Yes, sir. Okay, go back to Joshua chapter
6 with me. I think most of you were enjoying
the mere reading of it and looked with anticipation to this. As I said, after the message
on Rahab's scarlet line, I could not get it off my mind. So many of you, we gathered afterward
and we kept talking about it, didn't we? One of the ladies,
one of our ladies, well, Polly, came up afterwards and said that
the last conclusive line when we said that Rahab was the mother
to Boaz, she said chills went down her spine. And mine too. Mine too. And perhaps this message
will be even better than that. Maybe it will elicit a shout
from somebody. Wouldn't that be something? All
over but the shouting. And as we said Sunday, the reason
we preach the Old Testament stories is, number one, it's God's Word.
And it's just as blessed as the New, isn't it? We have one Bible. And we also
said that God hasn't changed. God of the New Testament is the
same as the God of the Old. He hasn't changed. Man hasn't
changed. Man is the same. That is, he's
the same sinful creature, and we do the same things that the
children of Israel did. Don't we? And God's message to
man hasn't changed. The way of salvation has not
changed. So this is all very, very relevant
and urgent, very urgent. And I said also that if we do
not study and do not remember the sins of the children of Israel,
we may repeat what they did. The apostles, if you'll read
the book of Acts and the rest of the epistles, that's just
about all they did was bring up the children of Israel, didn't
it? And remind New Testament saints,
don't let these things slip, because the same gospel they
heard is the gospel you're hearing, right? Children of Israel were
brought out of Egypt. They were brought out of bondage.
They were brought out of sin. God revealed Himself to them.
God chose them. He brought them out of Egypt. And yet they were traveling. They were passing through the
world. They were in the world, but they
were not of it. And God kept warning them, you're
going through it, but that's all you're doing. And beware,
he kept warning them. And all of their troubles came
when they began to mingle too much and they started
becoming idolatrous like the people. He said, you're passing
through it and you're to have dealings with it. But he said,
you're not a friend to it. That's what James said. He was
a friend of the world, an enemy with God, didn't he? Joshua chapter
6 verse 1, it says this, Jericho was straightly shut up because
of the children of Israel. Straightly shut up. Go quickly
to Galatians chapter 2. We've been studying the book
of Galatians and this is very fitting. Jericho was an idolatrous,
sinful city. You could well call it Sin City. Does that sound familiar today?
One of the most glorified cities in our world today is literally,
without apology, called Sin City. Well, Jericho and Joshua cursed
it. He said, Cursed is the man that
ever builds this place again, didn't he? And it was an idolatrous, sinful
city, and it says it was shut up. because of the children of
Israel. The people of Jericho didn't
come out and mingle with the Israelites. And they didn't go
in and mingle with the Jerichoites. That's what it says. In other
words, they weren't companions. They weren't companions. The
people of Jericho lived for the city of Jericho. That was their
life. Jericho was their life. Jehovah
was the life of the people of Israel. Right? It's the difference
between life and death. Jericho is going down. Don't go down with it. Now, this
is a message both of great comfort and of dire warning. Save yourselves
from this untoward generation. We started Galatians with this
word of warning. God has saved us from this present
evil world. And as I quoted, Peter said,
save yourself from this untoward generation. It was a city shut
up. Israel was shut out and they
were shut up. Shut up. Look at Galatians 2
verse 20. Paul says, and we all say, I
am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. We have to live in this world,
but we live by the faith of the Son of God. We live by faith.
Look over at chapter 6. Look at this. I always think
of Noah when I think of this verse. And Galatians 6, 14, God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Noah was shut in, wasn't he? And the people were shut out.
There it is. There you have it. And that's
what this verse is telling us over in Joshua. Like Noah in
the ark, Like Israel outside of Jericho, we are shut out of
the world and shut up to faith. Shut up. Jericho is a doomed
city, as we say. It's a cursed city. God cursed
it. And it's destined to destruction.
It's not a fairy tale. This is the truth. A city of
destruction. And only a fool would give their
life to that place. Only an utter fool would invest
all that they have in that place that's about to be burned up.
But this city was full of people. It would be better to be without
the city with a bunch of poor pilgrims wandering through the
wilderness than to be in that place dwelling in the finest
condo on Jericho's wall. Wouldn't it? God saved one person living on
a wall. And well, more than one, everybody
was with her by a red rope. And I thought about this. I'm
glad I got this opportunity to add to Sunday's message. When
the men came to get Rahab out of that place, how did they get
her out? I believe they got her out the
same way that the two men went out, down that red line. I think
everybody in that house went down that red road, don't you? They didn't go out the wide gate.
