INTRO:
- The text today gives us a picture of a journey...
- Perhaps parallels a journey many of us face...
A. God saves us, brings us out of slavery and sin
B. Yet He desires us to go into blessing and fullness of life
C. There is a Jericho...
...or walls built around our emotions that prevent us from going in
...One side of Jordan desert
...One side fruitful / vegetation
D. You have stayed long enough...
...it's time to tear down walls
- They had come out of Egypt (limiting...restricting)
- But had not gone into Canaan (fullness)
- They had come out of Egypt
- But Egypt had not come out of them
- Jericho...was tightly shut up (silence)
„X No one went out
„X No one came in
-Three things to consider:
1. The Silence
2. The Stones
3. The Shout
1. THE SILENCE
For many reasons people hold their pain inside.
They're not sure how to handle the pain
They usually resolve to "The Silent Treatment"
But don't be fooled by the silence.
There is a storm brewing under the silence.
EXAMPLE: The teapot
- Silence is often associated with emotional pain
- Many times you don't even have the skills to communicate
- Because you were always told to shut up!
- Sometimes it's born out of an overbearing parent / spouse
„X Home of an alcoholic...If I just stay quiet
„X Excessively busy
„X Over dominate
„X Controlling
„X Loud / Yelling
- when we grow up without affirmation or approval
- Silence replaces the ability to express emotions
„X The alcoholic couldn't give approval...
„X Because he was always drunk
„X The preoccupied parent couldn't give approval...
„X Because they were too busy
„X The over controlling parent couldn't give approval...
„X Because they were too busy correcting
- Silence often comes because they don't know
„X What or how to say
„X Their feelings are tangled and confused
- Silence can come from the threat of our abuser...
„X "If you tell anyone, terrible things will happen..."
„X The abuser convinces you that you deserve it.
- When someone you trust...hurts you...and then says "don't say anything"...that's entrapment
o Jericho = tightly shut up
- There is now no way to vent your negative emotion
- Then Silence...aloneness...depression...fear...sets in
- Anxiety is birthed out of silence
- Silence happens when you're afraid that the pain of not being believed is greater than what happened.
- You may be married to this person
- I wish they would talk...
„X But Jericho is tightly shut up
„X I can't get in
„X He won't come out
- Don't run in the cave after the sleeping silent bear...you will get hurt
- But provide a safe place for Superman to show he is really only Clark Kent!!!
- And not judge him...preach to him...or mother him.
„X ...just be a sounding board for the silence to be broken
„X Because not it's time for your Jericho to shut up!
2. THE STONES
>>>Forest Gump Video Clip
- Sometimes there's not enough stones
o They hurt you feel punctures deep into your soul
o And causes you to start building walls of protection
o Ancient cities had walls to keep out invaders...
EXAMPLE: Nehemiah
o Invaders that ravage and ruin the land
o Emotionally you build walls to keep from being ravaged and ruined
-they are a defense mechanism
-I won't love anyone...
-I hate all men...
-I will never fall in love again...
...all walls
...tightly shut up
...letting no one in
...no one out!
o The problem with building walls
o Is that while it keeps evil out...
o ...It also keeps others that want to love you...out
o Walled cities completely dictate people's lifestyles
...when they could come and go
...when they could do business
o Totally dependent on when the gates were open
* Today: Husband and Wife
Father and Son
* What to communicate
* But one has to guess
* When the other's gate is open
* When they are approachable
o All I want to hear is..."I love you"
o But your lips remain sealed!
THE BLOCKS YOU BUILD WITH INCLUDE:
1. Temper
2. Depression
3. Fear
4. Doubt
5. Negative
6. Cynical
7. Bitterness
8. Suspicion
9. Worry
10. Anxiety
EXAMPLE: Illustration
...build with these blocks
...and hide behind them
-The devil will always supply the mortar
MORTAR: Insecurities
Hurts
Weakness
Fears
-Now we have...
A. The woman who won't talk to her husband because...
...every time she spoke as a child she was told to shut up and sit down!
...stupid!
B. The man who is silent and passive in his home...
...because his mother was over protective
...was rejected by a girl
C. The man who wants to show compassion but can't...
...because he grew up with an abusive or absent father
- when you are living behind defensive walls...
- you are living under an oppression
- A prisoner of your own thoughts
- You will grow old surrounded by family...
- ...but alone
- Saying I don't need anyone
3. THE SHOUT
Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
- It's time to break the silence
- God will be your strong tower
- You won't be left unprotected after you tear down the walls!
- Fear is the foundation of most walls
- Cast out fear
- Tell God how you feel
- God will not treat you like others have
- God will not be mad at you for being honest
ISAIAH 58:9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
- The best thing I ever did was confess my hurt...
- It opened the door of healing
- You shall know the truth / and the truth will set you free
JOSHUA 6:15
...on the seventh day
...it took some time
...healing is a process
DEUTERONOMY 7:22
The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
- But the shout tears down the walls
- You must talk about it
EXAMPLE: I told my wife
I talked to my father
Not all at once
It was a process
Keep walking around those walls
