The miracle working God
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Joshua 6
Joshua 6
Introduction: In the late 1940's...
and in the early 1950's...
Bette Nesmith...
had a good secretarial job...
in a Dallas bank.
But.. Like any secretary...
she encountered a problem...
she wasn’t perfect...
she...
like every other typist...
made mistakes...
in her typing...
some of us...
make more than others...
but...
when she ran across this problem...
she began to ask herself...
wasn't there...
a better way...
to correct the errors
she made...
on her electric typewriter?
See...Bette...
had some art experience...
and she knew...
that artists...
who worked in oils...
just painted over their errors.
And...
she thought...
maybe that would work
for her too.
So...she concocted a fluid...
a fluid...
to paint over her typing errors.
And before long...
all the secretaries in her building...
were using...
what she then called...
"MistakeOut".
She then attempted
to sell idea...
of MistakeOut....
to a few marketing agencies...
and various companies...
including IBM...
but they turned her down.
But still yet....
secretaries..
continued..to like her product ...
so
- Bette Nesmith's kitchen..
became her first
manufacturing facility..
And she started selling it
On her own
And eventually
She began to make millions
In profits annually
And when she sold the company
She sold
the entire enterprise
for $47.5 million
And why?
She wouldn’t let any obstacle
Like rejection
Stand in her way
But
As Christians sometimes
We face obstacles
That
We can’t go around
We can’t go through
And we can’t
go over
But
I’m so glad
That our God
Can help us
Overcome any obstacle
And with that in mind
Let’s read our text tonight
It is Joshua 6: 1– 20
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Let’s pray
(Pray)
I. The Impenetrable nature of the wall
Declaration
Now
Notice if you would
Our Key verse
For this evening
It is verse 20
Where
The Bible says
(Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”
Now pay close attention
To the phrase
That
the wall
Fell down flat
And
May I say to you
That
That was a miracle
I’m
Going to explain why
In just a moment here
But when that wall
fell down flat
That
Was a miracle
But
As believers
We are so blessed
To serve
The miracle working God
Aren’t we?
He
Is a God
Who works miracles
And this evening
That’s what I want to talk about
The miracle working God
Now
by way of Definition
A miracle is
“an event
that involves the direct
and powerful action of God,
transcending the ordinary laws
of nature
and
defying
common expectations
of behavior.”
Miracles are in fact
extraordinary occurrences
that can only be attributed
to
the supernatural work
of God
and demonstrate His involvement
in human history
And
In the Bible
There are many miracles
We could look at
For example
The parting
Of the Red Sea
In fact
Keep your place here
In the book of Joshua
And
Turn to the book
Of Exodus
If you would please
And to chapter 14
Now
We know the story well
God sent numerous Plagues
Upon the nation of Egypt
And eventually
After
Keeping the Israelites in bondage
Egypt expelled them out of their land
And while Israel made their escape
God led them
Toward the Red Sea
the
Lord then
Incited the Egyptians
To go after them again
And when the Egyptians
Began to pursue them
Man
God’s people were terrified
In fact
The Bible says
(Exodus 14:13–14 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
Just then
God told Moses
(Exodus 14:15 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”
He was saying
Go forward
into the Red Sea
But then
At the direction of God
The Bible says in verse 21 – 22
That
(Exodus 14:21–22 “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
Now
Let me ask you a question
In terms of nature
Was that...
A natural event?
I mean
Have you ever seen
A huge body of water
Divide in the midst
Where the water is like a wall
On the right hand
And on the left?
Have you ever seen that?
I haven’t
And I’m sure you haven’t either
See
That’s not natural
That is supernatural
That is outside
The realm of nature
And can only be attributed
To the Lord God
And
Sometimes as people
We need for God
To work miracles
On our behalf
And
On that day
In Exodus 14
Israel needed a miracle
like that
And God
Their God
Is the miracle working God
He
Divided the waters
Of the Red Sea
Discussion
There
Is another astonishing miracle
That I want you to consider
In 2 Kings 6
Turn there if you would please
And read with me
Versus 1 – 6
The
Bible says
In 2 Kings 6:1 – 6
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
Now
Let me ask you again
Have you ever seen
Iron swim?
