Oak Grove Baptist Church 2106 Churchville Road, Bel Air, MD David Hall Senior Minister

Transcription

1 Oak Grove Baptist Church 2106 Churchville Road, Bel Air, MD David Hall Senior Minister Fantastic Faith Series Rahab and Jericho Joshua 2, 6 (selected verses) March 18, 2007 Introduction: In the book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum tells of villagers in the Solomon Islands who wanted a big tree to come down. Well, they didn't use a hand saw. And they didn't use a chain saw. In fact, they never touched the tree. But they got that big tree down. How? Robert Fulghum says that they yelled and screamed at this tree for 30 consecutive days. Within 30 days it had died and it fell to the ground. Now I know what you're thinking. David, I have yelled at vending machines, atm machines, computers, traffic on the freeway, the lawn mower or weed wacker that won't start - why doesn't that work? It is probably because God didn't tell you to solve that problem by yelling. But many years ago, God told Joshua and His people that they could solve a problem by yelling at it. God's people in the Old Testament are finally heading into the Promised Land. They had finished their 40 year trek in the wilderness, had crossed the Jordan River, and were ready to sweep into the land that God had promised so many years before. And the first big obstacle they face is Jericho - the walls of Jericho. In its day, Jericho was a formidable fortress city. Scholars tell us that this city was surrounded by two great stone walls. The outer wall was twenty feet tall ans six feet wide. The inner wall was thirty feet tall and twelve feet wide. These two walls were separated by a 15 foot wide, guarded walkway. The city only covered about nine acres, but it must have looked like an impossible city to conquer to people who fought with only spears, swords, and arrows. Jericho was a big hindrance to Israel. It stood as an obstacle between them and the rest of the Promised Land. Before they could go deeper into the land the Lord had given to them, Jericho had to be defeated. Our text is all about how Jericho was defeated and those impossible walls were brought crashing down. We may wonder what a battle that was fought more than three thousand years ago has to do with us today. The fact is the battle that was fought over the city of Jericho has much that it can teach us about our own walk with the Lord.

2 You see, before Jericho could be defeated, the walls that surrounded it had to come down. Israel could not get into the city. They needed those walls torn down! Israel could go no farther until Jericho was destroyed. They needed those walls torn down! That city stood before them as a barrier between them and God s best for them. If they were going to get all that God had for them, those wall had to be torn down! You might not even realize it today, but many of us have walls in your own lives. These walls stand between us and our receiving God s best for our lives. It might be some besetting sin that stands between you and God s best. It might be some old hurt that has grown into a root of bitterness and now it stands as a barrier between you and all that God wants you to have. It might be a cold and indifferent spirit that has invaded your life and has erected a wall between you and God s best for you. It might be a bad attitude; an unforgiving spirit; pride; anger; or something from your past. But, whatever it is, it stands before you today and it keeps you from going deeper with God. That wall must come down if you are going to walk forward into God s best! It might even be some wall that you have constructed that keeps you from coming to Jesus for salvation. That wall must come down if you want to be saved! The good news is, the walls in our life can be brought down and these verses tell us how to make that happen. I want to show you the steps that must be taken if you want to see the walls in your life fall. I want to preach about Tearing Down The Walls! Focal Scripture: Josh 2:8-11 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Josh 6:1-5 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." 1. Fall At the Right Feet.

3 We must Respect His Authority Joshua) (Example of Rahab, Example of Rahab faced a wall of Depravity Joshua 2:1, 11 Joshua faced a wall of Defiance Joshua is doing reconnaissance of the city of Jericho. He is alone and he is busy trying to devise a plan to overcome the walls that surround the town. No doubt, he is confused and concerned and he has no idea about what he needs to do. Then, Joshua meets a man who is standing with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua confronts this man and asks him to declare whether he is friend or foe. The stranger responds not by answering Joshua s question, but by identifying Himself as The Lord of Hosts. This is the battle name of the God of Israel! Joshua realizes that this is no ordinary meeting. This is a manifestation of God, and He has come ready for battle. Joshua s reaction to the presence of the Lord is worthy of note and he reveals to us how we should respond when we are confronting the walled off areas of our own lives Joshua reacts by falling on his face and offering worship to the Lord. He understood the truth that he may have been the commander of Israel s armies; but he was standing face to face with the Commander-in-chief! In other words, Joshua humbled himself in the presence of the Lord and clearly demonstrated that he understood just Who was really in charge! The first step in achieving victory in our lives and in seeing the walls in our lives come down is to come to the place where we understand Who is really in charge. Friend, neither you nor I are truly in command of our lives. There is an ultimate authority and His name is God! He expects His people to recognize His authority and to bow before Him in totally surrender and humility James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:5. We must Respond to His Authority (Example of Rahab, Example of Joshua) Joshua, the battle hardened General, responded to the authority of the Lord by falling at his feet and bowing before Him. This was a position of absolute vulnerability and surrender. Joshua placed himself in a position of helplessness before the Lord. It is as if Joshua was saying, Lord, I am Your servant. Do with me what You will. Use me, bless me, or kill me. I am Yours! Folks, that is what the Lord wants from us! He wants us to place our all in His hands and just trust Him to do what is best in our lives. He is looking for people who will quit trying to fight their own battles and win their own victories. God is looking for people who will sell out totally to Him and let Him have everything. Does that describe you? Sadly, it does not describe most of us does it? We like to be in control. We like to call the shots. We like to be the boss, and it shows! It shows in defeat; in lack of peace and joy; in our being less than we could be for the Lord. If we truly want the walls in our lives torn down, then we must come to the place where

