Jennifer Breeding, from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, was visiting her parents with her two young daughters. They watched from the breakfast table as a man came to the back door. When the visitor left, Grandpa explained that he was an appraiser.
“What's an appraiser?” the younger child asked.
Before Grandpa had a chance to explain, older sister quickly cleared up the matter: “He's a praiser. He goes to church every Sunday.” (Jennifer Breeding, Whiteman AFB, Missouri, “Lite Fare.” Christian Reader; www.PreachingToday.com)
I wish that all of us are “praisers”, because there is tremendous power in praise! Your praise will overcome the forces of evil. Your praise will take down the barriers that prevent you from being all that God has called you to be. Your praise will conquer the devil’s strongholds that keep you in bondage to sin.
You say, “Phil, how? How can my praise make any real difference in my life? How can my worship win me the battles against evil? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Joshua 6, Joshua 6, where we see how the power of praise worked for the children of Israel as they begin to conquer the Promised Land.
Joshua 6:1-4 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. (ESV)
These are the same trumpets they use in worship. The priests blew them at their great feasts and over their sacrifices in the tabernacle (Numbers 10:9-10). The trumpets of war were also the trumpets of worship!
Joshua 6:5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” (ESV)
When the people shout, the walls of the city will fall! Now, the Hebrew word for “shout” is the same word used in the context of Israel’s worship throughout the Old Testament. Psalm 66:1 says, “Shout for joy to God, all the earth.” Psalm 81:1 says, “Shout for joy to the God of Jacob!”
Psalm 95:1 says, “Make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” And Psalm 95:2 says, “Make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” The Hebrew word for “make a joyful noise” is the same word translated “shout” here in Joshua 6. You see it again in Psalm 98:4, where it says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth”, and again, in Psalm 98:6, where it says, “Make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!” Psalm 100:1 also uses the same word when it says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!”
So when God tells the children of Israel to shout outside the walls of Jericho, they would understand this as a shout of praise, a joyful noise before the Lord. You see, their worship, not their weapons, will bring those walls down. Their praise is powerful to tear down the barriers that would keep them from the Promised Land.
And your praise has the power to do the same thing. Your worship can bring down the strongholds of the enemy in your own life. So…
PRAISE THE LORD!
Shout for joy to God in the face of those strongholds. Make a joyful noise to the Lord before any barriers that stand in your way.
In 1987 Laszlo Tokes became pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania. Unlike his predecessor, he refused to compromise with the communist government. He restored the church to its biblical roots. He revitalized its worship, and the church grew to 5,000 people.
Each one paid a high price to worship, running the gauntlet of secret police in order to get into the church building. Their names were on endless lists, and many of them suffered physical hardships. Some even disappeared in the night never to be seen again, but still they came.
Ceausescu’s government, to say the least, was not pleased. He determined to take Laszlo Tokes by force on December 15, 1989. But when he sent his secret police, they found a human shield around the church. Members of Tokes’ congregation had come to protest his removal. Soon Christians from other churches all over the country had joined them. And at 1 a.m. December 16, the light from hundreds of candles pierced the darkness.
It was the beginning of the end of communism in Romania. In less than 10 days, Romania was free and Ceausescu was gone (Charles Colson, The Body, pp.54-60).
That’s the story of communism’s fall all over eastern Europe. It’s the story of the church, refined by the fires of persecution, truly worshipping the Lord. And in that worship, they won the war against the powers of darkness in high places.
You too can win the war against the powers of darkness in your own life. Just worship God. Praise the Lord, but in your praise…
OBEY THE LORD, as well.
By faith, follow His commands. Trust Him enough to do what He says even when it doesn’t make sense to you. That’s what the Children of Israel did.
Joshua 6:6-11 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.” And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.” And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” So he caused the ark of the LORD to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. (ESV)
They circle the city once and then go back to their camp. Now, the city only covered about 8 or 9 acres, so that would have taken them about 30 minutes to walk around it.
