Josh 6:1-5, 15, 16
1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.
16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. (KJV)
Within this scripture, God has set forth a principle of war for His people to use in Spiritual Warfare.
Title: ~~~
we're all familiar with this story in the Bible.
(Vs. 1)
The city was shut up because of the children of Israel.
Spiritually it would seem that this community (the principalities & powers) has shut themselves in because of us, the children of GOD.
What do you mean because of us?
The Devil knows the power that works in us, so he will stop at nothing to prevent us from realizing & using that power.
On a more personal note, there are Jericho's in your lives that you are facing right now. Just remember,
1 John 4:4
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (KJV)
Don't be afraid of your Jericho, just listen & do what the Lord tells you to do!
Look what the Lord told them to do.
I) March Around The City
Josh 6:3-4
3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. (KJV)
This is the preparation for Battle.
You & I as men & women of war must be ready for battle. Our spirit man must be conditioned for the fight. (Just like a boxer)
But notice vs. 10
Josh 6:10
10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. (KJV)
They kept quiet.
They didn't start rebuking the devil.
It is important that in our marching we should be quietly seeking the Lord. Fasting & Praying, receiving from the Lord, allowing the Lord to provide the strength & stability we will need for the battle.
Just keep doing this. Just keep marching until the Lord gives you a release in your spirit.
Now, the whole time you're doing it, the enemy is looking on & mocking you.
Whatever you do, don't stop. The temptation will be to start rebuking, but just go right on marching. Before long, the enemy will begin to worry & say, “I wonder what they're up to.” “What do they have up their sleeves.”
Then, when the marching ends...
II) Blow The Trumpet
It is a trumpet of warning!
This is the time to let the devil know just where you stand.
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
(KJV)
Begin to tell him what thus saith the Lord...
Begin to take authority over the enemy. Let him know he's defeated.
There is no need to spew out railing accusations. Just give him the Word!
Jude 9
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (KJV)
III) Shout The Shout Of Victory
Hear me & hear me good! There is nothing in the devil's arsenal, no stumbling block, no wall that can withstand the shout of victory. It is the high praises of God, the Hallelujah, the Shabach.
The high praises of God unleashed in a shout is able to cause any wall to crumble. It is able to cause any mountain to move.
You see church, it's not proclaiming your victory over the enemy, but Christ's victory over all evil.
Some of the walls we face in South Lafourche:
Witchcraft
Satanism
Drug addiction & Alcoholism
Adultery & Fornication
Homosexuality
That's just a few.
We have been marching at Open Door Revival Center.
Tonight we blow the trumpet because the Lord is ready to say, “Shout, for I have given you the city!”
(Close)
Josh 6:20
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (KJV)
