Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
JERICHO IS FALLING!
It’s not going to be very long until this world will crumble and fall just as the City of Jericho did when Israel entered into the Land of Canaan. This world and all of its sin and power stands as a Jericho for every Child of God who is destined to enter into the glories of Heaven at the last trumpet sound.
Just as there was a pattern given by God for the fall of Jericho, there is a pattern that God has laid out for us to follow if we are to overcome the world and make Heaven our home.
Let’s read a little from the story of the fall of Jericho and see what parallels may exist.
Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Joshua had the city locked down and under siege. No one could escape the coming judgment on Jericho.
2 Thessalonians 2:7, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
Satan deceives the church into thinking that he has the church in dire straights. He attempts to make us think that he has us surrounded and silenced but we know that it is the Holy Spirit within the life of a Believer and within the Body of Christ that holds back the powers of Hell from flooding the earth with all the vile sins of Hell itself.
It’s the church that is on the offense. The church, depending upon the Spirit of God, is the limiting power that holds back the Powers of Hell through prayer, fasting and calling upon the Name of the Lord. Satan is the master deceiver and he makes the church think that we are barely holding on when he is the one on the run and losing this battle.
Joshua 6:2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor.
Joshua was promised the victory in this battle before it ever began.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
You can see that the victory is already won for the Child of God. Satan will be revealed for who he is and the Lord will consume him. All of those who follow Satan will join him in his demise for the Word of God says in Matthew 25:41, Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
The number of man is 6, meaning that he just doesn’t quite measure up to winning the battle alone. It eventually took 7 trips around Jericho on the 7th day because this was to be the finished work of God in winning the victory over Jericho. God’s number of completeness is the number 7.
Man has been going around this old sinful world, our spiritual Jericho, for about 6000 years now and its time to finish the battle. I believe that we are in the 7th day and the 7th trip around. I’m waiting for the trumpet to blow and the walls to fall because God is about to wrap this thing up for the last time.
Joshua 6:4 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.
Ephesians 6:17, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"
7 priests carrying the trumpets – preachers, evangelists, prophets, teachers call forth, trumpeting the Word of God and bringing a warning and a wake-up call to a dying world that the King is coming! The king is coming! They march before the coming King to let the world know, just as the priests and their trumpets did for Jericho, that the end is near so prepare to meet God’s judgment.
Joshua 6:5 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.
The signal for the final shout of victory from Israel was the long and final blast of the trumpet. That was their signal to go up to the city in victory.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
This world and all of its sin will suddenly crumble away and we shall lift off this earth to go and meet Jesus in the air! Oh happy day – when Jericho’s walls come falling down and we go straight up to meet the Lord! I’m listening and anticipating that final blast from the trumpet of God as he calls us up to be with Him.
Joshua 6:6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
Ark represented God’s presence and God’s promise of deliverance and victory throughout the Old Testament. It contained Aaron’s rod that budded, a pot of manna and the two tablets of stone that held the 10 commandments written by God.
The Ark of the Covenant - is an Old Testament type of Jesus Christ. It was made of Acacia wood representing the earthly man nature of Jesus but was covered completely in pure gold, which represents the heavenly and kingly nature of Christ. Jesus was very God and yet man at the same time but His divine nature never allowed His earthly nature to be seen.
Aaron’s rod that budded – represents the fact that, in Jesus, the old dead life of sin and shame is renewed and born again into a new life in the Spirit. God is able to break down every Jericho in your life and bring new freedom to every circumstance.
The golden Pot of Manna – representing the fact that our life is in Jesus and that He is the Bread of Life that comes down from Heaven.
The two tablets of stone and the Ten Commandments written by God – represent the fact that God’s Law is unchangeable but that the Law is stone cold and has no power to deliver, only to condemn. But, the law is our teacher to show us that we have sinned and then point us to the Savior. All of the Law of God is fulfilled “in Christ”, therefore the Law is inside the Ark and all we have to do is believe in the power and provision of the Ark to fulfill its promise.
Jesus is the Ark of our Covenant for the New Testament. The angels that cover the ark and overshadow the Mercy Seat where the Glory of God was always present in the Holy of Holies when the Ark was in its proper place could never look into the Ark and could never be a part of what was inside but they were there as servants and guardians.
Just as Israel looked up to the Ark in the Temple for their deliverance we are to look upon Jesus for our salvation for there is no other name under Heaven that can save us.
Joshua 6:7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
Armed men are those who carry the weapons of our warfare into the face of the enemy! They are the ones who will speak forth the Word of Almighty God without fear or compromise. They are the ones on the front line of battle and we have the enemy in full retreat!
2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
All of us are soldiers in the Lord’s army. We can, each one, carry our weapons of Spiritual Warfare and attack the strongholds of Satan and we can be assured that God within us is greater than the Jericho that we face. The walls of your Jericho must fall.
Joshua 6:8-9, And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, …and the re-reward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
What is that re-reward? Most Bible Scholars agree that this is the reinforcements and those who carry the extra supplies that are needed for the battle ahead. They are also the rear guard, to keep the enemy from attacking from behind. The Tribe of Dan was the rereward of Israel as they marched to Canaan.
Isaiah 52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward. (God is our rear guard! He is our reinforcement! He goes before us and behind us to fight the battle for the battle is His alone! He will supply all of our needs!)
Joshua 6:10 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.
Satan will use the power of the Antichrist to attempt the silence of the voice of the witnesses of Christ in the last days but God will bring back the shout of victory if we will shout at the time directed by God.
Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
ILLUSTRATION:
During the night of April 18, 1775 and in the early hours of April 19, Paul Revere and William Dawes, who has been largely forgotten in our history books, made their famous ride from Boston to Lexington and other towns. You are aware of their famous message that the "British are Coming"! On lantern in the old North Church Tower of Boston Harbor would signify a march by land and 2 lanterns would mea the British would be invading by ship. The significance of the short skirmish that took place in the early morning hours of April 19, on the Lexington Square (Green) was far more reaching than anyone could have imagined at that moment in time. As the sun rose, British Major John Pitcairn and his six light Infantry companies arrived at the Lexington Square. Facing them were about seventy colonial militiamen. Seeing the well-armed British Regulars, the militiamen began to disperse. No one knows who fired the first shot or exactly who gave the order to fire, but in about five minutes of firing, eight colonists were dead and ten more were wounded. These were the shots "heard around the world." This marked the beginning of freedom from tyranny that has been the model for democracy ever since.
The next great event on the horizon of time is the sound of the Last Trumpet that will signify the end to the tyranny of sin and the beginning of a new age of freedom such as the world has never known.
When that trumpet sounds, and cry goes forth, “come away my little ones!” We shall go to be with the Lord forever and that’s when we will let real freedom ring for eternity. That will be the day when we will really shout the victory!
