Having Hope!
Notes
Transcript
Having Hope!
Having Hope!
1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4 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. 5 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. 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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. 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 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. 14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 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. 19 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. 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.
Big idea - we should be outside the Walls waiting or God or hunkering down and fearful.
What I am not saying is that we should .... disobey orders to stay in small groups ...... we should not just cower and loose hope .....
Indide the walls they terrified.
Not indide the walls terrified.
We should be outside the walls waiting for God
Not inside the wall terrified what will happen becase of all those people surrounding us ..
Backgrount
The conquest of Canaan was accomplished by three military campaigns—central, southern, and northern.
The central campaign, designed to divide and conquer, consisted of two major engagements, one at Jericho and the other at Ai.
Jericho was a fortified city, but her walls and gates served only to keep her inhabitants inside for judgment; they certainly didn’t keep Israel out.
I God Put Them Here
I God Put Them Here
It was a low city topographically (over 800 feet below sea level) and morally. It was a doomed city because it stood on God’s land and its rightful tenants had come to claim their property.
Many things in our lives loom out as Jerichos, impeding our progress in possessing our possessions.
Fear keep us immobile and terrified
Perhaps we’ve been discouraged with the sheer immensity of our trials.
If we will only claim the victory the Lord gives and move ahead in faith, with eyes fixed upon God for success, we too will see miracles.
Having hope means understanding...
I. God Put Us Here
I. God Put Us Here
1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Jericho was a beleaguered city. Orders had been given to close all the gates, and no traffic was permitted in or out.
The inhabitants were down and in despair
Justin Spurgeon - came to Erie wow everybody is down ...
As Rahab had disclosed to the spies (2:11) the residents of Jericho were filled with terror because of the advancing Israelites (cf. 5:1).
1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
Now to put in context they were afraid of God’s advancing army .....
6:2. But there this impressive fortress stood, in full view of Joshua whose conversation with the Commander of the Lord’s army continued.
Israel had every reason to be frightened at the sight of Jericho!
vs. 2 - However the difference between - this Commander, the Lord Himself, promised victory to Joshua and announced that He had given Jericho into his hands.
We have the same assurance - God has already delivered us from sin and the worlds system .....
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
The city, its king, and its army would all fall to Israel. The tense of the Hebrew verb is prophetic perfect (I have delivered), describing a future action as if it were already accomplished. Since God had declared it, the victory was assured.
Fear of infiltration or trickery by the enemy would keep them from allowing anyone to enter.
That no one was let out indicates how desperate the situation was.
It was not uncommon in a time of siege to send warriors out to harass the enemies or to engage them in battle. Sometimes a small party was sent out secretly in search of help or supplies.
They may have been too frightened to attempt any of these strategies, and they may have wanted to prevent the city from being weakened by defectors or deserters
We should be outside the walls waiting for God direction not afraid hoping for the best
johnua 6.1
NoT inside the wall terrified what will happen becase of all those people surrounding us ....
The people of Israel have been told by God they will capture the city.
The people in side are scared and wondering what will happen
In many aspects they are on lockdown or quarantine.
Think about this one Group is hunkered down - scared and not sure what will happen -
With this virus we can be inside the walls of Jericho waiting for the next bad thing to happen
Or
We can listen to God trust him to guide or next steps and give us victory
Judges chapter 6 verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian
seven years."
Now God is the lighthouse of the universes and we find ourselves sometimes on a collision course and the wise thing to do is to alter our course because God will not alter His. That's what Israel found out.
Judges chapter 6 verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian
seven years."
Read - 6:3-6
The Midianites could come and go. They oppressed the people of God and God's people were put to ignominious shame by an enemy, and it was severe, and it was continuous. It reminds us what is beginning to happen in America today.
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is becoming intimidated and becoming impoverished and it is getting worse. And yet we find here in the book of Judges the principles
Very clearly God gave them the victory, but they forgot God. Do you see the parallel here in America?
Americans have forgotten the Lord God of Israel. We have forsaken our Judeo Christian ethic. We have forgotten God and God is turning us over to our enemies.
Dear friend, Christianity is entirely different ....
I We have gone from Authority to Relativism. 17:6
There is no fixed standard of right and wrong.
Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. We have gone from authority to relativism.
