Before we begin this evening,
let's ask the Lord's blessing. Our Father, how thankful we are that, Lord,
we can call on you, knowing that you're here and that you care,
that you're able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask
or even think. Lord, I ask you tonight, would
you bless the service, Lord, to the salvation of your people,
comfort of your sheep. Lord, I know if you will, you
can call sinners out of darkness. I know that your word's not going
to return void. It's going to accomplish the
purpose for which it was sent. Lord, have mercy. Pray tonight
for Granny. Ask you to help her, comfort
her, keep her, heal her for those, Lord, in our midst and those
that are in our circles that are sick. Have mercy, I pray,
according to your eternal purpose for Christ's sake. Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11. Hebrews chapter 11, I'd like
to read the 30th verse. Hebrews 11.30. The Scripture declares, By faith, The walls of Jericho fell down
after they were accomplished about seven days. When it pleased the Lord to bring
Israel out of Egypt, the Lord sent Moses to lead the
people out. And the people let out, and Pharaoh
who had said, I'm going to let the people go. He then, because the Scripture
says the Lord hardened his heart, Pharaoh asked his question, why
have we done this? Why did we let them go? These people were building for
us, providing for us. Let's go get them. And the Scripture
says that Pharaoh pursued, and then by faith they passed
through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians are
saying to do. As I told you last time, experimenting. They were going to experiment
to see if they could get through also. And the scripture says
they were drowned. Well, not long after their deliverance
out of the land of Egypt, out of the Red Sea, About somewhere
around a year after they had come out of Egypt, Moses, under
the Lord's direction, sent twelve men, one from each of the tribes,
to go in and spy out the land of Canaan. Now you have to understand,
this land has been promised. God had promised to Abraham and
to Abraham's seed that this land, Canaan, was going to be theirs. God said, I'm going to give it
to you. I will drive out. Through the means of these Hebrews,
I'm going to give you the land of Canaan. Now, about a year
after they came out, Moses sent these twelve men, one from each
tribe, into the land of Canaan. Now, they went into the land
of Canaan, and they were there 40 days. And when they came back, they
brought some of the fruit out of that land. They brought some
grapes that were just It was huge. I mean, it was just amazing
how fruitful this land was. And all of the men, except two,
all of them said, we just can't do that. We're not going to be
able. There are just too many of them.
They're just too big. We're just grasshoppers compared
to them. They're just too strong. Well,
Joshua and Caleb stood against those that brought this evil
report. And this is what Joshua and Caleb
said, Numbers 14, 8 and 9. They said, listen, if the Lord
delight in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it
to us. A land which floweth with milk
and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred
for us. Their defense is departed from
them, and the Lord is with us. Fear not them." Don't be afraid. God has given us this land. This is ours. This is ours by
promise. This is ours by God's purpose,
God's will, God's design. Now, the Scripture says when
Caleb and Joshua said these things, here's an amazing thought. It
was two men that believed God that said, this is what God has
to say. The Lord said, this is ours.
God said that He's going to give this to us. And the Scripture
says that the people wanted to stone Him because they believed
God. Wanted to kill Him because they
wanted to stand on God's Word. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. Man by nature hates God. You say, well, I tell you what, as
many places as I see around town, as many churches as I see, I
don't see how in the world you can say that man by nature hates
God. When you tell them who God is,
when you set forth The God of these Scriptures, I'm talking
about sovereign God. The God who does as He will in
the army of heaven. I'm not talking about this little
impotent nobody that people say that Jesus died for everybody
and He wants to save you if you'll let Him. I'm not talking about that nobody.
That's a nobody. I'll tell you who God is. Almighty
God is the one that rules and reigns in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. And nobody stops Him. Nobody stays His hand. He does according to His counsel
and His will. And Almighty God is going to
save His people. And he's going to send his people
into the land of Canaan. That's theirs by promise. Now
that's a picture. You know the children of Israel
was a picture of God's elect. The land of Canaan is the land
of rest, heaven, peace, contentment, peace with God, presence with
God. They're going to be there. But these people came in there.
Twelve of them went in. All twelve of them came back.
