John K. Jenkins Sr - Then The Manna Ceased

I want to title this message today from the Book of Joshua: the words of verse 12, the very first words: "Then the manna ceased." Say that with me: "Then the manna ceased." One more time: "Then the manna ceased." Last week, we talked about nothing but manna- how the children of Israel had been given provisions from God to supernaturally receive manna, this new bread, this new meal that they ate every day. They woke up, and just outside their tent doors, every day for 40 years, they received the supernatural provisions of manna. For 40 years, every day, there were no Safeway, Giant, Super Fresh, or Whole Foods warehouses out there, so they had to have provisions from God. Somebody say Amen! For 40 years, they wandered around trying to get to the Promised Land. So, for 40 years, every day, they woke up to gather the manna outside their tents, every day except on the Sabbath. In fact, God was such an awesome God that the day before the Sabbath, enough manna fell for them to gather provisions for two days, and none fell on the Sabbath day because they weren't supposed to work on that day . But then it resumed the day after the Sabbath . So, for 40 years, they received this supernatural provision from God, where God took care of them and provided for them; it was God's provision for everything they needed . But now we come to the Book of Joshua, some 40 years later . The children of Israel have now crossed over into the Promised Land. Under the leadership of Joshua, after Moses has died, Joshua has taken the helm . He's their new pastor, and he is leading them. He has led them into the Promised Land. They have acquired it, and they are going through conquesting, defeating, and taking the land that God said would be theirs . They spent a period of time claiming this land and territory, defeating cities, nations, and peoples to claim what God said was theirs . I wanted to talk about this particular passage today because the Bible says clearly that once they reached Canaan, once they reached the Promised Land, a very strange thing took place. They had not experienced this for 40 years: all of a sudden, the manna was gone. The manna had ceased; they were no longer able to wake up and have the supernatural provisions. As a matter of fact, the supernatural provisions from God were not just the manna; they also followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God had been supernaturally providing and directing them, but now something shifts and changes. All of a sudden, God begins to deal with them in a new way, and I wanted to spend some time talking to you about this because the greatest danger to the new move that God wants to do in your life is the move that He did the last time in your life that went over your head. Let me repeat that: the greatest danger to the new move of God is the old move of God . Y'all still didn't get it; let me see if I can explain it. What prohibits us from being open to God doing something new for us, in us, and with us is that sometimes we get tied down to the way God did it before, and we think it always has to be done that way . But how many of you know that God is manifesting Himself to us progressively and trying to lead us to new places and teach us new things? You cannot get stuck with what God did for you last time . Preach on, Pastor! Oh, I wish I could get an Amen crowd with me here this morning. I can already tell this is going to be a long service. There comes a time when the supernatural provisions and the spectacular direction that God yields in your life must yield to more mature ways and methods . There comes a time in your life-I was giving all of you a chance to say Amen, but you all didn't say it. There comes a time in your life when the supernatural provisions of God and the spectacular directions must yield to more mature methods and more mature ways. Gideon needed a fleece from God to get direction. Moses had the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Israel had the manna; we can go back and see countless ways that God supernaturally led people, gave them direction, and spoke to them. However, I've come to realize, through my own experience, that God is trying to take us to a higher place and a deeper level . When I was courting my wife-to-be, I wanted to make sure she was the right one. I had countless women after me, you understand. [Laughter] So I wanted to be sure. I did what's called a fleece. Gideon had a fleece, and Gideon said, "I want to move in a particular direction with God. I want to make sure that this is the right direction ." So he put a fleece out there; he took a piece of material that's called ...