There is no fixed standard of right and wrong. A man just simply becomes his own sense of what is right and what is wrong.
And so it is with morality; there has to be a fixed standard. But we have gone from authority to relativism and every man does that which is right in his own eyes. We just pick and choose our morals like it is a cafeteria line.
II Truth to Pragmatism. 6:10
No longer do we ask, Is it true? We just simply ask, Does it work? And people are looking for religion to serve them.
The other group confident of God’s directions and love are waiting to take the city.
They're making the whole thing man-centered rather than God-centered. And people are looking for religion that brings them health and wealth and happiness rather than asking
what is right.
In Jericho they are fearful
And sin is no longer the enemy,sadness is. And the great thing in America is to feel good about yourself and as a result of that we've gone from convictions to opinions.
And our kids are being told there is no fixed standard.....
One professor stood up in a class, I'm told and said, We
can know nothing for certain. A student said,
In Jericho they have lost hope
Professor, are you sure about that? He said, I'm absolutely certain.
You see the result of all of this is moral confusion, moral confusion.
In Jericho it all about the news and surrounding
Our kids don't know how to play the game. They don't know where the sidelines are. They don't know where the end zone is. And they don't know what the rules of the game are.
new this week
Illustration -
Rumors
In a recent interview in the New York Times, a eventeen- year-old Lakewood, California, high school student was arrested for rape. And here is what he told the reporter. He said, They pass out condoms, they teach sex education, and pregnancy this and pregnancy that, but they don't teach us any rules. That's a seventeen-year-old.
Stock market
No hope
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
The people lock up
had heard what God had done for Israel
They heard about the Red Sea crossing
They new that God would fight for them
They were caught up in no hope
Shut in and shut out.
Those on the outside
2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.
Joshua 6
Those on the outside were close to God
They had seen what disobedience ment ....
They were against all odds were going to attack Jericho
They had something the others did not hope.
Hope
Two small words. When heard on the battlefield, in the hospital waiting room, or in our darkest thoughts, they bring despair. Two words that carry such anguish that no one can withstand their power. What, then, are these two unbearable words?
“No hope.”
14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a wounded spirit who can bear?
A broken spirit is a spirit without hope. The loss of hope is a terrible thing. Without hope, life’s troubles bring discouragement, depression, despair, and even death.
We can bear the doctor’s frightful diagnosis with hope for a cure.
We can endure the separation from a loved one with hope for a reunion.
We can endure certain death with the hope of eternal life and infinite joy in the presence of God forever.
But where no hope exists—we are undone.
The people inside the Gates had no hope...
God was clearly giving direction and hope....
Those outside the wall were confident and excited
God had spoken to them.
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, And that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: They walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us To keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed To keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, When I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. 9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: Teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared All the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, And have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, And keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth: Hide not thy commandments from me. 20 My soul breaketh for the longing That it hath unto thy judgments at all times. 21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, Which do err from thy commandments. 22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; For I have kept thy testimonies. 23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight And my counsellers. 25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word. 26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: Teach me thy statutes. 27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I talk of thy wondrous works. 28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying: And grant me thy law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me. 31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. 32 I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart. 33 HE. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; And I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way. 38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, Who is devoted to thy fear. 39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: For thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness. 41 VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, Even thy salvation, according to thy word. 42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: For I trust in thy word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; For I have hoped in thy judgments. 44 So shall I keep thy law continually For ever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty: For I seek thy precepts. 46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I have loved. 48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; And I will meditate in thy statutes. 49 ZAIN. Remember the word unto thy servant, Upon which thou hast caused me to hope. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction: For thy word hath quickened me. 51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: Yet have I not declined from thy law. 52 I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; And have comforted myself. 53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked That forsake thy law. 54 Thy statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. 55 I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, And have kept thy law. 56 This I had, Because I kept thy precepts. 57 CHETH. Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words. 58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: Be merciful unto me according to thy word. 59 I thought on my ways, And turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60 I made haste, and delayed not To keep thy commandments. 61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me: But I have not forgotten thy law. 62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee Because of thy righteous judgments. 