the Egyptians asked them. Then God sends Moses. Moses tells Pharaoh, “Let my people go!“ Moses went through a whole list of plagues and all kinds of things, and God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt.
As they were going to go into the promised land, there were some people who grumbled and complained. They said, “We can’t do it! We’re too small! We look like grasshoppers in the eyes of the enemies that camp in the promised land!“ So they got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. They wandered in the wilderness waiting for their next season. They were out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn’t out of them. They had carried a lot of the shame and reproach and the feelings of sadness from what they had walked through; it was still sitting on them.
Following the Ark of the Covenant
Here we are in this moment. Moses has died; Joshua and all the Israelites are ready for the next season. Forty years have passed; they’ve been in the wilderness. They’re camped on the other side of the Jordan, and then they start getting instructions. Three days later, the Israelites’ officers go up through the camp and begin to tell the Israelites, “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant—when you see them carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God.“
The Ark of the Covenant represented the Word of God; they didn’t have Bibles back then. The Ark of the Covenant was their Bible. It held the Ten Commandments; it held the words spoken from God to Moses. The Ark contained the instruments, the symbols of the glory of God. The Ark represented the presence of God! By the way, I’m preaching!
If you’re waiting for me to preach, note-takers are history makers, world changers, culture shapers, so the Ark of the Covenant represented the Word of God, the presence of God, the direction of God, the guidance of God, and the Holy Spirit of God flowing with the people. So they said, “Follow the Ark! When you see the Ark of the Covenant move out from your positions, follow the Ark, follow the Word!“
This is not a year to follow the fear of man! This is not a year to follow the opinions of people! This is not a year to follow the money or where your friends go! This is a year to follow the Word of God! He says, “Get behind that Ark!“
And he says, “Here’s why!“ Verse four: “Because you have never traveled this way before! They will guide you! Stay about a half-mile behind them.“ So he said, “Be close, but not so close that you’re stepping on their heels.“ My kids like to get right up on my heels, stepping on my feet. I’m like, “Come on! Just give me a little bit of space!“
But he says, “Give some space, but stay close! Follow that Ark! Don’t lose track of it! Don’t get ahead of God, and don’t get so far behind God! Stay right close to God! Let Him lead you; let Him guide you this year!“
Consecrate Yourselves
Then in verse five, he says, “Consecrate yourselves!“ Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow—tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love you, tomorrow! You’re only a day away! Oh, tomorrow! Okay, we can’t sing tomorrow; we don’t have time for that. But here’s what God was saying: He was saying tomorrow is going to be incredible!
Tomorrow great things are about to happen! Church, it’s the beginning of something that you’ve been dreaming about for 40 years! Joshua, you’ve dreamed of the promised land! You’ve dreamed of the Jericho grapes! You’ve dreamed of what Canaan would look like! It’s the beginning of something new! It’s the beginning of something fresh!
But you can’t step into the new thing until you consecrate yourself. Consecration—let’s talk about consecration. Consecration means to set apart; it means to separate something for a sacred purpose. When we moved into this Worship Center, it was the beginning of a new era. We had been renting the Mabee Center across the street at Oral Roberts University for 25 years; our church was mobile!
But when we moved into this Worship Center, we had a consecration night, or a dedication night. It was a night where we declared, and we consecrated this room. We said, “This room will be used for the glory of God!“ On March 4, 2007, we marched forth into this building, and we began to worship and pray and consecrate this room!
This room will be used for the glory of God! For the presence of God! We won’t hold secular concerts and secular things! This is going to be a sacred house! This is going to be a house where the Word of God is exalted, where Jesus is lifted up, where people find restoration and healing and hope and forgiveness and grace! What were we doing? We were consecrating it! We were saying, “God, this belongs to you!“
You know, you can consecrate your life to God at any moment. You can say, “I am done living for the world!“ You heard it in the testimony earlier from Clayton when he said, “I was tired of living for myself!“ He said, “I was a pastor’s kid, but sin showed up at my door. Sin doesn’t discriminate against anybody! Evil shows up! Darkness! Temptation shows up!“ And he said, “I gave in to it! Man, I was doing all the things I wanted to do until I decided, 'I’m done living for sin!'“
What was he doing? He was bringing a necessary ending to the way things had been in his life. Paul the Apostle said this in 1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.“
Growing Up and Putting Away Childish Things
I grew up! Too many people have the Peter Pan syndrome where we want to stay in Neverland! “I don’t want to grow up! I’m a Toys 'R' Us kid!“ Rest in peace, Toys 'R' Us! But I love Toys 'R' Us! I mean, I was like 13, still wanting to go to Toys 'R' Us on 71st and Memorial by Woodland Hills Mall where it used to sit! I’d go to Chuck E. Cheese. My mom was like, “You’re getting a little too old for Chuck E. Cheese and Toys 'R' Us.“ I’m like 16 years old! Can we go back to Toys 'R' Us? She’s like, “Paul, you need to grow up! It’s time to leave Neverland!“
Peter Pan: “I don’t want to grow up!“ Growing up is the most boring thing ever! Come to find out, growing up is the greatest adventure of all, because in growing up, you lose some childish, selfish mindsets. When I was in elementary school, transitioning to middle school, there were changes happening; relationships were shifting. From middle school to high school, there were changes, necessary endings, puberty was coming in, and praise God for all the different changes that come with that!