Ten of them said, we can't do it. They're just too big. Joshua
and Caleb said, God's given it to us. They wanted to kill them. The Scripture sets forth the
Lord, who heard their words of murmuring, said, You who have
murmured against Me shall fall in the wilderness. Everyone 20
years old and older, and all that are numbered with them,
except Joshua and Caleb, could not enter into the promised land. You can't go. The Lord said,
after the number of the days in which you searched the land,
40 days, each day for a year, Shall you bear your iniquities
even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise, my
alienation, my opposition." You want to know why they were in
the desert for forty years? It's because for forty days they
were in there, and those that came back and all that pertained
with them didn't believe God. And He said, for every day you
were there, you're going to stay in this wilderness a year. Forty
years. Now, forty years after they left
Egypt, because of the unbelief in those that murmured against
the Lord, the nation of Israel is now about to go in to the
land of promise. When they got ready to cross
the Jordan River, and I'll tell you this, if you get time, take
time, Read the book of Joshua chapters 1 through chapter 6. I'm just kind of bringing you
up to date here for sake of time. While you're going through there,
you're going to find out there's going to be about two spies that
go in there and go to Rahab's place. Rahab the harlot. Lord willing, we'll look at that
next week. But this is the Scripture. This is where verse 30 talks
about the walls of Jericho falling. Verse 31 talks about Rahab the
harlot. And Rahab the harlot came before
the walls fell. But this is the way the Spirit
of God wrote it. So this is the way we consider
it. Well, what happened was, 40 years now is up. And now it's time to cross over
the Jordan River. We'll look at that when they
cross that Jordan River, actually what happened, how they got across,
how they met with Rahab, and how God delivered them. But right
now, they're crossing over. Now, they're getting ready to
cross over this Jordan River, and the first place that they
come to is going to be the city of Jericho. And when they crossed
over the Jordan River on dry ground, about 4 miles into Canaan
is Jericho. Now, I want us to take and read. I told you I want you to read
verses 1-6. Turn to Joshua. Joshua, and I
want to read that 6th. Chapter. Joshua chapter 6. Go back and read those first
five for sure. Joshua chapter 6. Jericho was straightly shut up
because of the children of Israel. None went out. None came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
See? I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof,
and the mighty men of valor." You know, it just amazes me how
thankful I am. I read this, and here's what's
happened so far. Nothing. Nothing. They haven't gone in yet. But
God says, I've given them to you. Jericho, the king, the mighty
men, I've given them to you. And you shall compass the city
on all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus
shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear
before the ark seven trumpets of ram's horns. And the seventh
day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests
shall blow with the trumpets, and it shall come to pass that
when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, And when you
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."
What he's saying is, you're going to surround this city, and whenever
they make the long blast, when you hear the sound of that blast,
That's when I want people to shout, the walls are going to
come down and you go straight in from wherever you are. Verse
6, And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said unto
them, Take up the ark of the covenant. Let seven priests bear
seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark of the Lord. And
he said unto the people, Pass on. compass the city, let him
that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord." It came
to pass when Joshua had spoken unto the people that the seven
priests bearing the seven trumpets of the wren's horns passed on
before the Lord in blue with the trumpets, and the ark of
the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went
before the priest that blew with the trumpets, and the re-reward,
the rest of the people, came after the ark. And the priest
going on, blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the
people, saying, You 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 to shout. Then shall ye shout." So the
ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once, and
they came in the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose
early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the
Lord. Seven priests bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns before
the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets, and
the armed men went before them. But the reward came after the
ark of the Lord, the priests going on and blowing with the
trumpets. The second day they compassed the city once and returned
to the camp. So they did six days. 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. It came to pass at the seventh
time. When the priest blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto
the people, Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city, and
the city shall be accursed, even it and all that are therein to
the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot shall live,
she and all that are with her in her house, because she hid
the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise, keep yourselves
from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves a curse when
ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a
curse and trouble it. But all the silver, gold, vessels
of brass, iron are consecrated unto the Lord. They shall come
into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the
priest blew with the trumpet, and he came to pass. When the
people heard the sound of the trumpet, 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 took the city, and they utterly destroyed all that was in the
city, both man and woman, young and old, ox, sheep, ass with
the edge of the sword. has said unto two men that spied
out the city, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the
woman and all that she hath, as ye swear unto her." And the
young men that were spies went in and brought out Rahab and
her father, her mother, her brethren, all that she had, and they brought
out all her kindred and left them without the camp of Israel.
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein,
only the silver, the gold, the vessels of brass and iron, they
put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua
saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's house, and all
that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day.
because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out
Jericho. And Joshua assured them at that
time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up
and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof
in his firstborn and his youngest son shall he set up the gates
of it." So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was noised
throughout all the country. Now there are five things that
I want to say concerning the faith of Israel when the walls
of Jericho fell. Here's what we just read. Go around the city one time.