63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, And of them that keep thy precepts. 64 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: Teach me thy statutes. 65 TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. 66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: For I have believed thy commandments. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: But now have I kept thy word. 68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. 69 The proud have forged a lie against me: But I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. 70 Their heart is as fat as grease; But I delight in thy law. 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; That I might learn thy statutes. 72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me Than thousands of gold and silver. 73 JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. 74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; Because I have hoped in thy word. 75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. 76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to thy word unto thy servant. 77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: For thy law is my delight. 78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: But I will meditate in thy precepts. 79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me, And those that have known thy testimonies. 80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; That I be not ashamed. 81 CAPH. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: But I hope in thy word. 82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, Saying, When wilt thou comfort me? 83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; Yet do I not forget thy statutes. 84 How many are the days of thy servant? When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? 85 The proud have digged pits for me, Which are not after thy law. 86 All thy commandments are faithful: They persecute me wrongfully; help thou me. 87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; But I forsook not thy precepts. 88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; So shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. 89 LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. 90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. 91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: For all are thy servants. 92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. 93 I will never forget thy precepts: For with them thou hast quickened me. 94 I am thine, save me; For I have sought thy precepts. 95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: But I will consider thy testimonies. 96 I have seen an end of all perfection: But thy commandment is exceeding broad. 97 MEM. O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: For they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: For thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep thy precepts. 101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, That I might keep thy word. 102 I have not departed from thy judgments: For thou hast taught me. 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way. 105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
ps
We have hope when we know where we are going
We have hope when we have a plan
We have hope when
A person with cancer has hope when there is just one more thing.
We have hope it cast out fear .
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiaha 41.10
They nation of Israel had every right to be fearful
But they had directions and that gave them hope.
much more here
The word sin is a forgotten word in America. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes.
In America, the enemy is not sin. It is guilt. Here are some recent magazine articles:
1) How to Stop Being So Tough on Yourself. 2) Two, Guilt Can Drive You Crazy.
3) Guilt Mongering.
4) Getting Rid of the Guilts.
5) Stop Pleading Guilty.
6) Guilt - Letting Go.
7) Don't Feed the Guilt Monster.
A man was shot and paralyzed while committing a burglary in New York and he recovered damages from the storeowner who shot him. Now here's what the jury was told and here's
what the lawyer argued. Now, here's the man in New York. He commits a robbery. The owner of the store shoots the man who's robbing him and they said, Now, well, wait a minute. This man who was doing this robbery was a victim of society and he was driven to crime by economic disadvantage. And therefore, the man who shot him was guilty of insensitivity, because he had a callous disregard for the thief's plight.
I mean, this man -- after all, society had done this to him. This poor criminal is gonna be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and the jury agreed and they made the storeowner pay a settlement to the man who robbed him. Several months later the same man who had done the robbery was arrested in another robbery, this time in a wheelchair holding up another institution.
Gambling in Erie PA – its immoral for the mafia to have Casino’s but if the Government does it for the kids its OK
Read - Judge 17 verse 6, "
And so we're not worshiping the God of the Bible. We don't have a fixed standard of right and wrong. Everything is relative. We're living in a pragmatic society and victimization is the code word of the day.
Nobody's sinful, everybody's sick. Nobody's evil, everybody's ill. Nobody's wicked, everybody's weak. And guilt is out of date and sin is an old-fashioned word. We are in a battle today between light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell, God and Satan.
And the book of Judges gives us the principles of victory.
Hope means we have direction
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,
Having hope means understanding...
II. God Gives Direction
II. God Gives Direction
3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4 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. 5 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.
Joshua 6.3
The battle plan Joshua was to use was most unusual. Ordinary weapons of war such as battering rams and scaling ladders were not to be employed.
Rather Joshua and his armed men were to march around the city once a day for six successive days with seven priests blowing trumpets preceding the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day they were to circle Jericho seven times and then the wall of Jericho would collapse and the city would be taken.
In the Bible the number seven often symbolizes completeness or perfection.
There were seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven circuits of the wall on the seventh day.
Though God’s plan of action may have seemed foolish to men it was the perfect scheme for this battle.
What was the significance of the blaring trumpets?
These instruments were “jubilee trumpets” (lit. Heb.) used in connection with Israel’s solemn feasts to proclaim the presence of God ().