Joshua 6:12-14 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets blew continually. And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days. (ESV)
They did just as God had commanded them.
Now, imagine yourself watching all this from behind the walls of Jericho. You’re scared spitless, because you know the Israelites are coming. You’ve heard the stories of how they wiped out entire nations on the other side of the Jordan River. You’ve also heard how the Jordan River in its flood stage stopped flowing, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground. Then you wake up one morning to see the vast Israeli army coming your way, and you think, “This is it! We’re goners.” But to your utter amazement, all they do is walk around the city and go back to their camp. For 30 minutes, you experience sheer terror, waiting for them to strike, but they never do. The next day, they come back. Again, you experience 30 minutes of sheer terror, but then watch as the Israelites return to their camp.
They do this for three, four, five, six days, and you begin to think maybe they’re afraid to attack; maybe you’re safe after all; and perhaps, your army could get the upper hand. After all, what’s to stop Jericho’s soldiers from picking off a few Israeli’s with a good bow and arrow. They could do it from the top of the wall, or they could rush out of the city gates to break up Israel’s line.
On the surface, the Israeli’s were following a dumb strategy, but God was testing their faith. Would they trust God enough to obey Him even when it didn’t make sense? Yes! They did obey God.
And that’s what you must do if you want to overcome the forces of evil in your own life. By faith, do what God tells you to do even when it doesn’t make sense.
Dave Harvey, in his book Rescuing Ambition talks about one of the greatest rescue missions of World War II.
Late in that war, American bombers were sent on dangerous missions over southern Europe to cripple the Nazis' oil supplies. Hundreds of crews in flying tin cans soared through storms of anti-aircraft shells. Many American pilots were forced to bail from their shot-up planes. The injured airmen drifted by parachute into occupied Yugoslavia, expecting to be captured or killed.
Instead, on the ground remarkable rescue teams were already in place. Serbian peasants tracked the path of the floating flight crews. Their sole mission was to grab the flyboys and bring them to safety—before the Nazis arrived.
Risking their own lives, the peasants fed and sheltered the downed solders. These rescued men were in friendly hands but on enemy soil. They still needed to escape.
The story of what became known as Operation Haylard builds toward a daring mission, a secret landing strip, and a clandestine evacuation plan. Amazingly, those Serbian peasants rescued every single American airman—over 500 in all.
However, to get to freedom, the airmen had to spend weeks following the Serbian freedom fighters, who alone knew the path to the evacuation site. There were profound language barriers, but the direction, the pace, and the destination were in the hands of their rescuers. The men had been saved from their enemy, but the journey had just begun. They still had to walk to freedom. (Dave Harvey, Rescuing Ambition, Crossway, 2010, pp. 63-64; www.PreachingToday.com)
In a similar way, Christ rescued you from the enemy of your soul when He died on the cross and rose again. Now, to experience freedom, He invites you to follow Him in a direction and at a pace that may not make sense at times. Even so, by faith, do what He says even when you don’t understand Him.
For example, it doesn’t always make sense to tell the truth, but God says, “Put away falsehood” and “speak the truth with [your] neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25). It doesn’t always make sense to let go of your anger, but God says, “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). It doesn’t always make sense to hold your tongue, but God says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up… that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). It doesn’t always make sense to forgive the one who has wronged you, but God says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). It doesn’t always make sense to obey God, but that’s what true worship is all about, and that’s what breaks down the barriers. That’s what brings down the strongholds of the enemy in your own life.
If that’s what you want, then 1st, by faith, praise the Lord; 2nd, by faith, obey the Lord; and 3rd by faith…
GIVE TO THE LORD.
Offer God the first part of your income. Present to Him the first and best part of what He gives you. That’s what the children of Israel did when God gave them Jericho, the first of many cities that they would conquer.
Joshua 6:15-21 On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city. And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. (ESV)
They destroyed everything and everyone except Rahab, her family, and those things that could not be destroyed – the silver, gold, bronze, and iron. Those, they put in the “treasury of the Lord.”