No
If you put iron in water
Like an ax head
It’s going to sink
Like lead
Because
It’s just not natural
For iron to swim
Oh but
The God whom Elisha served
Was the miracle working God
And
The miracle working God
Can bring things to pass
Outside of the realm
Of nature
So much so
That He can make
an ax head swim
And
Isn’t it a blessing
To serve a God like that
Because sometimes
Just like those sons of the prophets
Sometimes
We as God’s people today
Need a miracle to take place
In our life
And
What about
In the New Testament
In the book of John 14
Where
A friend of the Lord’s
Had become
extremely ill
And eventually
The Lord’s friend, Lazarus
Died
He then
Lay in the grave
For three days
His body
Had already
began to Decompose
The stink of death
Was already upon him
But
When Jesus came
He stood outside the grave
and the Bible says
About Jesus
In John 11:43 “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”
And then
In verse 44
The Bible says
(John 11:44 “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
Now
Let me ask you
A third time
How many of you
Have ever seen
a so called
faith healer
Do that today
How many of you
Have ever seen
a Dead
Decomposing body
Be brought back to life again
We haven’t seen that
Because
That’s just not natural
But that’s when Jesus
Came on the scene
And Jesus
The miracle working God
Spoke three words
Lazarus
Come forth
And when the mighty King of heaven
Says come forth
It will happen
Outside of the realm
Of nature
Because again
Sometimes
God’s people need for the Lord
To work a miracle
On their behalf
And the Lord can
And the Lord does
There
are many other miracles
We could point to
In the pages of Scripture
Like
The feeding of the 5000
With just five loaves of bread
And two small fish
That was certainly
Outside of
the realm of nature
And
Was done
To help God’s people
And
What about
The calming
Of the Sea of Galilee
Enabling Peter
To walk on water
What Supernatural miracle
Because
Have you ever seen anyone
Walk on water
No
You wouldn’t normally
Because that is outside
The Realm of nature
But
There again
As believers
We are privileged
To serve the God of miracles
He
Is a God
Who knows
that sometimes
People like us
Need a miracle
We
Need a supernatural act
From the God of heaven
To work on our behalf
We
Need God’s mighty hand
To move in such a way
That it helps us
And the only way that
it can be explained
Was that
God did it
Deliberation
And
Let me also say
That God is still
Working miracles
Even today
In fact
In 2010
We were trying to get our school established
The Albemarle Baptist Church School
And in Albemarle County
And especially
On this property
That was going to be difficult
If not next
to impossible
As
A matter fact
We faced great resistance
When we were attempting
To start our Christian school
Some
In the community
Were opposed to that
And when we stood before
The planning commission
In Albemarle County
They gave us
A dis.....
recommendation
So that
When we went before
The Board of Supervisors
I was told by two lawyers
That we would probably
be denied
Oh
But the Albemarle Baptist Church school
Was not in the hands
Of Albemarle County
It was in the hands
Of God
And
The God
Who can turn the heart of the king
Turned
The heart of those supervisors
And they voted unanimously
To approve our church school
and our church school is operating
Today
Because
The God whom we serve
Is the miracle working God
Because see
He knows
That sometimes
It is impossible for us
To do something
To be able to move ahead
To have a need med
To overcome an obstacle
But
(Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
And do you know why?