The conquest of Jericho was not therefore exclusively a military undertaking but also a religious one, and the trumpets declared that the Lord of heaven and earth was weaving His invisible way around this doomed city.
God Himself, in effect, was saying in the long blasts of these priestly trumpets, “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in” (). When Christ returns, He, the King of glory, will enter cities in triumph. The conquest of Jericho was a similar kind of triumphant victory.[1]
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
We have hope when we know where we are going
We have hope when we have a plan
We have hope when
A person with cancer has hope when there is just one more thing.
We have hope it cast out fear .
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
They nation of Israel had every right to be fearful
But they had directions and that gave them hope.
much more here
No directions
No guiednience
No Hope.
Having hope means understanding...
III. God Blesses Obedience
III. God Blesses Obedience
16 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.
Joshua 6.16
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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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. 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 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. 14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 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. 16 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.
they followed the the instructions to the tee
Joshua 6.6-
What walk around Jericho 7 time
The instructions Joshua gave to the army of Israel and accompanying priests were very specific. For six days, they were to circle Jericho's walls one time without speaking. On the seventh, they were to circle seven times, blow trumpets and shout ().
There's a time to be silent and a time to shout. Knowing the difference may determine whether barriers stand or fall. Doing God's work in God's way will always accomplish God's purpose.
Though it takes great discipline, one of the most important keys to success is consistency. The Israelites had been walking in the desert for 40 years. That’s 14,600 days of putting one foot in front of the other. They finally arrive at Jericho, which was on the edge of their Promised Land, and God tells them to walk for seven more days.
This is such a powerful picture to us of trust, obedience, perseverance, and consistency. At the battle of Jericho, Joshua and his men had to do the same task every day for one week. God told them to march around the walls for seven days. Through this simple exercise, God is building up the faith of His people.
Put yourself in the Israelites’ sandals for a moment. They are standing in the shadow of a huge obstacle—the double fortified walls of Jericho—with a battle plan that didn’t make any sense. The first few days were probably okay, but what if by the fifth or sixth day, a few soldiers grew tired of walking and said, “This is ridiculous. Nothing is happening. Let’s stop this nonsense.” There always comes a point in the journey where it’s tempting to quit, but Joshua and the Israelites kept marching. Every day, step after step, they put their trust in God.
The task may have sounded boring and the instructions may have seemed trivial. But the secret to most successes is doing the right thing and doing it each and every day.
See the difference between those shut up inside and those outside was one had directions the others just hung on:
I will follow
I will walk
I will be silent
I have hope
Having mean understanding...
IV. God Delivers
IV. God Delivers
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.
Joshua 6.
Hope brings deliverance ....
One group was destroyed
One group just waited in fear
One group was by living by sight sight
The other realized that God put them there
The other realized they had directions
The were would delivered
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ethrough you.
Jericho was a fortified city, but her walls and gates served only to keep her inhabitants inside for judgment; they certainly didn’t keep Israel out. It was a low city topographically (over 800 feet below sea level) and morally. It was a doomed city because it stood on God’s land and its rightful tenants had come to claim their property. Many things in our lives loom out as Jerichos, impeding our progress in possessing our possessions. Perhaps we’ve been discouraged with the sheer immensity of our trials. If we will only claim the victory the Lord gives and move ahead in faith, with eyes fixed upon God for success, we too will see miracles.
Fear of the Jews had caused Jericho to be barricaded before the invaders arrived. For six days the Israelites marched around the city, once each day, returning at night to Gilgal. On the seventh day … they marched around it seven times. When the priests blew the rams’ horns (trumpets), the Israelites let out a great shout. The walls fell down flat, and the people of God were able to enter the city.
I want to give you four principles, four principles right here in Judges chapter 6 verses 7. They center around the name of a
man named Gideon.
I Principal of Vision 6 :11-14
Now God appeared to Gideon and said, Gideon, I want to give victory and I want to give it through you.
Jericho was a fortified city, but her walls and gates served only to keep her inhabitants inside for judgment; they certainly didn’t keep Israel out. It was a low city topographically (over 800 feet below sea level) and morally. It was a doomed city because it stood on God’s land and its rightful tenants had come to claim their property. Many things in our lives loom out as Jerichos, impeding our progress in possessing our possessions. Perhaps we’ve been discouraged with the sheer immensity of our trials. If we will only claim the victory the Lord gives and move ahead in faith, with eyes fixed upon God for success, we too will see miracles.
