WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.959 Hello everyone, I'm Dr. 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:01.679 Steve Bolt. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:04.799 I want to welcome you to the Road Church Podcast. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.280 Each week we go into God's Word. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.240 We teach chapter by chapter and verse by verse. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.599 We are here to build the Kingdom of God revolution through empowering people to change the world. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:21.440 So we pray this will minister to you at your heart level and change your life. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.560 Um in so many different levels. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:40.799 You know, and I've talked about I'm pretty open about what's happening in my life, and it's uh it's rough sometimes. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.159 Anybody had any rough periods in relationships? 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.200 And the rest of you are liars, right? 00:00:47.520 --> 00:01:01.600 Um but but you go through these times, and so when I came to Joshua chapter 6, which is the next chapter, I was just so spoken to by the Holy Spirit because I feel like there's some lessons here. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:06.159 These are lessons I'm living, these are lessons some of you in this room are living. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:17.680 And it's just so beautiful to see that God can take a real story that really happened in time, and then he can give us life lessons that can be transformative in our heart. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:21.840 Listen, everybody has difficult times. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.640 All of us go through things in our life that seem impossible to us. 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.599 Like, like, how could, how am I gonna get out of this? 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.319 How am I gonna work my way out of this situation? 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:34.719 Which is basically the wrong question. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:38.480 It's the wrong question to say, how what am I gonna do? 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.879 The right question is, what is God gonna do? 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:46.000 And so, in this story, probably the most famous in the Bible outside of David and Goliath. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:51.280 There's David and Goliath, every kid who ever spent any time in a Sunday school class knows it. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:02:00.640 And Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, which by the way, Joshua did not fight the battle of Jericho, Jesus did, but that's the song we sing, and we know it. 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:09.520 And so a lot of you know this story, you're familiar with it, and I pray that this morning we could see it from a slightly different perspective. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:12.800 I wanted to open, though, with bringing you my journal. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.280 It was sitting on my couch. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.599 And I haven't done it in a while here at the road, but I always kept a journal. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:29.599 And this is one that Mike McNeil with Fathers in the Field gave me with strength and courage on it. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.840 And so I've got probably a hundred of these in boxes. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.840 I don't go back and read them. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:42.639 Probably no one ever will, but they were always present in my life ever since I came to know the Lord when I was 18. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:48.560 So I'd encourage you if you're not, if you if you're not a journal taker, you you'd consider getting a journal. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:53.919 And you'd consider the fact that keeping a journal is really, it's really good for you. 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:59.919 It's therapeutic, it's healing, to be writing down your thoughts and then remembering what God has said to you. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:14.319 And then during this very dark time in my life, um, I go back and I look over the last five months, and I did that this morning because of some stuff that I'm gonna share here with you guys, things that God has said. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:22.960 And when you write it down, they say that it's an 80% greater chance of you remembering what you write down than if you didn't. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:24.719 And it and it's not on a computer. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:29.360 So it's actually with pen in hand on a piece of paper, 80% chance. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:31.199 That's why I encourage taking notes too. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:40.639 You'll remember 80% more of the sermon, or 80% more of what you had in your time with the Lord by writing it down than if you don't. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.080 So I just wanted to remind you of the power of journaling. 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:50.960 But turn to Joshua 6, and what a great first line. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.639 What a great first line in Joshua 6.1. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.560 Now Jericho was securely shut up. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.199 Jericho was securely shut up. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.879 So we understand that all of the, it was the barley harvest. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.439 It's during the barley harvest in Israel, right? 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.400 Well, it's not really Israel yet, it's Canaan. 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:24.160 And um, and so the farmers and the people of Jericho have their farms outside the walls because Jericho's only between six and eight acres, according to which commentary you read. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:30.000 So it's about the size of my property in Black Forest with these huge walls. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:46.240 25, again, everybody's got a different opinion based on the archaeological evidence, but it was between 25 and 30 foot high walls, 12 feet wide at the outside of the wall, and six feet wide on the inside of the wall. 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.000 And this is a pretty secure place. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:05:04.000 So everybody had run, everybody had booked it into Jericho, into the walls, even though they lived outside the walls, as Israel crosses the Jordan and they're coming toward Jericho. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:05.680 So here's lesson one. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:06.800 Jot this down. 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:11.759 This is lesson one is that we all have a Jericho in our life. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.040 Everybody has a Jericho in their life. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:27.279 Everybody has some kind of fixed walls from your childhood or from a hurt relationship or because of betrayal or because of addiction. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.839 I would call them things like shame walls. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:36.079 We have shame walls, we have anger walls, we have addiction walls. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:40.560 Very interesting, the latest neurological studies on DNA. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.839 The latest neurological studies on DNA. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:58.720 And they're finding out, and we we are, we've known this for a long time, that you get your DNA from your parents, and that means you get some of the characteristics of your parents, which could be a predisposition toward, for example, addictive behavior. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:11.040 And so we just we know that where there's families, where there's been alcoholics, that um you have a greater chance of being an alcoholic because of the DNA that comes from either one or both of the parents. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:12.000 Here's interesting. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:13.439 This is really interesting. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:28.800 A recent study has found that you also can pick up the characteristics through the DNA of the skills that your parents developed, if they were developed before you were born. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:38.399 For example, if if someone is mechanical in nature, even though they've never had that in their background before, but they learned mechanics, we'll just use that as an example. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:47.680 They learned mechanics, that actually is encoded, listen, it's encoded into the DNA, and that you pick that up. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:49.680 So I'm giving you a positive example. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:55.519 So what they did is they took mice and they put mice in a maze. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:01.680 And they took like 50 mice, they put them through a very complex maze, and only six mice figured it out, figured out the maze. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:09.600 Then they mated the six mice with random other mice, and guess what happened? 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:18.399 Their offspring could work the maze without ever making a mistake, with having never been in the maze before. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:32.879 So somehow, in God's way of doing the DNA that we're still discovering, you can be picking up these traits that were actually skills that we thought were just related to that particular person, but they're actually encoded into the DNA. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:34.959 So why is that important? 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.800 Because God can change you. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:46.240 You can be changed, and it actually gets encoded into your DNA. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:49.120 That you can change your behavior. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.160 Those walls of that Jericho can come down. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:08:02.959 As you spend time reading God's word, believing the promises of God, it's getting encoded into your DNA, right? 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:20.480 And then you're not doing it just for yourself if you're still young, if you're still in the childbearing years, as you're spending time with God, you're encoding the DNA of your future generations coming up through the relationship you have with your spouse. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.240 Isn't that crazy? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.560 So, anyway, first lesson. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:25.759 Here's lesson one. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:33.120 There is walls of Jericho that lead into a promised land. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:40.159 So Joshua came in, and this is the first thing he has to encounter is this wall. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.320 But listen, listen, you guys, this is really important. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:43.679 There's a second part. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:48.720 So go back to chapter five, and we looked at this last week. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:50.399 Look at verse 13. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:52.240 Chapter 5, verse 13. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:04.000 So before Joshua comes in, for you that were not here with us, last week, Joshua encounters the pre-incarnate Christ. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:05.200 Verse 13. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:14.960 And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:19.679 And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:24.960 So he said, No, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I've now come. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:32.639 And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, What does my Lord say to his servant? 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:40.240 And the commander of the armies of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:41.519 And Joshua did so. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:47.039 Lesson two: taking down any Jericho means surrendering to Jesus. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.120 That's where it all starts. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:53.279 He's the commander of the armies of God, men and women. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:10:02.960 And when we surrender to him, we now have the full potential of our creative, imaginative abilities because he's the one who created them. 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:10.000 In other words, you're never at your full potential until you know the creator of your full potential. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:15.039 So I had a 1962 red Volkswagen bug. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:22.000 From 1974 to 1976. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.960 Paid$500 for it from my dad. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:26.480 He bought it new. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:27.679 $1,200. 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:29.120 I got it for$500. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:30.879 Hit over 200,000 miles on it. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.240 And sometimes when I was driving to school, I'd hear a pop, pop, pop sound in the back. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:40.639 And if you guys didn't know about Volkswagen bugs, the engine was in the back. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.159 So I'd hear it hitting. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:47.519 And what was happening was the spark plugs were blowing out of the cylinders. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:53.440 So I had to go, I learned how to retap spark plugs into the cylinder and stuff like that. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:54.480 Had no money. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:55.519 That's what I did. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.080 My dad was a pastor, he didn't have any money either. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:10:59.440 So that's what we did. 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:03.919 But I didn't take a Volkswagen to a Chevrolet dealership. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.039 I didn't take a Volkswagen to a Pontiac dealership. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:12.799 I took the Volkswagen, if I took it anywhere, I took it to a Volkswagen dealership, right? 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:19.360 And so to come to discover who we are, let's go back to the Creator. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.960 Let's go back to the one who created you and made you. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:24.080 It's Jesus. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:33.519 So all Jerichos start with an encounter with the one who said, I came to heal the brokenhearted. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.480 I came to set the captives free. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:39.679 He knows how to fix you. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.279 And every one of us in this room needs a little bit of fixing. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:50.639 All of us have some walls, some Jerichos that we have to encounter and we have to deal with in our lives. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:57.120 And it begins, first of all, with understanding that you have a Jericho or two. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.080 But then, second, meet the commander. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.320 Meet Jesus. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:04.799 Have you surrendered to Christ? 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.039 Men and women, have you surrendered to Jesus? 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.320 And maybe you did years ago. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:13.919 But do you need to resurrender? 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:19.600 Is it time for a revival of what once was in our lives? 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.000 I think we need to receive Christ like all the time. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:32.399 Not because we lose it, but because we forget who we are. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.039 Don't forget who you are. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:47.200 You're a child of God, you're a daughter of God, you're a son of God, you're king, your priest, you're a worshiper and a warrior. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.559 You can walk in a new kind of freedom. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:58.240 Man, have I needed to re-surrender to Christ over the last five months. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.679 Holy smokes. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:22.000 I've had to just come back and come back to the Lord constantly and ask God to give me his power and his strength and surrender the impossibilities that I face to an impossible God, a God who does the impossible in our lives. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:27.120 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:28.559 None went out. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.159 None came in. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:30.960 Verse 2. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:37.919 And the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand its king and the mighty men of valor. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:43.279 You shall march around the city, all you men of war. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.799 You shall go all around the city once. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:57.039 This you shall do for six days, and seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:03.679 But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:04.480 Verse 5. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:23.519 It shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout, and then the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight before him. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:27.679 Now remember, this guy Josh was like a hundred years old. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:37.120 And if you were one of the generals and this this guy Joshua told you to do that, I'd say, I think he's losing his marbles. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.399 I think we got some issues here. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.159 Some early signs of dementia or something, you know. 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:45.679 I mean, what's going on? 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:57.039 I can hear some of the generals on the side saying, Oh, I'm saying I've been saving up some, you know, some pesos, and I think I'm gonna get a few battering rams. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:00.879 But this marching around and shouting sounds really weird. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:02.799 Here's lesson three, though. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.240 You gotta listen to God. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:07.519 You got to listen to God. 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:18.559 Whatever your situation, whatever it is you're going through, whatever obstacle you're facing, and Jericho with those thick walls that face you, listen to God. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:24.080 You've got to take time every day to listen to God. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.159 And guess what? 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:32.240 What he says for you to do may not be what you want to hear. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:36.799 God's ways are higher, deeper than ours. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.679 Are you listening to God over your Jericho? 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:44.080 Are you taking time to listen to him instead of getting advice from everybody? 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:45.440 Getting advice is great. 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:49.519 I'm one who loves, you know, getting people's opinion and their thoughts on things. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:50.480 I really am. 00:15:50.639 --> 00:16:00.720 But at the end of the day, everything rises and falls for the Christian follower on what is God speaking to you to do. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.879 You say, well, I don't know how to hear God's voice. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:04.240 Well, that's a whole nother issue. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:05.840 How we hear God's voice. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.120 But I can tell you this, it's mainly going to come through Scripture. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.279 It's going to mainly come through the Word of God. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:15.519 And so if we're not spending time in the Word of God, then we're missing God's voice. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:22.879 And so, and so if the if the Bible's boring, ask God to have it come alive. 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.200 Say, God, would you show me where to start reading? 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.519 And then start just reading chapter by chapter. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:31.120 Take your journal and journal what you're hearing from God. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:37.919 It's amazing how clear the voice of God is when we're regularly listening. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.600 So I challenge you to listen for God's voice on any Jericho. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:44.480 And there's, and then we've got these Jericho, and guess what? 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:46.080 You're not gonna have one Jericho. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.720 Now, usually you have them one at a time. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:54.080 I feel like I've got five Jerichos right now, but most of the time it's one at a time. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.480 Another way to maybe think of it is spiraling. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:00.320 Spiraling. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:06.079 And what I mean by that is that sometimes in our life we're spiraling. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:12.720 We're spiraling in a relationship, we're spiraling in our job, we're spiraling in our finances. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:19.279 And as soon as you get past the spiral, you're gonna have another one. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:23.279 As soon as we see the walls come down in one GR code, there's gonna be another one. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:28.559 So these are all things that are just gonna be a regular part of our life. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:40.559 People die, people betray us, people offer us opportunities that are not from God, and we take it. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.359 So there's always a Jericho, there's always another spiral. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.319 Listen to the Holy Spirit. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:51.839 Listen to the Holy Spirit, take time to listen. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:56.240 Get away from the noise, get away from the crowd every day. 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:01.759 Every day, get away, morning, evening, um, in the middle of the day, whatever works for you. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.400 But to open God's word, God speak to me. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.640 God, would you instruct me in what you're calling me to do? 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.880 Because I don't know what to do sometimes. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.160 I'm not sure what the answer is on this situation. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.000 And then lesson four. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.359 Lesson four. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:24.319 Obey God, listen for his voice, and then do what he says. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.200 So look at um, look at verse two. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:44.799 It says, the Lord said to Joshua because he's listening, but then look at verse six, it says, Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, So he got his instructions from God, and then he gave the instructions to his men. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.839 And this is what it says he was told to do, crazy as it is. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:19:01.359 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:09.920 And he said to the people, Proceed and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord. 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:24.079 So it was when Joshua had spoken to the people that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:33.920 The armed men went before the priest who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:48.400 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth until the day I say to you, shout. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.160 Then you shall shout. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:55.759 So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around at once. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.960 Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.519 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priest took up the ark of the Lord. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:04.799 Verse 13. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:21.519 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets, and the armed men went before them, but the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:25.920 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.039 So they did for six days. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:38.480 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day and marched around the city seven times. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:48.240 On that day, so the first day you go around once, second day once, so forth for six days, seventh day, seven times, in the same manner. 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:54.240 On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:21:05.440 And the seventh time it happened when the priests blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:09.680 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.759 It and all who are in it. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.119 Only Rahab, the harlot, shall live. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:20.480 She and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:32.720 And you, by all means, abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things and make the camp Israel accursed and trouble it. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:37.680 Alright, so Jericho comes down through obedience. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:50.480 Now, what we may not understand is that bestiality, abortion, prostitution, human sacrifice was present in that part of the world at a high, high level. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:54.400 And this is this is the capital of the Amorites. 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:56.559 So this is the capital city of the Amorites. 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.599 And so this so some would say that the wall. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:05.359 We're actually embedded with infants that created these walls. 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:13.920 Do you guys know that God measures time for nations morally? 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:19.680 God measures time morally. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:30.720 So sometimes when you see things happening where nations go down, and we've seen a lot over the last 50 years, nations going down, God's behind that. 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:40.960 God has been giving that nation a chance and a chance and another chance to repent, and they would not, and then their time is up. 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:42.640 God measures time morally. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.680 And for the Amorites, their time was up. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.839 They had 400 years to know about the one true God. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:56.640 They had 40 years of hearing about this present generation coming up that was coming into the land. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:03.599 They had at least 10 to 20 days from when they're on the edge of the Jordan and coming over. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:07.440 And only Rahab repented. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.200 God measures time morally. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:23.440 In church, there's things in our lives that God is giving you opportunity after opportunity to repent of. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.880 There are times when God lifts his hand. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:34.079 Because you will not repent. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:36.480 Now you may you may live. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:40.880 I mean, sometimes God actually, we know that we're going to take communion today. 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:49.359 And we know in 1 Corinthians that the scriptures say that taking communion in the wrong manner, some sleep. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:58.079 Meaning that God has taken some people because they're taking the Lord's communion, the Lord's Supper in the wrong manner, in the wrong way. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:02.720 And I believe if you look at the whole passage, it's talking about relationships and broken relationships. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:05.359 But God's judgment is real. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:10.720 God opposes the proud and he gives grace to the humble. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.799 Isn't life hard enough? 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:17.519 Isn't life hard enough without being opposed by God? 