It was shut up. So there was one way, Kelly,
for everybody to get out. Anybody who was going to get
out, Dickie, they went down that scarlet line. What a picture
that is. So, it was one way. All right.
But the people of Jericho, they didn't want out, evidently. Did
they? And now you and I know salvation
is of the Lord. It's by God's sovereign mercy.
The only reason that Rahab came out is because God chose her.
It says down in verse 23, chapter 6, it says, young men that were
spies went in and brought her out. Brought Rahab out. That's why she came out. They
brought her out. Like old Lot. Don't you love
the story of Lot, the Lord being merciful to him, laid hold on
him. Don't you love that, John? That's one of the most comforting
verses in all the Bible. Lot lingered with the Lord being
merciful, laid hold on him, said, you're coming out. Joshua said,
you're coming with us. And how we noted, wasn't that
glorious how we noted that Rahab has to come out. She's in the
scene. She's in the lineage. God's purpose,
God's will, God's everything. She's got to come out. And so
God chose her and revealed himself to her and sent the spies who
represent preachers of the gospel, God's Word, to bring her out. A harlot. A harlot. That ought to give us hope, shouldn't
it? The worst, the chief of sinners in that sin city was spared. That ought to give us great hope. The good people. I'm sure Jericho
is full of good people. Or they thought they were. Don't
you? Every city is. The good old people of Jericho
probably didn't think they were in any danger. This is a true
story. I'm trying to tell this like
it's a true story. The people in Jericho did not
think they were in any danger. They heard this. They all heard
of the God of Abraham, Jehovah. They heard of Joshua. They heard
of what God did to so many. The wrath of God was clearly
revealed to heaven, wasn't it? They heard all that, but evidently
they did not feel like they were in any danger. They could look
out and see, but they didn't feel like there was
any danger. Now, the first time that when
Joshua sent the two spies in to the city, the first time,
that was a mission of mercy, wasn't it? A mission of mercy. God revealed to a harlot and
a houseful, himself, their danger. That's the first thing he revealed,
wasn't it? That they were in danger. God's anger. That's what
they heard in it. God's angry with the wicked.
God's going to destroy this place. That's what they heard. A holy
and just God. Isn't that what Joshua heard
from the man with the sword? Take off your shoe. This is holy
ground. I'm about to do something holy. I'm going to burn it all
up. Burnt ground like Moses before
the bush. Well, it was a mission of mercy,
though, the first time. And they heard, and it's great
mercy to hear that you're in danger. It's great mercy. to hear that
we are in danger or we won't know it. And the two men went
in and they were sent to one harlot and spared her and her
family and all who came out by the red scarlet line. And now
Joshua is coming again. Why is he coming the next time? To destroy. Alright, look at
verse 2. He says, "...I have given..."
The Lord said to Joshua. Joshua represents the Lord Jesus
Christ. "...I have given unto thy hand
Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor."
Does not Psalm 24 say that? The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. Who? Jesus Christ is Lord. That's it. The fullness thereof.
The world and inhabitants thereof. all belong to the kings. He's the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, a mighty man, isn't he? God's given it all into his
hands. At this end, Christ both died
and rose again, and he might be Lord of the dead and the living.
He owns it all. And he has the keys of hell and
death at his side. Jesus Christ is Lord. And while
he is the Savior of a world of sinners, All of them are like
Rahab. He's also the coming destroyer.
This is a Jesus Christ that very few people know. If you know
Him, you're so blessed. There's a world of people out
there who claim to believe and worship a Jesus who believe nothing
of this sort. I just read something by that
arch-heretic Billy Graham. If this goes out, so be it. I
just read something by him that said, God doesn't send anybody
to hell. That is his words. You mean they're jumping in voluntarily? Does it not say that the Lord
said, bind them hand and foot and cast them? If you know this true Christ
of Scripture who is the coming, He's the Savior, yes, but He's
also the coming destroyer. Our Lord said this, and very
few people have ever even heard these verses. Our Lord said,
think not that I am come to send peace on the earth, but a what?
Sword. That man that appeared to Gideon,
what did he have in his hand? A sword. A sword. The Lord Jesus Christ
in Revelation 1, what went out of his mouth? A sword. A two-edged sword. A sword. And it's a two-edged sword, isn't
it? You and I first felt that sword.