Fear of the Jews had caused Jericho to be barricaded before the invaders arrived. For six days the Israelites marched around the city, once each day, returning at night to Gilgal. On the seventh day … they marched around it seven times. When the priests blew the rams’ horns (trumpets), the Israelites let out a great shout. The walls fell down flat, and the people of God were able to enter the city.
Some Bible students think that the walls descended into the ground like an elevator, allowing the Israelites to walk across the top of the walls into the city. However it happened, it resulted from the faith of God’s people (). Notice that the ark is mentioned seven times between verses 6 and 12.
Everything in the city was “accursed”—that is, doomed by the Lord to destruction as the firstfruits of Canaan. The inhabitants (except for Rahab and her family) and the livestock were to be destroyed, but the silver, gold, bronze, and iron were to be put into the treasury of the Lord. No one could take anything for himself.
When one realizes the moral perversity of the Canaanites, it is easy to see why God ordered the complete destruction of life within Jericho. Rather than criticize the Lord for administering deserved judgment to the wicked, we should marvel at His grace which preserved Rahab and her family from the same.
Verse 22-24
Now here is the point. Gideon was threshing wheat, hunkered down hiding away in a wine press, afraid of the Midianites, and God appeared to him and he had a vision of the Almighty. Here is Gideon living in defeat and fear until he took his
eyes from the enemy and put his eyes one more time on God.
The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Wow – get dramatic and bold !!!! You have the Word of God. You have the Word of God and you have something more than Gideon ever had. You have the Holy Spirit of God living in you and don't you go whining and complaining about God not speaking. God wants to speak. Do you want to hear? Are you ready to listen to what God is saying?
But I'm saying that you will never have victory in your life, at home, in school, in the business, in your neighborhood, in the church or in society until first of all we get a vision of Almighty God. There is the principle of vision and you need to see God as big and strong and mighty.
II Principle of Valor. 7:1 -3
He gathers an army of thirty-two thousand men but God doesn't seem to be interested in numbers
Everybody listen to me. God has said that I'm to tell you that anybody who is afraid can go home.
Gideon thought a couple of dozen would leave and there's a stampede. And after the dust settles twenty-two thousand have left. Now what's the principle here?
The first principle is the principle of vision.
The second principle is the principle of valor. God cannot and God will not use cowards and God says, Everybody who's afraid, go home.
Why did God want the cowards to go home? I'll tell you why.
Because fear is infectious. Put this verse in your margin
, "And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house,
lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart."
You know, there is something about fearful people that infects other people.
When Joshua sent the twelve spies out. Ten came back and gave a fearful report and nobody wanted to go into the land.
In churches today we are always faced with people who are fearful, who don't believe God can do what God wants to do.
And the Bible tells us God has not given us the spirit of fear. God has "given us the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind."
One pastor was talking to another pastor and he said,
Do you have any standing committees in your church?
He said, Well, what's the most powerful committee in your church? He said, It's the bucket brigade, the bucket committee.
He said, What's the bucket committee? He said, Well, we we've got a committee that anytime any of us get an idea about doing anything good and holy and great for God, the
“Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”
I'm speaking to some people today who could teach, but you don't teach because you're afraid.
I'm speaking of people who ought to tithe, but you don't tithe because you're afraid.
I'm speaking to some people who ought to witness, but you don't witness because you're afraid.
verse 7, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of love and of power, and of a sound mind."
Key - Fear and faith don't live in the same heart. Fear will conquer faith or faith will conquer fear, but one will conquer the other.
I Principle of vision. You need what Gideon did and see the Lord.
II Principle of Valor. God says if you're afraid, if you're
fearful, I can't use you.
III Principle of Vigilance. 7:4 -7
Now first of all, everybody who is afraid go, they all went home, with ten thousand left.
God says, Gideon, we're gonna have a test. Bring them down here to the stream and let everybody refresh themselves. Tell every man to drink. Now here ten thousand people lined among the stream and the monitors are there to watch.
And by the way, you know many times God is testing us and we don't know we are being tested. The Bible says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is much," and the Bible says if you haven't been faithful in that which is least God will not commit to you that which is
much.