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:22.559 I've been opposed by God before because of pride in my life. 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:31.759 And that's a really, really scary feeling to realize I'm not under, I mean, I'm under God's grace in a salvific way. 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:34.720 I don't believe you can lose your salvation. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:44.000 But I've lost his grace in a sanctified way in the anointing being lifted off of my life because of hidden sin. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:54.000 So I want to challenge you that if you've got hidden sin, get that right with God because you're gonna be on your own. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:25:07.440 And that's a scary place to be when you're on your own without the grace and the power of God over your life, because God is giving you the chance to repent and you won't, and so his hand gets lifted off of you. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.759 So Israel obeys. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:13.519 Because this is a holy war. 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:20.079 I don't think Israel had any big issues with the Canaanites. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:26.240 Okay, so, you know, because they they didn't know everything about them, but this is a holy war. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.000 God's using Israel to judge Canaan. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:33.200 And so they obey him. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:39.119 And then look, it's kind of interesting, it's tucked away in sort of a cryptic way, is verse 19. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:54.319 Verse 19 is kind of this cryptic verse, it seems like it comes out of nowhere, but it says, but all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord, they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:18.240 So I'm not gonna make a point of this except to say that when we're when we're moving into victories in our life, there's such a tendency to forget, first of all, who did it in our life, but then also to forget the obedience that it takes for the first fruits of what God's doing. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:24.960 And I can't tell you how many people here in the church we know because we see um we see the giving and stuff. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:29.759 I've that people send us these really big tithe checks. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:40.160 And when I've called or talked to them or something about it, they'll say, Yeah, I sold a house or I sold this piece of property and I made a ton of money, and I just want, and I'm and I'm first fruits. 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:41.599 First fruits go to the Lord. 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:42.799 First fruits goes to the Lord. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:43.440 That's what he's saying. 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:45.920 He's saying look, the first fruits, this is the first fruit. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:49.839 Jericho is the first fruit of the promised land. 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:55.119 And he's saying, Dedicate it to me so that I can bless you in future days. 00:26:55.279 --> 00:27:07.759 In other words, get your heart right, and we all know that material things is the hardest thing, that's the biggest idol to give up to God is our material blessings. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:17.599 And so when you learn how to tithe, when you learn how to give, when you learn how to give first fruits in your life, it sets you free from the bondage of materialism. 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:21.599 It breaks the power of materialism in your life. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:22.799 Lesson five. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:24.079 Here's lesson five. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:29.039 Jericho comes down through faith. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:34.160 Hebrews 11 says, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:35.200 Isn't that interesting? 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:40.160 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:44.480 Every battle in your life is by faith, men and women. 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:58.640 George Mueller, the great man of God who built so many orphanages, once said, faith begins where man's power ends. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:02.720 Faith begins where man's power ends. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:13.920 The great Indian or the missionary to India, Amy Carmichael, once said, When you're facing the impossible, you can count on the God of the impossible. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.759 Warren Wearsby. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:32.000 Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems to be unbearable, to do what seems to be unreasonable, and to expect what seems to be impossible. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:34.559 I'm gonna put that one on my wall. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:37.039 Jeremiah 32, 17. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:44.880 Ah, Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power, an outstretched arm. 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:47.920 There's nothing too hard for you. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.839 Jesus in Matthew 19, 26. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:29:00.400 With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:03.599 I've been in this work for a long time. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:08.640 I'm becoming an elder statesman, I guess. 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:13.920 I'm elder, I don't know, and I and I am in a state, but I don't know if I don't know if I'm an elder statesman. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:19.920 Um but we don't talk about the God of the impossible much anymore. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:21.279 I've noticed that. 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.160 We don't seem to talk about the God of the impossible. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:28.079 We've become enamored in the church with technique. 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:33.759 So if you've ever been to a seeker-sensitive church, who's ever, anybody, y'all know that term? 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:37.759 Okay, the seeker-sensitive church has kind of become in vogue in the last 40 years. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:43.839 Started with a guy named Bill Heibels out of Willow Creek and uh kind of spread across the country. 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:47.359 And what it is, in its good form, is to reach people for Christ. 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:48.559 It's great, it's wonderful. 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:50.319 I think that's beautiful. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:54.240 But the way in which it's done is you you use man-made techniques. 00:29:54.400 --> 00:30:06.000 You have man-made techniques that you do, and you try to keep everybody in the chair or in the pew as comfortable as possible because you wouldn't want to offend anybody because they might not come back. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.319 Now I'm being very simplistic. 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:14.480 And I don't think you should be in people's faces for dumb reasons or get legalistic about stuff. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:17.599 That's, to me, that's like bad theology. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:28.559 But what happens is we begin to depend on technique rather than the power of God to change people's hearts. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:38.960 And so the God of the impossible is a God we believe that He can change a heart through the clear presentation of the gospel. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.119 And we believe that God can do that. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:49.759 And so what we see here is that faith brought down the walls of Jericho, not just marching around, not blowing trumpet. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:53.279 That was God's particular technique at that time. 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:58.160 It was never ever used again, as far as we know in history. 00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:10.480 And so what happens in our lives is we're facing an impossible situation at Jericho, and we say, What do I do? 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:14.240 God, what are you telling me to do? 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:16.880 And it's the wrong question. 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:20.319 The right question is, what are you gonna do, Lord? 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:23.119 You're the God of the impossible. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:27.680 You're the God who can take down my walls of Jericho. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:28.640 What are you gonna do? 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:36.640 And I want to position myself for you to be able to use me to pull down those walls. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:42.160 So speak to me, guide me, and lead me in my life. 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:44.240 Lesson six. 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:48.319 This is the whole passage, right? 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:52.000 Verses 20 and 21 is how it all happened right here. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:32:03.599 So the people shouted when the priest blew the trumpets, and it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat. 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:17.680 And then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city, and they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkeys with the edge of the sword. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:21.440 Lesson six, Jericho comes down through praise and worship. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:22.880 I mean, there's no other way to look at it. 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:25.200 It was praise and worship. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:32.880 When the trumpets were sounding, that's the trumpet of Jubilee, of the year of Jubilee. 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:38.960 They're proclaiming through praise and worship, and it reminds me so much of Jehoshaphat. 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:44.160 Jehoshaphat facing Amon and Moab and Mount Seir. 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:58.720 Here's what it says: Jehoshaphat, after consulting the people, the enemies that were coming against Israel, appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise the splendor of the Lord and his holiness. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.519 And they went out ahead of the army. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:06.799 And they shouted out, give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever. 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:18.559 And as they began to sing and praise, the Lord said ambushes against the men of Amon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:21.039 That's what we're gonna do in a few minutes. 00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:25.440 In a few minutes, after this message, we're gonna worship the Lord. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:32.400 And I don't think we even know what's happening in the fourth dimension when you worship with all your heart. 00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:38.160 Now, some have said archaeology has found the broken walls. 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:49.440 And here's what one commentator said that the marching around, the trumpets hit a certain frequency, and it loosened the mortar and the walls crumbled. 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:53.680 The shockwaves of 500,000 men marching around. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:57.119 Some even say that they were digging under the wall at the same time. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:02.400 My only problem with that, you already know the answer to this. 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:05.920 What about the part of the wall where Rahab was? 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:08.800 So was hers like different mortar? 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:10.800 I don't know, man. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:12.559 This is this is faith, man. 00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:21.840 This was a supernatural work of praise and worship that broke through just like it did with Jehoshaphat. 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:34.559 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, verse 22 go into the harlot's house and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her. 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:47.840 And the young man who had been spies went in and they brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had, so that they brought out her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:51.039 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:57.440 Only the silver and gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:04.320 And Joshua spared Rahab, the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:06.960 So she dwells in Israel to this day. 00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:12.079 By the way, she's the great-grandmother of David, 14th generation to Jesus. 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:16.480 Because she hid the messengers from whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:19.760 I love this point, lesson seven. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:21.199 This is so important. 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:24.719 Jericho comes down because of love. 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:27.920 Jericho comes down because of love. 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:33.039 God tears down walls of Jericho in our lives because he loves you. 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:37.760 He wants you to be all that he created you to be. 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:41.360 He wants you to be the best version of yourself that he created you to be. 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:44.400 And it's because of love. 00:35:45.039 --> 00:36:10.559 When we talk about spiritual warfare around here, and we do from time to time, when we talk about obedience to God's word, and we talk about a quiet time, we talk about journaling, we talk about being a worship warrior, we talk about being a wholehearted worshiper and warrior, we talk about what it means to be strong and courageous, always about love, faith, faith that moves mountains, hope that believes God. 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:13.840 But the greatest of these is love. 00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:20.639 Never forget that. 00:36:26.719 --> 00:36:28.480 So we fight for love. 00:36:30.719 --> 00:36:33.360 And we care about people because we love them. 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:38.239 So we had some roofers at our house. 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:42.800 I don't know, we must have put so many roofs on our house. 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:45.440