We were made to bow the knee like Joshua, weren't we, when
we first heard of this King of kings and Lord of lords. And
that sword slew us. Paul said, the commandment came,
I died. It killed me, but it also gave
me life. The two-edged sword not only
slew me, but it gave me life. Not only cut out the heart of
stone, but gave me a new heart of flesh. Well, look at verses
3 through 5. And he said, ye, speaking to
Joshua, who represents the Lord Jesus Christ, shall compass the
city, 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 horn. In the seventh
day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests
shall blow with the trumpet. They shall come to pass it when
they make a long blast, one 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." All right, the Lord said to Joshua,
who is a picture of Christ, you shall compass the city. And the
ark here, down in verse 11, look at verse 11, the ark of the Lord
compassed the city. I counted, well a quick counting,
9 or 10 times in these 14 or 15 verses that the ark is mentioned. Nearly every verse talks about
the ark. The Ark. The Ark of the Lord.
The Ark of the Covenant. And you know what that Ark is,
don't you? That Ark is the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ. And has it not
compassed the world? Our Lord said that in Matthew
24. We studied that not long ago. He said, when the gospel
is preached to every nation, then shall the end come. And
he's at the door. It's been preached. There's nowhere
the gospel hasn't been there. Paul said 2,000 years ago, have
they not all heard? Yea, verily, the sound has gone
throughout the whole world. It's compassed the city. It has
compassed the city. The Ark of the Covenant, the
Ark of the Lord, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has compassed
the city. Have they not all heard? Yes,
they have. But how many are crying for mercy? You see, the Ark, what is on
top of the Ark? What's the Ark all about? What's
the Ark principally about? What was the Ark about? It's
how to worship God, and there was death involved. Death! That
ark was all about death. Blood poured all over it. Poured
all over what? A mercy seat. That ark is all,
there's the mercy of God. But it took somebody dying, it
took a substitute dying, his blood poured on that mercy seat
for anyone to have mercy, for God to show mercy. He will show
mercy. And all that mercy, he said,
I'll meet with you, I'll show mercy at the mercy seat. A place
you can rest. And that mercy seat is the Lord
Jesus Christ. How many people are asking the
Lord Jesus Christ for mercy? If Jericho, if the people of
Jericho would ask for anything, they'd ask for money. You don't
need mercy, we need money. What do you ask for? When you
pray, Oh, we ask for other things, bread and so forth. But what
do we principally ask for nearly every time we pray? Lord, be
merciful to me, the sinner. And you'll have it. Because there's
a mercy seat. We have an altar, don't we? We
have an altar. We have a mercy seat, and that
is Christ the Ark. Now, look at this. It says Joshua's
men, verse 3, were men of war. Men. of war. You see any mention of
women in this? Can I say this? Well, I better
say it. That's what God's Word says.
They're men of war. No women. They followed. Now,
not all the men were bearing the ark or bearing swords, but
all that did were men. And some men, though, like the
women, followed. Down in verse 10, look at it.
Did you notice that with me? He said, You shall not shout
nor make any noise with your voice. No word shall proceed
out of your mouth. Everybody following, just shut
up. I'll tell you when to shout.
But these priests now, these men, are going to be bearing
this ark. And these other men, seven men,
are going to be blowing the trumpets. And the rest of them keep silent.
Keep silent. And they were called what? Men
of what? War. You know what the Scriptures
call the Lord? A man of war. How many people have ever heard
that passage? A man of war. These men of war, and those who
led, sounded the trumpet. They were not weak, effeminate,
mealy-mouthed beggars, but strong men, courageous and bold. James and John, two of the disciples
of the Lord, were called what? Boergenes. What does that mean?
Sons of Thunder. Can you imagine? I thought about
old Peter. Can you imagine old Peter leading a board of deaconesses? or having a WANA meeting, or
taking a group to Disney World. It's absolutely laughable to
think about it. Peter, Simon Peter, who drew a sword, you
know. Men of war. Strong men. Courageous
men. And men they were. Alright, this
city is being judged. And it's destined for destruction.
Yet the Lord, six days, He had these men blowing this trumpet
and carrying this ark. It's going down. Like God said
about the world in Noah's time, it's going to be destroyed. But
six days, seven days, the Lord waited,
didn't He? And the door of the ark was wide
open. And for six days, going into
the seventh, These men compassed the city, blowing this trumpet.