The power of God
Transcends
the laws of nature
Because
God Himself
Created those laws
And God Himself
Can likewise
Conquer those laws
In order to help us
And again
Aren’t you just so glad
To serve a God
like that
Delegation
He is a God
Who can move mountains
In fact
In Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
And
Keep in mind
It isn’t us
that
Moves the mountains
It is God
but
All we are called upon
To do
To see God work
On our behalf
Is to trust the Lord
To trust
The God of miracles
So
This evening
For the next few minutes
I want to preach a sermon
Entitled
The God of miracles
Because
There are times in my life
There are times
In your life
Where
You have a need
Of some kind
a need
that you can’t possibly
Meet on your own
There
Is an obstacle
Standing in your way
And you can’t possibly
Go over the obstacle
You can go through it
You can go under it
and you must not
back away from it
So
God wants you simply
To trust in Him
To Make a way for you
To overcome the obstacle
Delineation
So
Let’s turn back
To the book of Joshua
And talk about
The miracle working God
But
Before we look
At our Key verse again
Verse 20
Where the Bible says (Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”
but
Before we look at that miracle
Let me give you some context
The events
of the book of Joshua
span
about twenty-five years,
starting soon
after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:1)
around 1406 BC,
before the conquest Of Canaan
commenced.
The
conquest of Canaan
Incidentally
took about seven years
And
The first Canaanite city
That Israel
had to face
Was Jericho
And
The Bible tells us
In the first 2 versus
Here in Joshua 6
(Joshua 6:1–2 “Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.”
Now
I want you to think about that
The men of Jericho
Were mighty men of valor
Do you know that means
They were forceful
They were
able men of strength
But yet
God promised Joshua
and the armies of Israel
That He had given
The city of Jericho
Into their hand
And
Aren’t you so glad
That when you
stand with God
That God and you
make
a majority?!?
Discussion
But
Don’t Miss
The first phrase there
Jericho, it says
Was straightly shut up
Which
Means simply
That Jericho
Was a well-built
Walled city
It was a fortified city
And the gates were barred
And undoubtedly
All the doors and windows
Were barricaded
And the wall
was high
so
From a military standpoint
That city
Was impenetrable
Because see
In that day
They didn’t have drones
They didn’t have smart bombs
They didn’t have bunker busters
So from a human standpoint
To take that city
Would have been a daunting task
And
To be sure
The walls of Jericho
Stood
As a physical
And psychological obstacle
Between
The people of Israel
And the will of God
See
It was God’s will
That they conquered Jericho
God had promised to them
He would help them
but
Jericho’s walls
Was an obstacle
To accomplishing that
And
There’s a lesson for us
This evening
And the lesson is this
The devil loves
To give us obstacles as well
Doesn’t he
he Delights
In providing us
With both physical obstacles
To the will of God
And psychological obstacles
Because
Let’s face it
The devil doesn’t want us
To fulfill God’s will for our life
Just like
The devil
Didn’t want Israel
To conquer Canaan
So
He provides obstacles for us
In the hopes
That we will see those obstacles
Be discouraged by them
And then turn away
And
The walls of Jericho
Serve as an illustration
Of the obstacles we face
In 2025
Description
Now
by way of information
History tells us
That Jericho
Was surrounded
by
Two massive stone walls
Encompassing the entire city
The outer wall
Was 6 feet thick
And 20 feet high
And
The inner wall
Was 12 feet thick
And 30 feet high
And
On top of that
There was a 15 foot
Guarded walkway
Between these two walls
So
The fact is
From a military standpoint
The walls of Jericho
Were practically impenetrable
In their day
Now
In 2025
Our tanks
Could knock a hole in that wall
Our fighter jets
Could launch Sidewinder missiles
To destroy those walls
But
In the day
in which Joshua lived
They didn’t have such weaponry
So
When God told them
To go take the city
And then
promised them
“ I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.”
