Walk This Way

Scriptures

Joshua 6:1–2 ESV

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.

Joshua 6:10–21 ESV

But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days. On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

Title: Walk This Way

Prayer

I’m going to set you up right now by asking one question, but I’m going to ask another question that digs a little deeper. I’m just letting you know the first question is a set up

Question: How many of you would say I have faith in God

Probably the majority of us would say we have faith in God. No condemenation if you are struggling in your faith or don’t know what you believe. I believe you are in the right place

Second Question: I’m not asking for hands to be raised… How many of us would say I trust God

Faith and Trust are closely entwined. They have very similar meanings in the fact that both of them require belief

Faith is a belief, but trust is a confidence

I have a cookbook. It’s important to know that I believe in cooking. I believe in good meals. I believe in eating. I really believe in eating. I believe that by the sound of many of these recipes that there are some delicious meals in this cookbook. It’s also important to know that I have never cooked one thing out of this cookbook.

Faith is believing this book is full of good meals. Trust is doing and following the recipes

Many times when we are dealing with bitter stuff in life it’s the end result of tinkering with the recipe

Putting our faith in God requires trusting the process that God is taking us on and not trying to add our own thoughts, our own ways, add our own understanding to it

I think its really easy to believe in God, but only trust ourselves. We keep adding stuff or taking out what we don’t like and wondering why it isn’t looking like the picture God described in the Bible

Follow the recipe and you will taste the goodness of God

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So God lays the recipe for walking into the place of promise in your life

Jericho was securely shut up. There were two walls that surrounded Jericho. An inner and outer wall. There was a water source within the wall that watered and brought life to the city. They had years worth of food stored in the city. Jericho was ready for quarantine. They had snacks, wifi, and Netflix and were ready to settle in for a long seige

Many of you are looking at things in your life that seem like its securely shut up. It’s something that could never happen. Or if it happened it would take a long time. There are those that are watching online or hear listening to this message that have been praying for things for years. It seems like what you are believing for is securely shut up.

It’s not as secure as you think it is and it may not take as long as you think its going to take

God gives them the recipe on how to walk into their place of promise

The first thing he tells them is Jericho belongs to me. It’s the first of the cities that I am giving to you in the promiseland and the first belongs to me

Our first ingredient is this:

You can’t touch this

There are things that are holy that are dedicated to the Lord

Jericho was holy because it was the first

If its holy you can’t touch it

In the Old Testament people would die when they touched the Ark of God

Today, people don’t physically die, but we perish in our purpose, die in our dreams, we experience fatalities in our fulfillment

The tithe - the first part of income is holy. It belongs to the Lord

If you keep touching what God said to touch you will never have what God said you could have

Marriage is holy

You can’t touch it and mess with it. It’s holy to God. Follow the recipe God laid out… don’t add your own philosophy

If you are single… you may not have a marriage yet, but you will

Honor the future marriage… don’t touch it

Going to church is a holy day… don’t touch it

It’s dedicated to the Lord… if you honor God with it there is always the promise that God is going to rebuke the devourer

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The second instructions God gave them to walk into their place of promise was to not speak

The second ingredient in God’s recipe:

2. Don’t Speak

The first time God had tried to walk the people of Israel into their promise they talked themselves out of what God was trying to lead them into

God’s remedy to keep them from complaining, from murmering, from speaking doubt

Complaining is allowing your heart to leave a place of trust

Complaining is allowing your mouth to navigate you way from God’s promises

Proverbs 18:21 ESV

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Complaining is speaking life to problems and death to promises

God’s solution was… if you aren’t going to have anything good to say don’t say anything at all

Don’t allow your words to condemn God’s plan.

Complaining is praising evil and not recognizing the good

Be careful about complaining because its putting the spotlight on problems and overlooking the fact that you are living in the goodness of God. It’s all around you

He didn’t allow them to talk to one another

One Israelite would have said to another… why are we doing this? We should be aligning our military. We should be getting a strategy together to breach the walls. Attack the city…

People will talk you into messing with the recipe… why do you spend every weekend at church, why do you give so much money to the church, why do you serve so much, why do you give to Legacy offering, why do spend so much time praying and reading God’s word

Just look at your neighbor and say Shut Up

Don’t speak… your messing with the ingredients that God

Joseph - Rachel couldn’t have a baby for years… God finally gave her a child and she named him Joseph. Joseph means God will add another one

There are moments when you are in a place of faith… go ahead and speak faith

Benjamin - Rachel was dying in child birth and in her pain she named her son Ben-Oni. Which meant son of my pain and son of my sorrow. The father had to step in and say that won’t be his identity

Don’t speak out of your pain. Don’t let people speak out of their sorrow and doubt.

We’re turning off a lot of stuff in this fast… I feel pressure to post, let my voice be heard… that’s great just don’t speak out of your pain

I don’t have to speak becuase God is going to get the last word. Everyone will hear it when the walls fall down

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The third ingredient was to walk for 7 days around the wall. For 6 days they were going to walk once, and on the 7th day they were going to walk 7 times and then shout and blow trumpets

7 is the number of completion in the Bible. It figuratelive stands for when something has been completed

3. Don’t Stop

If you walk around 7 days and you only go around 5 times there won’t be a miracle

You have to complete the process. You have to complete the season. You have to fulfill the recipe

Many people have stopped on 6 and checked out of God’s process just before the miracle occured

Praise is the language of victory

Praise is mostly done after a victory, but not in the kingdom of God. God doesn’t tell us to praise at the end of the battle. God tells us to praise going into the battle

Don’t let a defeated world change the song of your life… blow some trumpets and shout… our God is victorious

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The walls fell down. They didn’t fall forward or backward. They fell flat on top of themselves. The way they fell created stepping stones for the Israelites to get into Jericho

God will turn the abuse. God will turn the injustice. God will turn the hardship… what the enemy thought would keep you out.... God will use it to walk you into your promise

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Follow the recipe

What are you cooking in your life? Are you the Chef or is God? He’s better than you are… taste and see the Lord is good

Decision to follow Jesus