And the ark was behind them. And whosoever will. Right? Whosoever will. Could
not Joshua have said that? Whosoever will, come join us. Who will? Rahab and her family,
whom the Lord spared. You see, it's not of him that
willeth, of him that runneth. It's of God that showeth mercy. But the trumpet was being blown,
wasn't it? Are the people of Jericho to
be pitied or to be blamed? Christ said, I would, but you
would not. They would not. They would not
come. The Ark of the Covenant being carried by the priests.
Carried, mind you, by the priests. Shouldered. Born up. Trumpets
of warning will be sounded by the priests. Swords in the hands
of men of war. Swords. They weren't crying out,
God loves you. No, they were swords and trumpets
of warning. This was a message of, there's
mercy in the Ark, but there's judgment if you don't get with
us. If you don't come down that scarlet
line, Your blood's going to flow. Right? True story. True story. Can we find fault
with God? Can anybody find fault with God?
No, sir. And they were sounding these,
you notice that these horns, these trumpets were made out
of what? Ram's horn. Kept telling us that. Ram's horn. Ram's horn, that's a male sheep
in it, a symbol of power. Throughout the Scriptures it
talks about horn, the ram's horn, the horn of a unicorn. There
were horns, four horns like ram's horn on the altar that you could
lay hold of. Ram's horn, that's a picture
of Christ's sovereign power. Ram's horn, male sheep. The rest
of us are ewes. There's no power in you. Only in our Lord's substitute,
Ram's horn. The word is so perfect, isn't
it? So they blew these trumpets. You notice it says they blew
one continual blast. The Lord said in verse 5, make
a long blast. In other words, one note. Play
one note. You can't play any other note
on Ram's horn. Anybody ever tried to blow one
of those horns? I have one. I have a horn of something anyway,
Matt. And you can blow it all you want,
and you can try to make other sounds coming. It's going to
make one sound. One sound. And the Lord told
them, keep blowing that one sound. And it says they did it. They
kept doing it over and over every day. And don't you know the people
of Jericho were going, this is killing us. Don't you know they
were saying, this is grating on my ear, what is that noise? But the children of Israel, it
was sending chills the first time. Every time they heard this
one long blast, children of Israel probably were, oh. But the people of Jericho, they
were stopping their ears at it. And I bet you, Remember I told
you my grandparents lived by the railroad track down in Rome,
Georgia, just about, I mean, 60 feet from it. And that big
old engine would come through, and the first few times we stayed
there, you know, I thought I was being run over at night, sleeping
in that big feather bed, you know, all four of us, slumped
down in the middle. And I thought, this train's going
to hit us all. Well, after about the fourth day, we slept right
through it. And don't you know the people
of Jericho, about the fourth or fifth day, they didn't hear
a sound. You know it's so. You know it's
so. But every morning they did this. And every morning it was a wake-up
call to the children of Israel. A wake-up call. Well, you want to hear this trumpet
one more time? I've been blowing it and you
recognize the sound. Those of you who know the joyful
sound, it is a joyful sound to God's people. It's music to our
ears. Here it is again. It's one message. God is God. It starts there,
doesn't it? Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one God. He's the only one there is, Kelly.
Don't you love that sound? You can't hear that enough, can
you? Could you hear that seven days running? Could you hear
God exalted, holy, just, sovereign? What the world hates all this
talk about a holy and just and sovereign God. We love it, don't
we? Say it again. I just said it. Say it again.
Louder! Here's the ark. The Lord Jesus
Christ. God's mercy seat. God's glory. God's way. God's scarlet line. God's truth. God's grace. The only way to God. The only
way to worship God. All the love, mercy, grace, salvation
of the Lord God is in the ark of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
there's lots of it. Scarlet line. Well, as we said, that city is
judged, weighed in the balances, and found wanting. Damned, doomed,
and cursed. And so is this world. And this
is no fairy tale. Young people, this is no fairy
tale. This is the Word of God who cannot lie. I'm not telling
a story here. I'm telling you the truth. You better come to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Ask Him for mercy. You personally. Because He's coming. But as we said, down in verse
23, the Lord brought Rahab out. And so it went on, that's who
will come, whom the Lord calls. So that's why we call upon the
Lord. I don't beg our young people. You know, I could scare them.
I could scare them like these phony preachers do. We could
show films of a burning hell and scare them into a profession.