Well to the Israelites
That must’ve seemed
Next
to impossible
Because
As they approached the city
They no doubt saw
The outer wall
From a distance
And perhaps
They thought to themselves
That’s a pretty tall wall
But just maybe
We can knock it down
But then
As they got a little closer
And saw
the inner wall
That must have discouraged them
They must of thought to themselves
Maybe
We could have overcome
The outer wall
But now there’s this second wall
How in the world
Can we do that
Determination
So
let me ask you
Have you ever
Been confronted
With the will of God
And then
In order to fulfill God’s will
There is this huge obstacle
Standing in your way
Man
I have
In fact
I remember
That night
We went before the Board of Supervisors
To get permission
to have a school here
now
Weeks prior
to that meeting
I tried to lobby
Each of the supervisors individually
I
Asked them
If they would vote in our favor
And of the six
Only two had agreed
The other four
Seemed entrenched
Against us
One in fact
Said
He would never vote in our favor
And he was the most influential
Of them all
Oftentimes
The others
Would follow his lead
And
Just moments
Before the meeting began
I was meeting with two lawyers
To try to get advice
And
They seem to convinced
That the board
would say no to us
And they told me
If the board tells us no
Then, that is it!
That
we would never
Be able to have a school
But
Long before that meeting
Ever took place
The mighty God of heaven
Had convinced me
Of His will
Still yet
That obstacle
Of the Board of Supervisors
Was daunting
Deliberation
And sometimes
In our Christian life
We face similar obstacles
Where
God wants for us
To do a certain thing
To live a certain way
To give
A certain amount to the church
To serve
In a certain ministry
Sometimes
We face obstacles
To those things
We
Face obstacles
That are so high
We can’t get over them
They are so thick
That we can’t
go through them
And they are so long
That we can’t
get around them
and in
And of
ourselves
We are utterly helpless
To overcome them
And
Let me say
obstacles like that
Will always be provided for us
By the devil
And
They are designed
To make us afraid
To make us
Turn back
To make us
Stop short
Of God’s will for us
well
That was the wall
Of Jericho
Wasn’t it
Again
That outer wall
Was 6 feet thick
And 20 feet high
And that inner wall
Was 12 feet thick
And 30 feet high
So
There was no way
Humanly speaking
That Israel
Could
Go through it
Over it
Or around it
And
There’s no question
The height and thickness
Of those two walls
Must have been discouraging
For those people
II. The immortal nature of our God
Declaration
But
As I read our text
This evening
That
When
You compare
The impenetrable nature
Of the walls of Jericho
With the immortal nature
Of our God
Well listen
There is no comparison
See
The God whom we serve
Is the Almighty
And
The immortal God of heaven
Was present
In that day
In fact
Just before the battle of Jericho
The Bible says
In Joshua 5:13 – 15
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Now
By way of information
That individual
That Joshua met
Outside the walls of Jericho
Identify himself
As the Captain
Of the host of the Lord
And
Do you know
Who this was
This
Was a pre-Bethlehem manifestation
And appearance
Of the Lord Jesus Christ
It was
What theologians call
A Christophany
It was an appearance of Christ
Before What Took place
in Bethlehem
Discussion
And
by the way
This is not the first time
Christ had appeared
Before the manger of Bethlehem
This was Jesus
And
By the way
Jesus is God
So He can appear
However
And whenever
He chooses
But
Here in this text
Joshua came face-to-face
With Jesus Christ
And
Jesus Christ
Is God
He is
The second Person of the Trinity
And
Here in Joshua 5
It’s clear
That Joshua realized
Who He was
Because
You’ll notice
That Joshua gave Him
The honor
Do His divinity
In fact
Notice verse 14
Again
It says
That
(Joshua 5:14 “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?”
Incidentally
The word worship
Here in verse 14
Is the word
That is always used
In the worship
Of Almighty God
It
Has the idea
Of prostrating oneself
In the presence
Of a Deity
And paying homage
It
Is the equivalent
Of what the wisemen
Did for Jesus
In Bethlehem
After our Savior was born
But see
Joshua gave this Being
The honor
Doue
to divinity
In verse 14
And
Listen please
God alone
Deserves worship like that
And Joshua knew that
And
As the captain of the Lord’s house
Stood before Joshua
Joshua recognized Him
As THE Supreme Person
Of the universe
Joshua recognized Him
As the Almighty
Deliberation
And
May I say to you today
Our Lord
Is still
The Almighty God
of the universe
He
Is THE Supreme Being
In the universe
He is The Almighty
In fact
I’m reminded
Of what God said to Jacob
Many years prior
To the events of Joshua 6
God
Told Jacob
In Genesis 35:11–12 “And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.”