Then from high school to college, the shifts and the transitions and the necessary endings of mindsets. So often, we’re thinking about what on the outside needs to end when we should be thinking about what on the inside needs to end. Where are there attitudes that I have been clinging to—things that God is asking me to consecrate, to give to him?
So the Israelites, they make an altar. That word “altar“ is mentioned 400 times in the Bible. I think this year is a year to make altars great again! Tell that person next to you: “Make altars great again!“ Too many churches have thrown out altar calls! At this church, we still do altar calls every single week! Come on! This is a year to make altars great again!
We want people to consecrate themselves to God! This is not a year to make America great again. This is a year to make Jesus Lord of your life again! This is a year to say, “God, I’m surrendering all to you! I want to live for you! I want to end everything in me that’s holding me back from the promises that you’ve called me to step into!“
Consecration Precedes Elevation
So they do; they consecrate, and then God does a miracle. Consecration precedes elevation. If you want to see God promote you, it’s going to start with surrender! Humiliation is preparation for acceleration toward your destination! But humiliation is consecration; it’s not a high thing to get low! Consecration is where you humble yourself and say, “God, I repent of all the attitudes and mindsets and sins and selfish desires that I have clung to, and I consecrate myself to you!
Lord, I say I want to be a pure vessel for you! God, I want you to do something fresh in me! Do a Genesis work in my heart!“ And God opens the Jordan River, and the Israelites cross over, and they have all this momentum in Joshua chapter 5.
Watch this: everyone starts hearing what God has done for Israel! So it was when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross over. Everybody lost heart and was paralyzed with fear!
Momentum! Woo! Momentum! If there was ever a time to just charge into Jericho, it was right now! They had all the momentum! Everybody was afraid; everybody was discouraged! Israel had all the fire! I mean, literally every team was forfeiting the game; they could just walk in and take over! But watch what God does in verse two!
At that moment of momentum, the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives!“ I got a knife with me today. This is a scary knife! This is a knife you would see in a horror movie right here! At first, you’re like, “Make flint knives? Woo! Weapons! Let’s go!“
Make flint knives to take down Jericho? No! God says, “Make flint knives to circumcise the second generation of Israelites!“ Now, when I first read that, I didn’t know what circumcision was. As a kid, my parents didn’t tell me what it was. I was in eighth grade when my teacher was talking about circumcision and the principles of circumcision, and I was like, “People kept saying—what is circumcision?“
And she goes, “Paul, I’m glad you asked! It’s when a knife is taken to the—“ I’m not going to say it here because there are kids in the room, my kids included. So, I’m not going to talk about it right now; I’ll tell you later, Liam.
But here’s the point! Here’s the point! Track with me, guys! This was not a comfortable moment! Circumcision hurts! There will be blood! Make flint knives, and circumcise all the Israelites of the second generation!
So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and he circumcised the sons of Israel. So I want all the men to come up to the front! No, I’m just kidding! I’m kidding!
I shouldn’t have said that. Y’all are like, “This message is way too much! I’m leaving!“ It’s PG-13—it’s R! We’re going!
Circumcision of the Heart
But here’s what we need to be thinking аbout: not external circumcision! Circumcision is about the cut! But Paul says in Romans 2:29, there’s a more important circumcision. He says this: “A true Jew is one whose heart is right with God!“
And in Romans 2:29, he says, “True circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law.“ You can obey the letter of the law, but your heart is far from God! I mean, that was the Pharisees, the religious leaders! Jesus said, “Be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees!“ They follow the external letter of the law, but internally, their heart is so corroded! There’s so much junk around it!