4 we literally give up; place our lives in His hands and trust Him to do with us what He will. You may not like the sound of that, but it is an essential step in obtaining true victory! By the way, God is not out to hurt you, Jer. 29:11. Whatever He decides to do in your life will always be for your good, Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4: Follow the Right Plan. It was a Simple Plan For Joshua and Israel the plan boiled down to one simple word: faith. God is telling Joshua, Just trust Me! Those walls might be tall and they might be thick, but I have already given you the city. In fact, Joshua, the people behind those walls already know what you haven t figured out yet! They know they are defeated (6:1; 2:9-14) and you will know it too in a few days. Just trust Me! You see, God did not bring Israel out of Egypt just so they could fall at Jericho! He saved them to walk in victory in Canaan. The same is true in your life and mine. God did not save us so that we could live every day of our lives in defeat. He saved us to walk in victory, 1 Cor. 15:57! He is telling us to do the same thing that He was telling Israel: Just trust Me! If you want the victory over the walls that have been erected in your life, then that victory will be found in following God s plan. It was a Strange Plan As the Lord details this plan to Joshua, it must have sounded strange to that old soldier s ears. There was no talk of armor or armaments. There was no talk of soldiers, swords or spears. There was no talk of sieges, of strategies or of secret weapons. God s plan involved the Ark of the Covenant; priests; trumpets and people. Now, I don t care who you are, that is a strange plan! From a human standpoint it makes no sense. From a military standpoint, it makes no sense. From a logical standpoint, it makes no sense. Yet, it is what God said to do! Strange plans call for strong faith! Imagine the people of Jericho as the people of Israel marched around and around the city. Imagine the people of Israel and what they endured as they marched: ridicule, danger, and humiliation. God s plan boils down to this: walking. They were to walk in the right order; in the right path; for the right period of time; and they were promised the victory. This plan involved no input from the people; all they had to do was walk. Now, to carry out this strange plan required great discipline on the part of these people. God just wanted them to settle in and do it His way. It was a Successful Plan When they did things God s way, He gave them the victory. They marched around that city, blowing those trumpets for six days and nothing happened. On that seventh day that did it seven times and nothing happened. Then, they lifted their voices in a victorious shout and the walls fell flat. They were able to enter the city and claim the victory God had given them. His way worked!

5 Learning to walk in faith and learning to follow the Lord, even when His plan makes no sense, will always result in victory for the child of God! Do you want to see those walls in your life come down? Do you want to see those things that have hindered you in your walk with the Lord gone from your life? If you do, the way to see that happen is to determine today to stop fighting your way and surrender to God s way. 3. Finish the Right Way. Some things must be Claimed Some things must be Conquered When Israel entered Jericho, they killed every single person in that city. Nothing associated with Jericho could be allowed to live. You see, the problem with Jericho was not the city itself. The problem there was the people in the city. They had to be destroyed or their ways would have corrupted the children of Israel. The same is true in your life and mine. When the Lord does give you victory and those walls come falling down in your life; you must rise up and put away everything that is associated with your Jericho. Maybe someone needs to be forgiven. Maybe you will need to develop a new circle of friends. Maybe you will need to change the way to go to and from work. Maybe you need to change the kind of TV you watch or books you read. When God gives you the victory in your life, take whatever steps are necessary to see that the problem in your life is totally conquered. Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away...