OVERCOMING OUR WALLED CITIES

Introduction: The old city of Jericho was a very much constructed, walled city. History lets us know that it was encircled by 2 gigantic stone walls. The external wall was 6 feet thick and 20 feet high. The internal wall was 12 feet thick and 30 feet high. There was a 15 foot watched walkway between these two walls. From a tactical point of view, it was essentially impervious.

The walled city of Jericho remained as a physical and mental snag between individuals of Israel and them guaranteeing the land God had guaranteed them. Before they could move further into Canaan, the walled city of Jericho previously needed to fall. That old city that remained among Israel and triumph is an image of those things that are settled in and established in our lives. It addresses the things that keep us from going further with God ourselves. Despite how devout you might need to think you are, there are things implanted in your life that obstruct your everyday life with the Almighty. It could be some plaguing sin that keeps you from going further in the things of God. It might a base of harshness and unforgiveness that stands among you and God's ideal. It very well might be an old, awful disposition that is keeping you down. It very well may be something from your past that you battle with step by step. It very well may be some individual that stands bigger than God in your eyes. It very well may be some harmed, some slight you have gotten through that holds you back from pushing ahead with God. Anything that it is, that thing remains as a fortress in your life and it remains among you and God's best for you. Regardless, it has you halted abruptly, and you will move no farther until you defeat that fortification in your life. Before you will at any point get all God has for you, that fortification should be destroyed! As we consider this urgent crossroads in Israel's set of experiences, we can find the assist we with expecting to beat our own fortresses. Notice with me the illustrations that current themselves in this section as we discuss Overcoming Our Strongholds. I. 5:13-15 THERE IS A LESSON ABOUT SUPREMACY I understood that we took a gander at these stanzas last week, yet they have a lot of to do with the entry that lies before us today. Allow me to take one minute to revive your psyches about the substance and setting of these stanzas. A. There Is A Supreme Person - This person that Joshua meets beyond Jericho distinguishes Himself as "The Captain of the host of the Lord." This nothing under an individual, pre-Bethlehem sign and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Joshua encountered Jesus Christ! This discusses the question of Salvation. Before we can at any point appreciate triumph in our excursion, we should initially begin the excursion. The excursion starts with salvation. Is the Lord Jesus Christ your Savior today? Has there at any point been a particular second in your life when you realize that you were a delinquent gone to Hell and that no one but Jesus could save you. Do you recall when you were saved by the power and beauty of God? On the off chance that it has happened to you, you will know it! At the point when Someone the size of God gets in you, you will know about it! Have you had an individual showdown with the Person of God? This is only a thought, however notice that Joshua's experience with the Lord made him bow in love, v. 14. Did you see that? Your craving to venerate says a great deal regarding your relationship to God. Salvation will leave you worshiping, yet it will likewise leave you bowing, v. 14. B. There Is A Supreme Position - Next, the Lord lets Joshua know that He is the "Skipper of the Lord's host." That is, He is the One Who is generally triumphant. He is the One Who is strolling in triumph even before the fight is battled. He is the One Who is in charge of all circumstances. He is reminding Joshua Who truly takes on the conflicts! This talks about our Sanctification. We should come to where that's what we perceive assuming there will at any point be any triumphs in our day to day existence, they will come about as a result of His power and not our own. We should comprehend that we are to respect His power in each aspect of our lives and that we are to trust Him to get the triumph for us in each fight we battle. So then, at that point, purification is our approaching to where we commit our lives to Him and trust Him to carry us to the spot of triumph. Purification is us recognizing Him to be Lord in each aspect of our lives. Is that valid for you? Or on the other hand, are there parts of your life that are forbidden to God? Genuine blessing realizes that He is Lord of all, or He isn't Lord in any way! It realizes that He should be given the Master key to each everyday issue. Have you found a sense of peace with Who is truly in charge? Until you do, you can disregard supported triumph, you should become acclimated to overcome. C. There Is A Supreme Power - When Joshua meets this man, there are two or three things that are odd about their gathering. To start with, there is the Lord's response to Joshua's test. Joshua asked Him, "Are you for us or for them?" The Lord