And he says, “Real circumcision is circumcision of the heart! It’s a change of the heart; it’s a cutting of attitudes and fleshly desires, the jealousy, the longing for people’s praise, and the desire to always be exalted and always be noticed and affirmed!“ He says it’s a change of the heart produced by the Spirit, and a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
It’s a cutting away of the flesh, so you can get closer to God! It’s the necessary cutting process that God allows you to go through. I was listening to an interview from Mel Gibson last week, and he said, “In some ways, I see a metaphor that Hollywood is burning.“ And he said, “My house burned in these wildfires.“
And he said, “I don’t know who started it—the arsonists that were behind it—but I see that God is stripping me of some things. And I sense a new calling on my life, and I don’t think it’s going to come through Hollywood. I think God wants to produce something new and fresh.“
I mean, this man was preaching! He said, “It’s like God’s allowing me to lose some stuff so that I can gain!“ Jesus said, “Anyone who gains the whole world but loses his soul in the process—what profit is there to get everything out here but to lose this?“
He says, “Anyone who wants to be my disciple must take up their cross.“ Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Everything God asks us to do requires consecration, requires a circumcision of the heart!
It requires, listen, if you don’t put your blood, sweat, and tears into it, you’re not serious about it! I built a treehouse for my kids, and I literally put my blood, sweat, and tears into it! I hammered my finger into that treehouse—blood coming down my hand, sweat, and tears! They better love this treehouse! You’re not serious about it until you sacrifice for it!
The Pain Before the Promised Land
God called Abraham to circumcise himself in his old age because there was a call for a sacrifice! We talk about the promised land, but we don’t talk about the pain before the promised land! We don’t talk about the sacrifice that it takes to possess what God has called you to possess! To go to the next dimension, you’re going to have to cut away your comfort!
If you’re addicted to comfort, you won’t go higher to a new level! If you’re addicted to convenience and selfish desires, you’ll never leave Neverland! You’ll never step into who God’s called you to be! If you’re going to step into a new season in 2025, it’s going to require a necessary ending of selfish, vain ambition!
Circumcision to step into your calling means I am done living for my comfort and my convenience! It is painful to be a good pastor! It requires sacrifice! It requires giving up my comfort and convenience! It’s painful to be a good husband, to be a good wife because it requires letting go of the need for reciprocity. I get what I give you; you gotta give me—
The ego! I’m right! To be a good husband, to be a good mother, to be a good father requires sacrifice! There’s a price to pay! If you don’t want to get out of bed, you don’t want to serve your family, you don’t want to help out around the house or do anything for other people, you like the title of mother, but you don’t like the sacrifice of mother!
You can have a baby but not be a good dad! You can have a baby but not be a good mom! You can have a church but not be a good pastor! There’s a sacrifice to go to the next level!
I hear God saying, “I’m getting my church ready for the promised land, but there’s a sacrifice! There’s a cut! The cut is not just about can you handle the pain; the cut is who’s going to go with you into the next season? Because maybe there are some people that may not make it!“
You think about when NASA sends rockets off into the sky. The rocket starts to take off, right? It starts going, and there are all these parts connected—all the scaffolding that helped the rocket begin. And as the rocket starts going, what starts happening? Stuff starts to fall off!
Because the higher you go, the less you can take with you! And not everybody’s going to make the cut! The higher the rocket starts to go, all the pieces that started it! When God started calling the Israelites to get ready, he says, “You need to consecrate yourself. Because where I’m taking you, your consecration is preparation for an acceleration into the promised land!“
Becoming a Vessel for Honorable Use
And before you step into your inauguration, you’re going to go through some difficult things that will try to strip you in ways! Let it strip you! He says, “Let it strip you!“ Because this is a cutting away!
In 2 Timothy 2:20, Paul tells Timothy as he’s teaching him, “Listen, in a wealthy home, some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.“
You know this: if you have a house, an apartment, a dorm room, there are some things that you don’t use all the time because they’re special! There are some plates you don’t pull out all the time because they’re special! You save them for special occasions!
There are some glasses you would drink from that you don’t always use! You don’t just let your kids take a glass; you know, “I’ll give you a cheaper cup for that right now!“ And then Paul says this: “If you keep yourself pure, if you will be a special utensil for honorable use,“ if you’ll consecrate yourself, your life will be clean!
We’re living in a time of compromise, and God’s calling us to consecrate in a time of compromise in America! He says, “Clean yourself! Surrender yourself, so you can be ready for what the master wants to do through you—all the good works!“
And then he says this: “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust!“
Run from anything that’s stimulating! I need some help! Daniel, Tim, will y’all come up here? And Tim, will you tie Daniel up for me? Make a good knot! Or, Daniel, you tie Tim up! You tie Tim up!
Yeah, usually Daniel’s always the one that gets, you know, tied up, so we need to tie Tim up this time! Give it up for Pastor Tim Newton, Tulsa Dream Center Director, Daniel Henshaw! Grateful for these guys!