And
Listen please
As the Almighty God
Jesus alone
Has the authority
The capability
And the honor
Of
Serving
As the captain
Of the hosts of God
And
Jesus alone
Is worthy
To be the Captain of our lives
as well
He alone
Has the authority
To command us
And to delegate
our paths
And that
Listen please
The quicker we recognize Him
In that role
The quicker
The walls in our life
That is, the obstacles
Will fall down
But again
Jesus Christ
Is the Almighty God
Of the universe
Which
Reminds me
Of what was said in the book of Isaiah
And in chapter 6
Isaiah wrote
(Isaiah 6: 1 – 4
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:
The whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Description
And
As Isaiah
Saw the Lord
In that high
An exalted position
That God alone has
he
Said
(Isaiah 6:5 “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
And
Here’s what I want you
To see
When Isaiah the prophet
Recognized God
For who He is
In comparison
To Isaiah was
That’s
When the walls
In his life
Began to fall
This God
Said to him
(Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
But
Back in our text
In the book of Joshua
And in chapter 5
Joshua
Recognized the Lord
As the Almighty
And
That was the first step
For him
In being able
To see the walls of Opposition
Fall before him
And
My point is this
We all have walls
Of opposition
Of some kind
Obstacles
To the will of God
In our life
Obstacles
To our being able
To do the work of God
And obstacles
To our life
In one way or the other
So
If we want those obstacles
Those walls
To fall down flat
Then
We will have to
first of all
Recognize God
Recognize our Savior
As the Almighty
And He is
Discussion
There is
Another thing
That we need to consider
Not only
Is the Lord
The Almighty
But
At the same time
The Lord
Is positively Awesome
Because
Notice again
What the Lord told Joshua
The Lord said
(Joshua 5:14 “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?”
Now
Think about that
He told Joshua
I am Captain
Of the host of the Lord
In
Other words
He was saying
I am One
Of Awesome Power
And authority
And
Joshua recognized that
now
Think about our Lord
In His position
Of Awesome Authority
Why
He created the world
out of nothing
He commands the rivers
And they stand up
On an heap
In fact
turn back
a couple pages
To chapter 3
When Joshua
and the armies of Israel
Crossed over
Into Canaan land
But before they could
There was a river
That served
as an obstacle
But the Bible says
In Joshua 3:16 “That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.”
But see
God commands the rivers
And they obey
Our God commands the seas
And they cease
Their raging
God
Commands the ravens
And they bring food
To His prophets
He
Command the circumstances
And they change
God commands the diseases
And they flee
Our Lord
Commands the food
And it multiplies
He
Commands the fish
And it gives forth money
And God commands the dead
And he dead
come forth
He
Commands the whale
And it delivers is prophet
To safety
And
He commands the lions
And they shut their mouths
He commands the fire
And not even the smell of smoke
Can attach itself
To God’s children
The
Lord commands the manna
And the quail
And it falls
And
Praise God
He commands the soul
And it is gloriously saved
And
My point is this
He is a God
Who has Awesome Authority
And the quicker
we recognize that
The quicker
We recognize
His authority
Over the walls in our life
The quicker
The walls will fall
In our life
Deliberation
But
Not only is our God
One
With Awesome Authority
But
He is likewise One
Of awesome ability
In fact
Consider the Captain
Of the host again
In chapter 5
And
The Bible says
In verse 13
That His sword was drawn
In His hand
Now
That sword
Was symbolic
Of the Awesome Ability
That the Lord possesses
It
Is the ability
That can provide us
with victory
In our Jericho battles
It
is the same sword
That provided Victory for Gideon
In Judges 7:20
Gideon
You will recall
Faced a monstrous task
Of defeating the Midianites
Whose army
by the way