replied, "No!" That's truly peculiar! Then, there is the question of everything the Lord says to Joshua to do in stanza 15. There he is told to free his shoe off his foot. Why only one? At the point when Moses met the Lord at the consuming shrub, he was told to take off the two shoes, Ex. 3:5. That sure is bizarre to me. Nonetheless, these two occasions address us about the issue of Surrender. At the point when Joshua inquired as to whether He was for Israel or for Israel's foes, the Lord said, "No!" What the Lord is saying is this, "Joshua, I didn't come to favor one side, I came to assume control over!" This is a call for Joshua to give up to the power of the Lord in the fight at Jericho. Joshua is made to understand that God, not Joshua, is the power behind the triumph that will come. What an example for the congregation! We should discover that our prosperity and our triumph won't ever involve our own power or capacity. God is essentially reminding us, as He did Joshua, that He hasn't arrived to favor one side in our fights, He is here to dominate! For what reason did the Lord simply request one shoe? The response lies in old custom. At the point when a pledge was made between two people, in which one had ability to keep the contract and the other didn't, the more fragile individual gave the other individual one of his shoes. It was his approach to saying, "I can't, yet you can." This is found in Ruth 4:6-8. For Joshua, this was a test for him to come to where he could concede his own shortcoming and failure to acquire the triumph. It was a call for him to give up to the Lord. For our purposes, we want to gain proficiency with reality that we can't, yet He can! There are some here and you have been attempting to face your conflicts in your own power and you simply continue making one whip after another. You want to draw off your shoe, hand it to God and say, "Master, I can't face these conflicts, yet you can! I can't win the triumphs I want in my life, yet you can!" What I am saying is that we really want to come to the spot of outright acquiescence! To that place where we and the sum total of what we have are at the feet of God. To the spot where we will express, once for all, "I can't Lord, yet You can!" Sick. Notice with me that Joshua is a champion! At the point when he got down before the Lord, he put himself in a weak position. He uncovered his neck. He set himself in a position where he was unable to utilize his own sword. He set himself in a place of outrageous shortcoming. He was completely respected the Lord! Until we arrive where we perceive His matchless quality regardless, there won't ever be triumph over the fortifications in our lives. I. There Is A Lesson About Supremacy II. 6:1-5 THERE IS A LESSON ABOUT SUBMISSION The subsequent significant stage in the way toward otherworldly triumph over the fortifications of life requests trust in the Lord. There are three regions in which Joshua showed outright accommodation. These should be valid concerning us too. A. v. 1-2 He Was SubmissiveTo God's Promises - Before Joshua wages war against the city of Jericho; he is helped to remember the Lord's vows to give Israel the triumph. There were Past Promises - Josh. 2:9 and there were Present Promises - Josh. 6:2. The previous commitments helped Joshua to remember what the Lord had said He would do some time in the past. Rahab had some significant awareness of these commitments for quite a long time. The current commitments reminded Joshua that the Lord had not altered His perspective with regards to this issue. God actually planned to give Israel the triumph in this. As we take a gander at our fortresses today, we might believe that we won't ever see them fall at our feet. May we at any point recall that God will constantly stay faithful to His commitments! He has guaranteed us the triumph, and the triumph will be our own, 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:37. Anything God has guaranteed, He is well ready to bring to pass, Rom. 4:21; Eph. 3:20. He didn't save you with the goal that you could carry on with your life held hostage in some walled city. We have His previous commitments: Isa. 43:2. We have His current commitments: Heb. 13:5; 2 Cor. 12:9. B. v. 3-5a He Was Submissive To God's Plan - by all accounts, God's arrangement for Israel's triumph appears to be truly unusual. All things considered, what was truly expected of Israel to bring the walls of Jericho down? Nothing! At the point when you get directly down to it, all they needed to do was to stick to the script and the walls would tumble down level. What was His arrangement? Seven clerics bearing seven trumpets were to stroll before the ark. The ministers would blow the trumpets and individuals were to stroll behind the ark, and the entire procession was to stroll around the city once every day for 6 days. On the seventh day, they were to stroll around the city multiple times and toward the finish of the seventh time, they were to yell. At the point when this occurred, the walls would tumble down level. Walled urban areas like Jericho, which were based on slopes, similar to Jericho generally were just vanquished after attacks enduring a while. Urban areas like J