That's all it will be is a profession. But there's one person that can
put the fear of God in them. And that's who we call upon,
you see. We don't beg our children to do anything. I don't beg your
children to do anything. I don't try to coerce them. I don't try to bribe them and
beg them and, you know, do all these things to appeal to them. But I'm begging God. Begging
God. Yeah, begging. Because if God's
not pleased, they won't find mercy, like me. So it went every
day. Same sound. Every day. And on the seventh day. Now, what did Peter tell us,
Barbara? He said, Beloved, in his last
chapter, in his last letter, Peter talking about the Lord's
coming. You know, they're saying, here's
what they're saying. Scoffers and mockers are saying, where's
the promise of His coming? Everything continues as it once
was. And what did Peter tell us to
not be ignorant of? He said, beloved, remember, don't
be ignorant of this. A day is a thousand years, and
a thousand years is a day. He's telling us a very obvious
clue, isn't he? One day is a thousand years,
and a thousand years is a day. Six days, the trumpet blew. Six days have gone by, Nancy,
haven't they? Six thousand years have passed on this earth. Just
forget what science says. They're all ours. They're all
ours. This world is about six thousand
years old. Six days have passed. What does
that tell you? The walls are coming down. This
place is going to fall down flat. It's all over but the what? But to shout, don't be ignorant
of it. And so in verse 16, down in our
text, it says in verse 16, it came to pass at the seventh time
when the priests blew with the trumpets, what did they blow? Same message. Next weekend, I
hope you have set aside everything, just forsaken everybody and everything
to come listen to three of the choice men on planet earth preach
the gospel. The Andersons have graciously
agreed to keep Brother Dan Parks and Brother Bruce Crabtree. And
I'm telling you, they're entertaining angels. I've spent much time
with both of those men, and they're not two fine men on the earth.
And you won't have a more profitable time with them. Bruce Crabtree
is an angel sent from God, and you're going to find out. And
I hope you've set aside everything Because we're going to get seven
days' worth in three days. We'll have six messages. And
then we're going to shout. It may be. It may be. It may
be. Wouldn't that be wonderful? At
the end of our meeting. It would be the start of that
eternal one. Well, Joshua cried that the men,
women, and children, verse 16, shout. Now shout, the Lord hath
given you the city. Gabe, Hannah, Mindy and I went
on vacation, you know, and we passed through some pretty ritzy
places down there in Florida, you know, that's where all the
rich people go and buy their second and third and fourth homes
on the sand. where they're building their
houses on the sand. There was a time I admired those places
and thought I might like to have a little condo on the sand, a
condo on Jericho's wall. You did too. Everybody in here
did. Admit it. But we all concluded after that
trip, you know, the Lord has given the world the world. He could easily make somebody
here wealthy, filthy rich, and give you a condo and it all can
do it. till a hurricane blows down. But he doesn't, does he? But he gives the world the world.
And that's what they get. That's what they have coming
to them. But he's given us the city. The new one. And it's going to come down from
heaven. New Jerusalem. And all our beloved
brethren coming with him. Isn't that going to be something?
You're going to have to shout. What's going to happen when the
Lord comes? What does the scripture say that's
going to announce His coming? A triumph! I want to show you. You know
what they shouted? I know what they shouted. Do you know what
they shouted? I know what they shouted. Look with me. If you looked at your Bible,
it gave a reference to 1 Chronicles 16. I know exactly what they
shouted. We've been shouting it all along.
This book shouts it from Genesis to Revelation. You know, creation
shouts this. All of creation shouts this. Scripture shouts it from Genesis
to Revelation. The saints right now are shouting
this. 1 Chronicles, right after 2 Kings. 1 Chronicles 16, look at this. Here is what they shouted in
Joshua's day. 1 Chronicles 16. We're going to shout too. Verse
31, it says, Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,
and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth. The Lord, that's what they shouted.
The Lord reigneth. That's what they were shouting
all along, wasn't it? But all of them got to say it
at the top of their lungs. Men, women, and children. And
so will we. It's all over but the shouting.
Okay, stand with me. Our Lord, how we thank You for
Your Word. Again, it's everything. It tells us our danger. It warns us, reproves, rebukes,
instructs. It kills us, slays us, it makes
us alive, it gives life, it convicts, it comforts, it teaches, it instructs. Oh, Lord, it restrains us, constrains
us. Thy Word is Your power. And how we thank You for this
two-edged sword straight from Thy mouth that You've sent to
Rahabs, to harlots, chiefs of sinners, called them out by Your
grace by that scarlet line, Christ crucified. Thank you, Lord. And
we shout that our God reigneth, and we're so glad of it. It's
in Christ's name we've met here. Amen.