The very first city that God gives them, they give back to the Lord. They devote it completely to Him. They don’t wait until they have conquered all the cities in the promised land, and then give God the “leftovers.” No! They give God the first and best of what He gave them.
And that’s what you must do if you’re going to overcome the forces of evil in your own life. Give to God the first and best of what He gives you. That’s what worship is all about, and that’s what breaks down the walls of the enemy.
An African believer earned money by making and selling a special kind of bean cake. And from those earnings, she regularly gave ten percent to the Lord. However, after an accident which severely injured her foot, she couldn’t make the bean cakes for a while. Her income ceased, and it was many long months before she recovered.
She eagerly waited for the day she could sell her tasty bean cakes again. And when that day finally came, she promised the missionary that she would give one-third of her earnings to the Lord instead of the 10% she used to give. She said her goal for the first week of business was to make a profit of three shillings.
That’s why the missionary was surprised when the woman returned after only two days with one shilling as an offering for the Lord. “You surely haven’t’ earned three shillings already!” He exclaimed.
The woman was perplexed by his response. “Do you think I would give my Lord the last of the three?” She asked. “This is the first one and it belongs to Him. The other two I make will be for me.” (Bible Illustrator #2121)
That woman, by faith, gave God the first part of her income, trusting God to provide the rest! You do the same! For example, don’t give God the end of your life; give Him your youth. Don’t give God the end of your day; start your day with Him. Don’t give God the leftovers of your salary; give God the first part of your salary. Write that first check to Him and then live on the rest.
That’s part of what worship is all about, and it wins the war against the enemy in your own life. If you want to bring down the devil’s strongholds, 1st, by faith, praise the Lord; 2nd, by faith, obey the Lord; 3rd, by faith, give to the Lord; and 4th, by faith…
PAY YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.
Keep your promises. Honor your commitments. That’s what the children of Israel did when they spared Rahab’s life.
Joshua 6:22-23 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. (ESV)
That’s a place where they would be kept safe.
Joshua 6:24-25 And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (ESV)
They kept their promise to Rahab.
Joshua 6:26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.” (ESV)
The Israelites honored that oath for several hundred years. Then in 870 B.C., 1 Kings 16 records that in the days of wicked King Ahab, “Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub…” (1 Kings 16:34). In arrogant pride, he broke the oath and paid dearly. That’s in sharp contrast to Joshua, who humbly obeyed the Lord and kept his commitments.
Joshua 6:27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land. (ESV)
When Joshua humbled himself before the Lord, the Lord exalted him before the people.
He and the children of Israel kept their promises, and that’s what you must do if you want to conquer the forces of evil in your own life. Honor your commitments and pay your vows to the Lord.
I’m reminded of the story of a businessman, who was late for an important meeting and couldn't find a parking space. As he frantically circled the block, the man got so desperate that he decided to pray.
Looking up toward heaven, he said, “Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking space, I'll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life, and not only that, I'll give up drinking.”
Miraculously, a parking space appeared.
The guy looked up again and said, “Never mind. I found one.” (John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; www.Preaching Today.com)
He had no intention of keeping His promise to the Lord. However, those who do, like Joshua, find honor and respect.
I like what writer and speaker Lewis Smedes says about those who make and keep promises. He says, “They choose not to quit when the going gets rough because they promised once to see it through. They stick to lost causes. They hold on to a love grown cold… I want to say to you that if you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you will not abandon, then you are like God.” (Lewis Smedes, “The Power of Promises,” A Chorus of Witnesses, edited by Long and Plantinga, Eerdmans, 1994; www.PreachingToday.com)
You see, God is the ultimate Promise Keeper, and those who keep their promises reflect Him! Honoring your commitments is an act of worship, and it tears down the strongholds of the enemy.
So if you want to overcome the forces of evil in your own life, 1st, by faith, praise the Lord; 2nd, by faith, obey the Lord; 3rd, by faith, give to the Lord; and 4th, by faith, pay your vows to the Lord. Be a praiser! Truly worship the Lord and win the war!
