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Summer Sermon
Series Book of Joshua
How The Walls of the Enemy Fall in Your Life
Rev. Kevin L. Baker
August 14,2005
INTRO
In the Greek
Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter was devoted to telling
jokes. . . .They felt they were imitating the cosmic joke that God
pulled on Satan in the Resurrection. Satan thought he had won, and
was smug in his victory, smiling to himself, having the last word.
So he thought. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and life and
salvation became the last words.
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Today we are going to learn that Jericho represents God having the
last word. The things in our life that are the obstacles to
spiritual victory, freedom, and abundant blessing. These things
must be faced encircled by faith if they are to fall and become for
us spiritual victories!
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What
we learn about the battle of Jericho in this chapter is this:
1.
The
battle of Jericho was fought with spiritual weapons for 7 days as
armed men led 7 priests sounding 7 trumpets or shofars made with
rams horns before the Ark of the Covenant which was carried by
priests and followed by all the people in a solemn silent march
around the city.
2.
For
6 days they marched around Jericho on the last day, the 7th
day, they marched around Jericho 7 times. On that last day after
the last march, the priests sounded the trumpets—the alarm of war,
and the people then shouted the war cry of battle and triumph.
3.
On
the last day, when the trumpets sounded, and the shout of war went
up, the battle was the Lord’s as the walls sunk into the ground and
fell backwards flat on the ground and the army of Israel rushed in,
took the city, and then burned the city and everything in it except
the vessels of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which were taken into
the treasury of the Lord.
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In
this first battle at the gateway city of the land, there are many
spiritual lessons for us to learn as we follow the same Captain of
the Lord of Hosts, Jesus Christ.
1.
SUCCESS IS CERTAIN WHEN WE OBEY GOD’S COMMANDS.
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This
takes us back to the first lesson they learned form Joshua on the
other side of the Jordan—If you obey God, you will be successful in
all you do.
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God
says to Joshua in verse 2, “See! I have given Jericho into your
hand.”
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The
life lesson we learn here is this: WHEN WE MAKE UP OUR MIND TO OBEY
THE LORD’S COMMANDS, WHATEVER WORK WE SET OUR HAND TO WILL HAVE ITS
SUCCESS ASSURED IF WE ARE DOING IT WITH ALL OUR HEART FOR THE GLORY
OF THE LORD.
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This
was the faith of the Apostles of Jesus when they were sent forth to
conquer the world and disciple all nations with a message of the
truth and a call for all men to change their minds about God and
believe the Gospel and follow Jesus Christ.
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When
we go forth to besiege the modern Jerichos, the spiritual barriers
to the abundant life, we to can go forth with boldness knowing that
God is with to assure us of victory.
2.
THERE ARE STRONGHOLDS THAT WILL ONLY FALL BY THE POWER OF PRAYER
ALONE.
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Think about this—if God’s Word is true, and it is—the city of
Jericho fell in military battle by no other means than a 7 day
solemn procession of prayer.
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The
rest of the cities of Canaan were taken by regular military battle,
but the first fell by a miracle of God.
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Why
did Israel have a right to claim that land where people lived as
their own—they did not. But God, the Creator and owner of the whole
earth did.
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It
was he who formed the nations at the Tower of Babel when he divided
the people’s of the earth with a language barrier because of their
pride and arrogance against God.
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Now,
these rebels who had inhabited these lands since then were being
given their eviction notice—you are squatters on land that does not
belong to you.
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It
often pleases God when we first enter into the spiritual battle of
waging war against sin in our lives and then in the world by
overcoming the evil of the world with the message of God’s love to
restore the world, that God shows us his miraculous power to build
our faith!
3.
EVERY MEMBER OF GOD’S PEOPLE HAS A PART TO PLAY IN THE BATTLE
AGAINST EVIL
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The
attack on Jericho was orderly and united. There was a battle plan
given to Joshua by the Commander in Chief—the Lord himself.
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The
priests again led the way with the trumpets—the instruments of music
and jubilee become weapons of war when we are in the battle time.
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Then, the priests also carried the Ark of the Covenant, the visible
demonstration of God’s throne in their midst for all the people to
follow.
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And
when the people followed in silence for 7 days, they were praying as
the priests sounded the trumpets.
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What
God wants us to learn, is the walls and barriers we face will fall
flat when we learn how to be people of praise 24/7!
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People of praise soon learn that faith for the spiritual battles we
face is built op and fortified when we learn to come into God’s
presence and praise Him!
