An Advance Praise - Praise Him In Advance
Joshua 6:1-20 Text v.16 (20)
There are some times that for all that God has spoken into our spirits, we find ourselves facing situations, hurdles and circumstances that seem to be impermeable…Walls! We find sometimes that there is brokenness that hinders us from receiving what God has desired
for us to have…Walls! We find there are some burdens of life that we are trying to bare, some un-forgiveness in our spirit, some inability to move beyond who and what we are today…Walls! Nevertheless, I am here to tell you today, that no matter what the walls are in your life, God is sufficient in all things. The God who has brought you thus far on the way did not bring you to the wilderness to leave you. You are standing on the edge of the Promised Land. Your eyes may not be able to see it but set your spirit to receive it. You are on the edge of your breakthrough, on the edge of your victory, on the brink of receiving the fullness of the promises of God. Your walls are about to come tumbling down!
As we look at our text this morning we find the Israelites in the same position as some of us in here. There they are standing on the edge of the promise land. Finally, after their years of bondage. Finally after facing the Red Sea. Finally after wondering in the wilderness for 40 years and after loosing their leader Moses. Generations after the promise had been spoken to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After their period of trial, tribulation and travails…Now they are standing with the promise land in their vision. But there is a catch here, a bit of a snag in the process. You see even though they have caught a glimpse of the Promised Land, In spite of the fact that their place of victory is just around the bend, they still can’t touch it yet. See there is this issue of a wall. A wall that is separating them from the fulfillment of the promise. A wall that is hindering them from moving from where they are right now and the place that God has called them to be.
Joshua and the children of Israel were on a conquest to gain the promised land, a land promised to them in order for them to get there they had to overcome and conquer the obstacles in their way.
I wonder saints, how many of us have found ourselves in a similar situation. We recognize that God has spoken his promises over us but yet we find ourselves facing walls (barriers:obstacles:limitations:unbelief ). We find ourselves facing something, a gap that needs to be bridged, some growth that needs to take place, a stronghold that needs to be broken, a wall that needs to be removed that keeps us from receiving the God ordained place of victory on the other side. So the question becomes, how do we remove the walls. How do we overcome the obstacles? How do we position ourselves to receive all that God desires for us to have and be?
The scripture tells us in verse two that the Lord said unto Joshua: See, I have given into thine hand Jericho. The word SEE is an interesting word, which brings me to our first point this morning. And that point is that we must develop our spiritual eye.
Understand that when God begins this conversation
with Joshua God wants him to See this situation with his spiritual eyes . He is not asking him to see the situation through his physical eyes. He is not asking Him to evaluate the situation based on what he can touch or upon that which is tangible. He is not even asking him to evaluate it based on what seems reasonable. He is telling Joshua to look with his Spiritual Eye. See it is through the spiritual eyes that even while we are in the crucible of pressure, even when it looks like all hope is gone that we can look to the hills from whence cometh our help for our help cometh from the Lord. So here Joshua stands overlooking the city of Jericho. Jericho, the city that he and Caleb along with ten other spies had looked upon 40 years earlier.The same Jericho, that the children of Israel had decided they would be unable to conquer. Jericho which had two walls that encompassed the city. Jericho this fortified impregnable city and now God is saying See…I have given unto thy hand Jericho.
So, God is asking Joshua to have faith. He is saying to Joshua that I have spoken a promise to the people of Israel and in this moment I am about to make good on my word.
That brings us to point two, You have got to be willing to put action with your faith. Now when you look at the scripture, one would suspect that when God gives an order like that - an order to simply march around the wall day after day - that there would be some objections and that somebody would balk at that command. But the interesting thing here is that the Israelites were not afraid to trust God to do a new thing.
I have to question the saints and ask? How many of us are afraid to let God do in a new thing in our lives. Afraid to let God do a new thing in our situations.
Yet, many of us, when God starts speaking, when God starts trying to do a new thing in our lives…We get a case of the stiff neck and a case of lead feet because we refuse to move forward on the promises of God.
It is as though we believe somehow that the same God that at the beginning of creation was able to speak light into the darkness, the same God that was able to bring order out of chaos, the same God that was able to speak to the Red Sea and had it open up so that the Isrealites could cross over on dry land, that somehow the same God that loves us so much that He would number even the hairs on our head, that somehow the same God that loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus the Christ to die for you and me, that somehow the same God that was able to raise that same Son on the Third day with all power in His hand. That somehow that same God is suddenly unable to perform the miraculous with the impossible. It is as if sometimes we forget that God is bigger than the situations in our lives. We refuse to move on with what God says as if He is not alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the author and the finisher of our faith. We allow our fear of the unknown and the uncertainty to paralyze us and limit us from receiving all that God has planed for our lives.
God has told us that He would give us the desires of our hearts. He has told us that He would never forsake us nor would He ever leave us. He has told us that he is our strength and our refuge. Yet, we act as if he is not omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent and that He has not charted a path for our lives and ordained a place of victory for us. We refuse to move outside of our comfort zones, unsure of where our feet are going to land. But the bible say's that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I am here to tell you that God is ready to do a new thing in your life and when God starts moving on your behalf there is no weapon formed against you that can prosper for Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the World and if God be for you who can be against you.The Bible say's In Romans Chapter 8 Yeah , in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In order to bring down the walls in our lives we must develop an Praise Him in Advance Attitude.