They said Henry Ford would take a prospective executive out for lunch and he would watch, and if a man would salt his food
without first tasting it, he wouldn't hire him. He said, The man doesn't have any sense. He's gotta taste his food to see whether it needs salt or not. I mean, who is thinking now that he's being tested by the way he puts salt on his vegetables?
God is watching in the small things. And these fellows are saying, Go out here and get a drink of water. Two categories: there first of all were those people who got down on all fours, put their mouths in the stream, and began to drink down in the mud. Well, you talk about being vulnerable to the enemy. You'll be vulnerable to the enemy down there on all fours,
your belly in the slime and your snout in the water sucking up the water. That's the way some were drinking. Nine thousand seven hundred of them drank that way.
But there was another group there that got down on their knees, like this, and they took the water to their mouths and just kind of lapped it like a dog. Not putting their mouths in the water, not down on their bellies drinking up the water, but vigilance watching for the enemy. Three hundred of them.
And God said, Those are the three hundred of them I want. They were not cowards and they weren't careless. That's the balance, don't be a coward and don't be careless. God is looking for people of valor and God is looking for people of vigilance.
So what kind of people does God use?
I People of vision. People who've seen God.
IIPeople of valor. People who are not afraid.
III People of vigilance. People who know to watch and be sober and vigilant.
IV People of Vitality 7:9 -15
People who have the life of God in them.
There's a campfire, a couple of fellows talking, one of them said, Man, I had a dream. It was a nightmare. It's the awfulest thing, he said. I saw a piece of barley bread. Now, folks, barley is the cheapest, the coarsest, the poorest bread, it's what the absolutely impoverished people would eat. This man said, I saw a piece of barley bread rolling along the ground and here's one of our tents and inside are our warriors. And this piece of barley bread hits the tent and it all caves in. The other man said, Boy, that's Gideon. That's Gideon. That barley bread, that's Gideon. When Gideon heard
that he said, Hallelujah, hallelujah.
What is the principle? Gideon was that piece of barley bread. Gideon in himself was nothing, nothing when the Lord said unto him, Hail thou, man of valor. He couldn't be talking to me. He said, I'm the least in my father's house. My family is the poorest in Manasseh and I'm the least in my father's house. He said, Of all the tribes, Manasseh the poorest of all the families, my family's the worst.
He's just a piece of barley bread, but God said, You go down there, and I will show you what the enemy thinks.
You listen to me. The devil knows more about
you than you know about you. And the dread of hell is that you'll wake up to the power that God has given you. That is the dread in hell. I mean, that that we will understand just who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the army of Gideon.
Look, go back if you will, 6: 34.
Do you see that? The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. May I tell you what the literal translation of that is, "the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon."
I brought my special coat today;
Illustration of a Coat – stand up, hold my Bible etc....
6:34 - It's not the man, it's God in the man. The Bible in this verse, verse 34, that God clothed Himself with Gideon. God wore Gideon like a suit of clothes. Gideon's just that barley bread.
Friend it's not your scholarship, it's your relationship. It's not your ability, it's your availability. It's not your fame, it's your faith.
It's not who you are, it's whose you are.
, "For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."
I want you to see how this battle was won
7:15 -20
300 people. God doesn't have to have a lot of people. God doesn't win with numbers. He doesn't have to have a lot,
He's got people of vision.
He has people of valor.
He has people of vigilance
He has people of vitality.
The End 7:21
Vs 20 - Now what's all of that about? It's all in verse 20, it's all in verse 20. Listen, here's what it's all
about. When they blew the trumpets, that's boldness.
When they broke those vessels, that's brokenness. What does that vessel represent? That's us. The Bible says, "We have a treasure in an earthen vessel." We are that earthen vessel. That's brokenness. Men throw broken things away, God only uses broken things.
But what about the light? "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works." That's brightness,
that's brightness to let the light shine.
These are people of victory, people of
vision, people of valor, people of vigilance and
people of vitality. If God wants to wear us like I
wear this coat, then with boldness and brokenness and brightness we'll give God the glory. I'm gonna tell
you something folks, when God's people begin to do that we don't have to fight the enemy, they'll turn on themselves. It's a Biblical principle. God sends
fear into the camp of the enemy.