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Then, every one of the children of God was called upon to shout the
triumphant shout of war! Every Christian is called on to stir up
the warriors for the fight! To be there, and to be part of what God
is doing. This took faith because this was not the way a war with
an enemy was fought!
4.
KNOW
THAT GOD’S PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS SAFE WHEN THEY ARE DOING THEIR DUTY AS
GOOD SOLDIERS IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD.
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As I
have said, from a military point of view, this battle strategy was
absurd and a sure defeat.
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What
army fights by marching around a city in reconnaissance with the
enemy able at any time to simply being picking you off from the
walls of a protected city?
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Yet,
it was done because God commanded it and no destruction came on them
as a result.
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What
we are to learn here is what St. Paul knew--no weapon formed against
us will prosper when we are fighting the battle God’s way—in prayer,
obedience, and faith.
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The
world standard sometimes pressures us to not do things God’s way.
But, even though others may mock us, when you stay faithful to God,
faith and perseverance will lead to victory at the end of the day.
5.
IN
THE BATTLE, WE MUST NOT GROW WEARY IN WELL DOING.
For 7 long days, this strange solemn procession
marched. There was walking by faith and not by sight for all that
time because nothing really happened until that last day when the
trumpet sounded.
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When
we talk about how God is working in the history of the world, we see
ebbs and flows of the power of the Church to influence the world.
In the west right now, we are in an ebb time…. A drought.
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But
still we march around Jericho… We should resist depression when we
are marching and not seeing anything happen, because God has
ordained that the is coming a last and final day for this world when
the trumpet of God will sound, and the Lord will return in person as
the Captain of the Lord of Hosts to lay flat every enemy that does
not bow the knee.
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Six
days, and six time around—the number of man. But on the 7th day, 7
priests, 7 trumpets, and the shout of triumph goes up and the battle
is the Lord’s.
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The
lesson for us—wait patiently because in God’s time, the victory will
be yours! The walls in your life will fall, and your enemies will
either convert to faith and find forgiveness and a new life among
God’s people—like Rahab the Harlot who was spared—or they will die
and be destroyed—hell.
6.
GOD
DEMANDS ABSOLUTE SURRENDER FROM ALL DEVOTION TO THE THINGS OF THE
WORLD REPLACING OUR DEOVTION TO GOD.
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Jericho became a holocaust offering—total oblivion by fire—a picture
of hell.
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So
many of us who are the Church militant on earth, fighting the good
fight of faith wants the recreations and amusements of youth, or the
adult prizes of this world—wealth, power, honor, and reward—but God
says destroy it all and burn it all till there is nothing left.
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In
an of themselves, most of these things are innocent and there is no
reason that God does not give us them later-later battles in the
land the people plundered and took over houses, goods, and wealth
and God was glad to give it to them.
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But
this first battle, the firstfruits, the first place belongs to God.
When we can learn the lesson in Jericho to give God the first of
everything in the land, it is his good pleasure to entrust every
kind of spiritual and material blessing into our hands because we
will use them for the greater glory of God and our own benefit and
our faith in God will stand firm.
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But,
if we do not learn that the first part of everything we ever receive
form God belongs to him, we have not learned that faith and trust in
God for victory and blessing is what makes the people of God
successful, prosperous, wealthy, and enjoying every good thing.
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When
we forget that all good things come from God, and begin to think too
much of ourselves, God then comes to discipline us so we do not
become his enemies and become like the nations of this world instead
of being the Holy Nation belonging to God.
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God
wants to burn up all of our vain desires, and have us lean to be
willing to give up the riches of this world until they come to us
from His hand of blessing. THAT IS THE LESSON OF JERICHO.
THESE ARE THE
LESSONS OF JERCIHO. THEY ARE SIX IN NUMBER.
YOUR PART IS TO
LEARN THESE SIX. THE SEVENTH LESSON IS THAT WHEN WE LEARN THESE 6,
THAT GOD THEN COMES ON THE 7TH DAY TO GIVE US THE
VICTORY!
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There are 3 kinds of faith: Jericho teach us which one God desires.
1. Faith that reposes on the promises of
God
2. Faith that reckons or counts on the promises of God
3. Faith that risks upon the promises of God. . God
give us a faith that risks.
TODAY, THE
WALLS WILL COME DOWN AND GOD WILL GIVE YOU THOSE PLACES IN YOUR
LIFE—FINANCES, SUCCESS, PROVISION, AND VICTORY—WHEN YOU LEARN THE
LESSONS OF JERICHO.
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