WHAT IS YOUR JERICHO?
Hebrews 11:6
“By FAITH the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.”
INTRODUCTION:
The passage I read from Hebrews 11 speaks of one of the greatest success’ in the History of Israel. We all like “SUCCESS!” I know I do & I’m sure that you do as well. I mean nobody likes “LOSING”
But to keep from losing there are certain things that have to be done in order for “SUCCESS” to have its place in your life. We all know that “SUCCESS” just doesn’t happen by osmosis or hanging around the right people or really for the most part being in the right place at the right time! There is from time to time “HAPPENSTANCE” but that’s not real “SUCCESS!” Most people who have benefited from “HAPPENSTANCE” never kept what they got so therefore their idea of “SUCCESS” was elusive to say the least.
I’m reminded of a guy I met in Wyoming who was just a pot-head. While smoking pot on a huge rock overlooking a valley he picked up a small piece of rock & a friend saw it in his little trailer who took it to his brother-n-law who was a geologist. He looked at it & realized it was a precious stone: “JADE!” Long story short the pot-head become a millionaire over night but within a few short years lost it all!
You might be thinking what does all this have to do with the “Walls of Jericho?” Stay with me, I’m getting there! You see it has everything to do with it this morning!
The Children of Israel were at an impasse on the Plains of Jericho. They were not able to go any farther because of the God had stopped them in the Plains of Jericho. Jericho had strategic importance for them & what God had for them! They didn’t realize it till in Joshua 5:13-15 that the Commander of the Lord’s Army appeared before Joshua & told him...
“Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.”
The first glimpse of Jericho must have been awe-inspiring & frightening at the same time. The closer they got the smaller they felt. They began to realize what it meant while seeing this great walled city of how a generation before them felt like grasshoppers causing them to fail to enter the Promised Land!
A 6' wide lower wall & 50' high upper wall encircled the city. It was so thick & tall the city seemed to be an impenetrable fortress! It seemed that God had promised something impossible & His battle plan was absolutely nonsensical:
“Your entire army is to march around the city once a day for 6 days. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times.”
The soldiers must have been wondering why! Why not use a battering ram? Why not scale the walls? Why not cut off the water supply or shoot flaming arrows over the walls? But God told them to “SILENTLY CIRCLE THE CITY!” And He promised, they circled 13 times over 7 days, the Wall would fall!
The last day of their so-called siege started early! The 1st time around the soldiers must have felt “SILLY & STUPID!” Have you ever felt “SILLY & STUPID” over something that God told you to do!
But with each circling, their stride grew longer & stronger! Each circle a Holy Confidence was building pressure inside their souls! By the seventh day, their faith was ready to pop!
In keeping with God’s command they had done what was told them without uttering a sound for seven days! The silently “CIRCLED THE PROMISE!” Then the Priest sounded their horns and a simultaneous shout followed. 600,000 Israelites raised their voices in a Holy Roar & the walls came tumbling down for their Victory!
IF YOU KEEP CIRCLING THE PROMISE, GOD WILL ULTIMATELY DELIVER ON IT!
You keep “CIRCLING or PRAYING” until God gives you what “HE” wants & wills for your life! Understand something about the “POWER OF PRAYER!” The more you “PRAY” the clearer the picture becomes till you see in the “CLARITY” that God sees! In doing so you begin to see & understand & want what He wants & wills!
The “CIRCLING / PRAYING” is all part & parcel of “IDENTIFYING YOUR JERICHO!” If you don’t “IDENTIFY YOUR JERICHO” you will not know what to pray for our about! Therefore a “FRUSTRATION” could set in on your spirit that could ultimate destroy your relationship with Jesus, you & your soul! Because you won’t be seeing in God’s “CLARITY” for His will for your life!
Prayer “EVOLVES” with time! That’s why God holds the answer till you’re ready for the answer! That’s why God says “WAIT” so much of the time! It’s not because He’s waiting for the right moment all the time but much of the time He’s waiting on “YOU!”
You may say that you’re ready but your “PRAYERS & ACTIONS” prove otherwise!
Most of our prayers seem to go unanswered but it only seems that way! God always answers prayer but He will not answer a prayer that is not His Will!
James 4:3 tells us profoundly that...
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
He answers Prayers that are “HIS WILL, HIS WAY & IN HIS TIME!” The greatest of these #3 is “IN HIS TIME!” WHY? I’m glad you asked! You can’t receive from God in the “WRONG STATE & FRAME OF MIND!” So your “CIRCLING / PRAYING” is critical in the “PREPARING OF YOUR MIND!”
Sometimes our “GOALS & DREAMS” are just to broad-scoped! We need to define our goals! The Commander of the Army of God helped Joshua define his need & God’s Goal for him!
You need to...
DEFINE YOUR GOAL...CLAIM YOUR PROMISE...SPELL YOU MIRACLE!
What is your “GREATEST NEED?” Some things will define it for you! “HEALTH ISSUES” will define it for your real quick! “FINANCIAL TROUBLES” will define it for your real quick! “MARITAL PROBLEMS” will define it for you real quick! All of these & more will change the “PERSPECTIVE OF NEED!”
Let’s talk about “PERSPECTIVE OF NEED” for a moment! “PERSPECTIVE”
changes with “ATTITUDE!” Understand that “PERSPECTIVE” can be good or bad! “PERSPECTIVE” will always determine “OUTLOOK” on any situation! You “OUTLOOK” is based on your “ATTITUDE!”
If I walk over to the far left my “PERSPECTIVE” changes because my physical “ATTITUDE” has changed! I see you differently! What I speak of in perception is physical change in position. But the more important is the “EMOTIONALITY & SPIRITUALITY” of “PERSPECTIVE & ATTITUDE!”
Pilots understand “ATTITUDE!” You may think that “ALTITUDE” is the most important aspect of flying but that would be wrong! You can have plenty of “ALTITUDE” without the right “ATTITUDE” & you’ll fall from the sky almost imperceptibly! “ALTITUDE” is important but “ATTITUDE” is critical!
So here is my question to you this morning!
“WHAT IS YOUR JERICHO?”
Jericho is spelled many ways this morning! If a loved one is far from God it’s spelled “SALVATION!” If a marriage is falling apart is spelled “RECONCILIATION!” If you’re having financial problems it’s spelled “PROVISION!” If you’re having physical maladies then it’s spelled “HEALING!”
Whatever your Jericho is this morning you have to “IDENTIFY” it in order to deal with it! I want you to come up here this morning as you personally “IDENTIFY” your Jericho this morning & I want to pray for you! For whatever it is!