Far outnumbered Gideon’s army
Oh
But Gideon had one thing
That no one in Midian had
Gideon
Had access
To the Awesome Ability
Of the Almighty God
In fact
The Bible says
In Judges 7:20 that
“the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
And
With the mighty sword
of the Lord
Gideon’s obstacles
All fell
Determination
And in our text
The Captain
Of the Lord’s hosts
Likewise
Had the Awesome Sword Of Victory
Drawn in His hand
A Sword
That was able to overcome
Even the very walls
Of Jericho
And
I’m so thankful that
Today
We have access
To the Sword of the Lord
The Word of God
That
If we keep it
And follow it
It will surely give victory
To each of us \
as well
But
As Joshua
Saw the Lord
As the Awesome Authority
Over the universe
And
One
With awesome ability
And was trusting in Him
That’s when those walls
Would soon
begin to crumble
But
I should also point out
Not only
The Lord’s Awesome Authority
As the God of heaven
And
His Awesome Ability
That He can do anything
But
I should also point out
That the Lord
is Always Amazing
And
Here’s my point
In all of this
All of us
has obstacles
That prevent us
From doing the will of God
From
Living our life
As a believer
From having our needs met
From performing
The work of God
And
As far as we’re concerned
Those walls
Our impenetrable
Oh
But when those walls
Are met
With our God
Who is immortal
They don’t stand a chance
No
Our God
As all The authority
His power
It is awesome
And He Himself
Is absolutely
Amazing
And
When we as God’s people
Recognize that authority
When we appropriate
His power that is awesome
And when we rest
In He
Who is amazing
Oh listen
That’s when the walls
Can begin to fall
Before all of us
Because
When Joshua
Recognized the Authority
Of the Lord
And
Trusted
In a Power that was Awesome
And understood
That the Lord is Amazing
Well
Notice the result
We’re told
In Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”
III. The imperative nature of God’s people
Declaration
Which
Brings me
To my final point
And this is so important
Every one of us
Has walls of adversity
That come between us
And doing
What God wants us to do
Walls
That are impenetrable
That’s true
But
It is when we realize
That we serve a God
Who is immortal
He
Has all authority
And He is awesome
And He is amazing
Well
That ought to create in us
The imperative nature
Of trusting the Lord
I’m reminded
Of what the Bible says
In Hebrews 11
And in verse 30
Turn there
As I bring this sermon
To a close
in Hebrews 11:30
The Bible says
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”
Now
Did you hear that
by faith
The faith of Joshua
And the faith
of the Israelites
Faith
In the Almighty
Awesome
And Amazing God
by faith
The
Walls of Jericho
Fell down flat
And
To see that more fully
Let me review
Versus 1 - 5
Back in Joshua 6: 1 -5
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
now
God
Gave very clear instructions
Which must have seemed
Implausible to some
But
Not to Joshua
Because notice verse 6
The Bible tells us that (Joshua 6:6 “And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.”
Now
Do you know what is happening
by faith
Joshua
Was submitting to his God
Joshua
Was trusting God’s promises
And
When you trust in the Lord
And lean
On His Mighty Arm
The walls
Of adversity
Will fall before you
Determination
Now
I don’t know what walls
You’re facing today
But I do know this
Everyone here tonight
Has some
You
Might have a wall
Of sickness
Or a wall
A financial reversal
Or a wall
Of family problems
You
Might have a wall
Of inability
But
If you will simply
Put your trust
In the Almighty
Awesome
Amazing power of God
He
Is the one
Who can make your walls fall
No matter what they are
So
My invitation
Is simple
this evening
If you’re facing some obstacle
Why don’t you
Come to the altar
And commit
To trusting
In
The authority Of your God
The awesomeness Of your God
and in the amazing God
Who
Loves you
With everything
That is within Him
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