The priests are going to be out in front of the ark. They're
going to be blowing some ram's horns. But I don't want you people
to say anything until Joshua tells the people to shout, don't
say a word. Just follow the priest to be
out there, the Ark of the Covenant behind them, men of war behind
them. You just follow them. You just
walk. One time for six days. On the seventh day, I want you
to do the same thing, but you do it seven times. And when they
make a loud, long blast of those ram's horns, and Joshua says,
shout now. When you shout, the walls are
going to come down. Five things about the faith of
Israel. Number one, they had God's Word. as their motive to go. Joshua
6.2 says, And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into
thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of
Valor. We believe by faith. Faith is the grace that is given
by Almighty God by which a man or woman believes God. And faith is found totally upon
God's Word. Faith that has no scriptural
basis is not true saving faith. Faith believes God according
to God's Word. So men, women that talk about
having faith, and have no scriptural basis for it, whatever it is, it's not the
faith of God's elect. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God. Not what a man says God says,
what God says. Jericho was the key city into
the entrance of Canaan. And it's going to have to fall
before Israel could occupy the promised land to possess their
inheritance. But what did the nation of Israel
have to conquer a fortified city? What did they possess? This is
what they had. This is the only thing they had. They had God's Word. I have given
unto thine hand Jericho. I gave you Jericho. God's Word
was what they had, and God's Word was all they needed. The
conquering of this city was done according to the purpose and
will of Almighty God. Yes, the people must go in. But the victory that was theirs,
that was given to them, was in the strength of Almighty God. Secondly, by faith. They had no recourse but that
God would sustain them. You go back and you read. I'll
tell you this real quickly. You'll read this as you're going
through those first five chapters. When they came to that Jordan
River, that was a big river. It was just like the Red Sea.
And Joshua was told by the Lord, he said, you tell the priest,
the one that's bearing the ark, walk into the river. And when
those priests came, it said when their foot touched the edge of
that water, that water started standing up. And those priests walked out
there in the midst of that river and stood. And that water stood
straight up. And those people walked across
on dry ground. And when they got to the other
side, the Lord told Joshua, He said, you tell the priests to
come on out. And the priests came out and they started coming
out. And when the last one, when his foot, last foot left that
water and stood up on that bank, that river started flowing again.
Now, they're on the other side. Now, they're in Canaan. Command
Joshua 4, 16 to 18. the priests that bear the ark
of the testimony that they come out of Jordan. And it came to
pass when the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the
Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles
of the priests' feet were lifted up under the dry land, that the
waters of Jordan returned to their place and flowed over their
banks as they did before." When they came into the land of promise,
and that water started flowing again, that was a mighty river.
And when that river started flowing again, they burned all their
bridges. They were cut off from all escape. They're not going back the way
they came. They were in the enemy's country
now, but God had given them the land. And it was by the grace
of God and power of God that they were going to accomplish
that which God Almighty had said that they would accomplish. Now
you listen. God's people are in this world. But they're not of this world.
But in this world, We are more than conquerors through Him that
loves us. We're in, as I was considering
here a week or so ago, that sheepfold when the Lord was going to tell
those Pharisees, he that entereth in by the door of the sheepfold,
that sheepfold, the yard, that's this world. And we're in it. We're in the
sheepfold. And there's only one way that
we're going to come out of this sheepfold. One is going to have
to come into this sheepfold the legitimate way. How did you and
I get in this sheepfold? We were born in it. Why? Because of sin. And we're in
it. And there's all manner of flocks
in this sheepfold. But I'm telling you, in this
sheepfold, in this yard of this world, in its false religion,
the Lord Jesus Christ is going to have His people. How did He
get in here? He came into this sheepfold.
How did He come? He didn't come the way we came.
We came by sin. How did He get here? He was made
of a woman. Made under the law. Submitted
Himself. to the same law that we were
under. And he came into this sheepfold. And in this sheepfold,
he obeyed Almighty God perfectly. And he was made sin in this sheepfold. And he bore the guilt of all
of his elect. He said in John 10, 15, I lay
down my life for the sheep. And while in this sheepfold,
He came in made like unto his brethren. He was going to have
to get his brethren out of this yard, out of this evil. And he obeyed God and earned
the righteousness that his people are robed in. And when he leads
them out, and that's what he's doing right now, he's leading
his people out through the door. that He came into, but now He
is the door of His people. He had a door that He had to
come into, the law of God, made under the law. But He is the
door for His people to go out of this sheepfold. He leads them
out. They follow Him. When the Lord
Jesus Christ leads His people out of this sheepfold, out of
the darkness of unbelief, how do they come out? He leads them
out. He obeyed the law perfectly.
The law has no hold on Him. The victory is ours in Him who
is our conqueror. Now these people right here,
where are they? They are in Canaan. That is God's
promise to them. But that is enemy territory.