See the scripture tells us that the Israelites were doing as God commanded and were going around the wall for the seventh time on the seventh day. And as God commanded, on that seventh time the priests let out a blast on the trumpets. Now let me clarify something. There is an interesting thing about the trumpets. The trumpets that these priest were sounding were not the trumpets to announce battle. These trumpets were the same trumpets that are used in worship to signify that the presence of the Lord was in the place. These were the trumpets of jubilee. These were trumpets of praise. Please note here that at the time that these trumpets of jubilee began to sound that the walls were still standing. The shouts that went up were an advance praise i.e. they had a Praise Him in Advance Attitude. The shouts went up not because the victory was already won, but the shouts went up because the Israelites understood that the battle was not theirs but the Lords. See their praising began not because they had fulfilled the promise, but the praise went up in recognition of the fact that God had spoken promise and the word of promise that He had spoken was going to accomplish that thing that it was sent out to do. It would not return back void. The praises went up in recognition of the fact that no matter what things may look like from the outside that God had already ordered their steps and He had shown them without question that all the promises of God in Him are yea and amen. . And as the shouts of praise went up the walls fell down flat.
I don't know who I am preaching to but somebody in here needs some walls to fall down in their lives you've been making progress by living in the Spirit, you've been making progress by praying in the Spirit, you've been believing the Word of God and advancing in spiritual victory but now it seems you have come up against a wall.
Walls - symbolize Barries,Obstacles,Limitations,Unbelief.
You may feel like your up against a barrier like something is hindering you or an obstacle that is in your way and preventing you from making progress as a matter of fact the conditions say you are limited but it's time to shout unto the Lord for your walls to come down. The walls of unbelief, the walls of fear, the walls that are hindering you from you into your promised land. Look at your neighbour and tell them," Your Deliverance Is In Your Praise." I dare you to shout now like you’ve got the victory right now.I dare you to start praising God like you going crazy.You don’t have to wait for the battle to be over. You can shout right now. It's time to confuse the enemy he don't even know whats getting ready to happen but he will see the ending of your story so praise God in Advance.
An Advance praise will Praise God despite what ever comes to try and destroy you.
An Advance Praise will Praise God for the victory that has already been won.And since, the battle is the Lord's I already know that I have the victory. So I will praise him in advance.We need to learn that when we praise God, He inhabits our praise.Praise Him before the trouble comes. When we learn how to praise him before trouble comes we worry less. When we learn how to praise him before trouble comes we will not have sleepless nights. When we learn how to praise him before the trouble comes our heads won’t be racked with pain, because there is no problem too hard for God. In the times of trouble, when it seem like nothing is going right. When it seems like all hope is gone. How many times have you found yourself at the crossroad of I don’t know what to do but when you have an advance praise what happens where God is concerned is that, the relationship that you have on the inside of you with God. The Holy Ghost will begin to reveal to you that in the time of trouble, That God promises to be a very present help in the time of trouble. Since God's promises are good. He is not like a man that he should not lie. So, if you establish relationship and praise him before the dark days comes he is right there. Somebody is going through something and you can’t find anything to shout about. By the POWER of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost I come to deliver the mail to you and let you know that God is getting ready to break the devil off of your back. I here in my spirit, that the people of God will not live a defeated life. We shall not be broke always. We shall not be sick always. I hear David saying in the book of psalm I shall not die but I shall live. And since I have a desire to live I will praise the lord at all time and his praises shall continually be in my mouth.
And then when it is all over. You need to praise him because, trouble don’t last always.Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. The lord will have us to know that praise is mans highest duty and Gods greatest joy. If you really want to make the Lord happy I dare you to praise his name. There are many people around the world that still don't know who Jesus is. They are waiting on us to let them know what the Lord will do for them. God will have us to know that if you were delivered from any strongholds. That it's our job to testify. The Bible say's ," Let the redeemed of the Lord say so those who have been redeemed from the hand of the enemy.
Psalm 150 says , ” Let everything that hath breath praise the lord.”
So many times we feel like we don’t have nothing to praise the lord for. But, you and I we got something to praise the lord for. You ought to praise him cause can’t nobody do you like Jesus can’t nobody do you like the Lord. Is there anybody here ever tried my God. Ain’t he alright. I am so glad I tried him for myself. He said Lo, I will be with you always even until the end of the world.
Song: Jesus Saves - Marvin Winans & The Perfected Praise Choir
Verse 1:
I heard a joyful sound, Jesus saves, Jesus saves
Spread the tiding, spread them all around,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
I heard a joyful sound, Jesus saves, Jesus saves
Spread the tiding, spread them all around,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Chorus 1:
To the utmost Jesus saves
To the utmost Jesus saves
He will pick you up and turn you around,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Jesus saves
Verse 2:
Now if you're a liar or a cheater, don't leave,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves
Maybe you need to go and get a friend,
go and tell a neighbor,
tell them that he saves Jesus saves
If you're a liar, maybe been a cheat,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves
go out and get a friend, pick up negihbor,
the word out on the street that he saves, Jesus saves
Chorus 1
Chorus 2:
To the utmost Jesus saves
To the utmost Jesus saves
He will pick you up and turn you around,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Jesus saves.
Vamp 1:
Sopranos/Altos: Halle
All: lujah, Jesus Saves
Vamp 2:
Sopranos/Altos: Do, do, do
All: do, do, do, do, do, do, do
Tenors: do, do
Vamp 3:
Hallelujah, Jesus saves.
Hallelujah, Jesus saves.
Bishop Dr. Charles C Jones