Don't Look Back Like Lot's Wife
When God was calling Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah, he sends angels into Sodom and Gomorrah, and he tells Lot, “You need to get your family ready because it’s about to burn here! It’s going to get really fiery here!“ And the burning has already been happening on the inside!
He says, “You need to get out! You need to get out! There’s too much immorality!“ And Lot’s like, “Can we stay one more night? Can we stay one more night?“
So the angels are like, “One more night,“ and then the next day in Genesis 19, he says, “Okay, it’s time to go!“ And so, Tim, I want you to try to go. Try to run from things! So this is what it looks like for Lot’s family—they’re leaving, but they’re still attached! They’re trying to run away from the lust—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, the attachments to the old ways of living, the old relationships, the way things were!
And Lot’s wife, she is so attached to her past that she has no confidence in her future! Sometimes we don’t have a necessary ending because we’re so attached to what was that we have no confidence in what can be! And so we’re just stuck; we’re pulled by it!
Lot’s wife looks back, and she turns into a pillar of salt! Don’t be salty this year! Don’t look back! Trying to hold on to 2024, trying to hold on to the old ways, the old addictions, the old habits!
And this is why I think he says, “Make flint knives!“ Because you’re going to have to cut some things off! There’s going to be a process of cutting, and cutting is not easy! And it’s one strand at a time!
You go, “Why did I have to lose those people? Why couldn’t they have stayed in my life?“ Not everybody’s meant to be with you for a lifetime! Not everything is meant to stay for a lifetime! There are some things that God says for you to go to the next level, for you to become all that God’s called you to be!
There’s some cutting! Snip, snip, snip, snip! Snap! Snip! Snap! This message is way too intense right now! Okay, y’all are like, “Stop with the snipping!“ Okay!
Cutting Off Generational Reproach
Joshua, look at this! In Joshua 5, verse four, it says, “Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness. Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus during the years in the wilderness had been circumcised.“
They were born in the wilderness! They were born in generational exile! In the Exodus, they were born with still the reproach! The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for 40 years! Some of these guys were 39 years old! They were about to step into the promised land! They had been born in the first, second, or third year of wilderness!
They were now old enough to fight in the battle, but they had grown up with parents who had disobeyed God, who had complained and murmured! They talked themselves out of taking the land that God had sworn to them—the land flowing with milk and honey!
God’s getting ready to take you into a land flowing with milk and honey! And it’s on the inside; it’s not on the outside! It’s on the inside! So Joshua circumcised their sons!
So what did he do? He started cutting! He said, “I need to cut off everything that’s holding you back from what you used to be like, from who you used to be attached to! You don’t have to repeat what your dad did! You don’t have to carry what your mom carried! You’re free to be you! Leave it all behind!“
Leave it all behind! Go ahead! Thank you, Daniel and Tim! Give them a big hand! Somebody say, “Cut it off!“
I want the band to come out. We’re going to worship here in just a minute! What needs to be cut off in you? What’s holding you back from what God’s called you to do this year? What habits do you need to say, “It’s a necessary ending“? What disciplines in your life? Where have you settled for an attitude of comfort and convenience, where God says it’s time to step into a more mature you?
Which means you’re going to have to get up earlier this year! The first thing you touch when you get out of bed is not your phone; it’s your Bible! This year, this is a year that you make a necessary ending to foolish living, so you can step into the wisdom that God has for you!
The Story of Aaron Ralston
I heard this story when I was in college. It’s a true story, and it really intrigued me about a man named Aaron Ralston. He wrote a book called “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.“ He tells the story of when he was 24 years old. He had been hiking; he was a thrill-seeker. He had been hiking and biking all through the Grand Canyon and Utah. He had hiked through Mount Zion National Park and then Bryce Canyon, and he was making his way up towards Salt Lake City.
But he wanted to hike in these specific canyons where nobody was. So he was rappelling through these deep mountain-like canyons—these narrows—where the mountains were very tight together. He was hiking by himself; there was no one in sight for miles. He just had his backpack with a canteen, thinking he would make it back to his car. He drove an old, beat-up car that was about five miles down the road from where he was hiking.
He starts trying to rappel down this one canyon, and he slips and falls. He gets stuck between these two parts of the cliff. The reason he gets stuck is because an 800-pound boulder comes loose and falls on top of his arm, and he’s trapped in this canyon where nobody can hear him! He starts screaming, and realizes nobody can hear me!
Twenty-four hours go by, and he realizes I have no food in my backpack; I only have a drop of water in my canteen! Then 48 hours go by, then 67 hours, then 100 hours! They made a movie about him called “127 Hours!“
He was trapped for 127 hours by himself, over six days, with no food, no water, and the whole time he’s replaying in his mind his selfish lifestyle. “I’ve been doing whatever I want to do! I’ve been making poor choices in my relationships! I’ve been doing terrible things to my girlfriend! I’ve not been a good man! I’ve been such a selfish person! I’ve disrespected my mom and my dad! I’ve been so rude! I’ve been living for myself, seeking adventure!“
He’s replaying it just regrets, and he’s feeling so trapped, thinking I am going to die in this canyon because I am stuck! And somewhere in those thoughts, he’s thinking about these scriptures he heard as a kid—that his parents had maybe said at one time where Jesus said if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out!
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! He kept thinking about these words, “Cut it off! Cut it off!“ I could die here with my full body, or maybe I could survive but lose a limb; that’s keeping me stuck!
Maybe in order to get out of here, there’s something that I thought I had to have in my life that’s actually got to be cut off! And it’s going to be painful! And there’s going to be blood! He finds this dull Swiss army pocket knife—a true story! It wasn’t even sharp!
And he starts cutting through his skin and then across his bone as blood’s coming, and he’s screaming because the pain is so intense until he cuts all through the bone with this pocket knife, and he climbs out of there, bleeding to death!
He climbs out of the canyon! He starts walking down this dirt road for five miles, and he collapses until there were a few walkers that were out there. They find him, and they call a helicopter, and they save his life!
He went on to speak and preach to millions of people all around the world. He said, “I didn’t realize that the thing that was holding me back, the thing that I thought I had to have, the thing that was trapping me—that all I had to do was cut it off! But the cutting was going to be painful!“
And he tells in these speeches as he goes to high schools and colleges, he says, “All of us have something to cut off! All of us have something that is keeping us back—habits, strongholds, addictions, mindsets, attitudes, laziness! He says something is holding you back! And he writes in his book, 'We all have a moment where we have to cut it off!'
And on the other side of cutting it off, there is a healing that happens! There is a reward that happens if you are willing to go through the cuts! You can come out on the other side clean! You can come out on the other side ready for the service that God has for you, ready for the purpose that God has for you!“
Healing and New Season at Gilgal
So, it was—look at this! In verse eight, after they had finished circumcising all the people, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed! So they stayed there until they got healed! You would stay there too until you got healed! They were resting, and God said this: “Today, I have rolled away the shame!“
“I’ve rolled away the old stuff! I’ve cut away all the stuff you carried—the mindsets you carried! You are not a slave; you are a son! You are a daughter! You are a free person! You can be free but still be mentally in bondage!“
He says, “This is your freedom spot! This place is called Gilgal! It’s here that we are done with Egypt! We are done holding on to what we carried with us through the wilderness! We are done with the old ways!“ And in that moment, in verse 10, after the healing, after that moment—they celebrated Passover on that evening!
And watch this! In verse 11, after Passover, God leads them into a new time! The very next day, they begin to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land! In other words, God was saying it’s promised land time! It’s a new season for you!
I want you to stand on your feet all over this place, Church! It is a new season for you! God is leading you into a new elevated season! God says there are some things you’re cutting off, but don’t worry about it! Don’t look back, Lot’s wife! Don’t look back! God has greater things for you; things that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind could perceive!
God says the cut is for your good! The circumcision, the consecration, is for your elevation! It is for your promotion! God says, “I know you miss how it once was, but I’m telling you your future is so much brighter than your past! Your future, your days are so much greater than your former days! Your next season is going to be so much greater than your previous season!“
I believe it’s a time for consecration, Church! I believe it’s a time for surrender, Church! I believe it’s a time to lay down everything that’s holding you back! As you were watching me cut that rope that Tim was attached to, I felt like God was speaking to some of you that there are some ropes that need to be cut today! There are some things that have been holding you back!
Maybe it is habits in your life! Maybe it is attitudes, mindsets! If you want the Lord to cut some things off, I want you to leave your seat, come and join me at this altar! If you know this is a time of consecration, maybe you want to come with your family, maybe you want to come by yourself! But if you just sense, “I need to consecrate myself!“
Because tomorrow, I hear the Lord saying, “Consecrate yourself! For tomorrow, I will do great things among you!“ God says, “Get ready for tomorrow!“ How do you get ready for tomorrow? You consecrate yourself today! You lay it down at the altar! You say, “God, I am done holding on to these things—the hurt, the wounds, the bitterness, the offense, the pride, the ego, the lack of sacrifice, the need for comfort and convenience!“ To say, “God, I’m ready to step into the higher dimension! I’m ready to go to the next level! I’m ready for what you want to do!“