We are in this world too. We are not of it. They crossed
over, burned their bridges, But now the victory is theirs through
Christ Jesus. What are they going to do? They're
not going back. One thing that's in front of
them is Jericho, a fortified city. Luke 9.62, Jesus said unto
him, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God. We believe God. We're not here
to play games. I believe that Almighty God is
going to bless this Word, and He's going to accomplish the
purpose for which He sent it. God is going to call His people
out of darkness, and He's going to do it through this message
right here. The message that gives man no credit, no honor,
no glory. When you hear anybody tell you
that man has a free will, And he can do what he wants to do.
Tell him, say, you show me that in the Scriptures. Show me in
the Scriptures where that says that. It's a lie. A lie. Here's the third thing. They
walked in obedience to the Lord's command and instruction. Joshua 6, 3 and 4, you shall
compass the city, all you men of war, and go round about the
city once. Thus shalt thou do six days,
and seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets
of ram's horns. The seventh day you shall compass
the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets."
The Scripture says in Hebrews 11, 30, by faith the walls of
Jericho fell down. God Almighty must give faith. Man is not born with faith. It's given unto you to believe. And when God calls a man or a
woman out of darkness, regenerates them by grace, He gives them
faith to believe. And they believe God. How are these walls going to come
down? God's going to tear them down.
He's going to tear them down through a people that believe
Him by faith. Now, this is an amazing thought. By faith, the walls of Jericho
fell down. When are they going to come down? On the seventh day. after the
seventh circle when the ram horns are blown and the people shout. That's when they're coming down. Well, the carnal mind might say,
we do better with some tall ladders. We can get over the wall. You
know, I think a battering ram would probably be better Maybe
what we ought to do is just starve them out. Let's just besiege
the city and wait. When it comes to the tearing
down of the strongholds of unbelief, the carnal mind has every impotent
thought to disbelieve God. But according to God's Word,
Almighty God said, when you shout, The walls had come down. Number
four, by faith, by faith, they waited on the Lord. The walls of Jericho didn't fall
down after the first day. Boy, this story right here reminded
me of those plagues in Egypt. Plague after plague after plague
after plague. God said, let my people go. The
Lord hardened his heart. Sent another plague. Hardened
his heart. They went out there and walked
around that first day. And there was that city. Six days. And that city was still
there. Even the seventh day, I got to
thinking. The seventh day, God had already
told Joshua the walls were coming down. And Joshua told the people,
the walls are coming down. Don't you say a word until I
tell you. Seven times on the seventh day,
they went. And all of the time, those ram
horns were being blown. They'd blow them and blow them
and blow them. And on that seventh time, when
they blew with a long blast, and Almighty God Told Joshua,
you tell the people to shout. And when they shouted, and those
walls came down. By faith, they had to wait on
God. Rest. Psalm 37. Rest. That is, be silent to the Lord. Rest in the Lord. And wait patiently
for Him. Don't try to force it. Don't
try to force it. Oh, Lord, help me here. Don't
try to force it. Don't try to manipulate it. Wait
on the Lord. We all have those in our families
that don't know Him. Wait on the Lord. Do all you
can according to the means of God's grace. Encourage them to
come. You think it's right to encourage
somebody? I tell you what, encourage anybody
you can to come. Invite them to come. That which
is going to set a man free is the truth. Invite them to come. Pray for them. Knock, knock,
knock at the door of God's mercy. Lord, have mercy. But wait on
the Lord. Isaiah 28-60, He that believeth
shall not make haste. Almighty God tried their faith.
Walk around one time six days. Seventh day, walk around seven
times. And all the while, they're thinking,
God has said these walls are coming down. Wait on the Lord. Don't try to get somebody to
do something until God Almighty gives them a heart to do it.
Tell them what God has to say and wait on God. And number five,
by faith, they expected God to do that which God said He was
going to do. They expected it. So the people,
Joshua 6.20, 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 the people went up into the
city. Every man straight before him and took the city. When the
people heard the priest blow with a long blast, and Joshua
said, shout! And they started shouting. And
they shouted. And they believed God. God is
going to take down this waltz. Don't shout until I tell you.
But when I tell you, you shout. And the silence of the people
was as necessary as their shouting in the end. It was God's way. It was God's command. It was
God's instrument. And when it pleased the Lord,
He caused the walls to come down. He honored that which He had
created in them. He gave them faith to believe. By faith, the walls of Jericho
came down. It was in that shout. They had
done everything the same way for seven days. There was one
thing that was different. When God told them to shout.
And in that shout, they exercised, they believed God, they did what
God told them to do. And God brought those walls down
by faith. Faith. It is a miracle of God's
grace. that a man or a woman can believe
God. They believe Him. They just believe
God. By faith, the walls of Jericho
came down. Lord, bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake.