John Gunter: Talking about, tell me the story, life lessons from scripture's greatest moments. And so, I'm excited to give you the lesson this morning because I haven't talked about this since I've been here. It's something we kind of save for our kids for some reason, I think. But we're talking about the wall fall wonder. And again, these images are AI generated, which just still blows my mind that you could come up with something like that.
I don't have to worry about giving credit to some artist somewhere. I know an artist is probably mad if you're in here today, but just what a what a great image. And so, we're talking about this is from the book of Joshua. It'll be in Joshua chapter five, and mostly in chapter six today as we begin. But Israel, at this point, has crossed the Jordan and is preparing to take, as you see in the background, the city of Jericho.
And as we get into that, we're gonna start in Joshua five starting in verse 13. When Joshua was by Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said, no. I love that, by the way.
Yes or no? No. Not getting into it. He said, no, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord, now I have come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped and said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant?
And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And so this is Joshua's introduction into something God has going on. I haven't had anything like this happen, have you? I can't imagine how I would respond. There are a lot of things in scripture where all of a sudden this angel of the Lord, or this man of the Lord is standing there, and people are are worshiping, they don't know what to do, what is it Lord?
I can't imagine, but all of a sudden, Joshua knows by the context of this, this is a special place, I'm going to worship. And again, he says, alright, well, take off your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy. Again, indicating that God is here, and that God is at work. Do you feel like, as you go about your life, that God is here, and God is at work? Because that's what we're gonna be talking about today.
Because a lot of times, if we don't have the big miraculous event, we can feel like, well, nothing is going on. Right? Yes or no? God, where are you? Right?
The psalmist will will say at times. Where are you? I don't feel that your presence is gone from me. And that's the way we can feel, but I believe at all times, God is at work, though we may not see it. So starting in chapter six, now Jericho was shut up inside 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 ram's horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priest shall blow the trumpets. 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.
And so, Joshua meets this commander of the Lord's army who tells him, kind of, the battle's gonna be won, that God is doing something, but as we just read, guess what? It's gonna be done a little bit differently. Have you ever had an experience in your life where God answered your prayer, but it wasn't quite in the way you thought or you desire? Yes. We need a church that says amen a little bit more.
All are real quiet. Thank you. I'm going to work. I'm going to step on some toes till we get a loud, boisterous church. Okay?
I had a this is off the subject, I had a buddy growing up that he went to some kind of Pentecostal church, and he could not believe. He said, you mean to tell me that you guys just sit there and listen and be quiet? Yeah. Is there something else to do? Apparently, there is.
There's a lot to do, a lot to say. So say amen. That's that's that's alright. But yeah, we experience this in life. Right?
God does things on God's terms in God's ways. That brings about frustration at times, doesn't it? Because I already know the right answer, I know God how you should do it, let me lay this out for you, I've got bullet points. Yes? But God often answers things in ways that we don't see, and so he says God's here, but the battle is not gonna go kinda the way that we see it.
And so, what we see is Jericho is this fortified city that is it says it's shut tight. Nobody's coming in or out, it is locked up. And so, God brings about this battle plan that I don't even know when he's being told this, if Joshua was thinking, well, this is a battle plan, because we're talking about marching, blowing trumpets, and shouting. If today, you go home and turn on the news, we say, hey, we're about to declare war against somebody, and here's the battle plan. We're going to march, we're going to blow trumpets, and we're going to shout, what is your response?
Well, we lost that one. Not going to win that one? Absolutely. But he says, see, I have given Jericho into your hands. He's already saying this before it ever happened.
He's saying, have faith, I am here, you're going to win this. It is in your hand. And so, victory is going to come, but not by force. And I don't know if we can wrap our minds around that, can we? Because not only are we used to force, we're nowadays, we're used to force from, you know, we'll we'll create that force from The United States and send stuff that we don't even have a man on it.
Right? We are all about force, and God says, no, this is going to come by faith, to believe that it's going to happen, and obedience, that you're going to do these things. And so, God doesn't always ask us to understand how he works, though we try to figure it out. What he asks us to do is obey. Obedience is a huge part of God's plan.
You understand that? And so, Isaiah 55 verses eight and nine here, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Now, that might hurt our pride just a little bit, that we can't comprehend everything that God is is trying to do, but that's what God says. He is God, we are not.
Why do we get so frustrated when it doesn't work the way we want it to? Right? And so, marching in silence doesn't look like we're preparing for war. Right? Because remember, they were supposed to be quiet, and march and and blow trumpets, and so they weren't even supposed to speak.
And so, God doesn't need, like, our logic to work out, does he? He doesn't need our suggestions, God, here's how it's going to go. No, He says, my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my way or your ways, my ways, declares the Lord. And so, I think it's one of those things where if you only obey, if you're only obedient when it all makes sense to you, I've got to do this in this way, it all makes sense to me, you're going to miss out. Because even in those times where it doesn't make sense, you don't know how it's going to work out, God is calling you to obedience.
He's calling you to follow him, and guess what? God is still working in those times. He is still making things happen even in those times where it doesn't make sense. In verse six, back in Joshua chapter six, 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 ram's 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 on before the ark of the Lord.
And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's 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 priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rearguard was walking after the ark while the trumpets blew continually. It stopped working there for a second. There we go. Okay.
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. Can you imagine at this point, alright, we're we're blowing horns, why does it matter if we're making noise with our mouth? Isn't that interesting? Does that any of that make sense? It's it's not like we're being covert at this point is what I'm trying to say.
So so why do this? Right? He said, okay, until I tell you to shout, then you shall shout. So he calls the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about at once, and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. 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 ram's 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 rearguard 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. Does any of this make any sort of sense for warfare? Absolutely not. The only thing you're hoping at that point is that the enemy thinks you've lost your mind, and maybe they're just crazy enough to take this place.
Right? Because nothing makes sense in the way we think it should make sense. If we were to tell God, no, here's how to take a city, it wouldn't include this, I'm guessing. This would not be the way. Now, what we may see is a huge fortified city, and we think there's no way to get in.
There's nobody going, nobody coming, we can't get through this, and we might actually, using our logic, look at the situation and say, we can't do it. There's no way to do it. And maybe even this plays into Joshua going, well, I don't know if there's any other way. But still, he is obedient. Day one, nothing happens.
Day two, nothing happens. Day three, nothing happens. Day four, how many of you are tired by now and going, I don't know if this is going to work? Yeah. Because I keep being faithful, I keep being obedient, and I don't see anything going on, but God is still working.
And in oh, missed a let's see, where is that? There we go. We're getting to it here. In Galatians chapter six verse nine, it says, And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. And so, Wednesday night, Scott mentioned we have great Wednesday nights, Wednesday night we kind of talked about this.
We talked about how much we can get kind of frustrated because things aren't happening, or we don't believe things are happening. Just like as they marched around the city, you don't see just as we march day one, one fall one wall falls down. Right? As we walk around the city day two, some other things happen. They keep walking around the city, and nothing happens.
And so, scripture tells us, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap. When the season is right, then you will reap. I love planting a garden, and the first thing I do is put seeds in soil and water them. And guess what? Nothing happens for a while, or at least it appears that nothing happens until one day, Heath's my gardening buddy, Heath's going to get a picture.
How many pictures of little seedlings do you have for me? Sprouting. Yeah, a 100. Thank you. Because now, I see, yeah, something was happening.
Now it's apparent, now I see it. In due season, when the time is right, then you see God is working it out, something is happening. And so, like a seed planted in the ground, God may be growing something even when you don't see it. Growth happens underground, in silence, in obscurity, until the moment the breakthrough comes, and Heath gets a picture of that. Anybody else want to be on that list?
I'll be happy to send you some. The breakthrough rarely comes on day one. Right? You're praying and you want something to happen. How many of you have prayed and it just spontaneously just happened immediately?
That may happen, but breakthroughs rarely come on day one. It is built through daily faithfulness, daily obedience, even when that faithfulness or obedience feels like it's not really producing anything. And so, back to chapter six of Joshua. On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawn of the day, 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 priest had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, shout, for the Lord has given you the city. I wanna stop right there just a second. How many of you, if you had done this for six straight days, and now you've just made seven laps around the city, when Joshua says, God has given you the city, and it still looks exactly like it did on day one, how many of you are going, yeah, I believe you. Right? I wish we had the behind the scenes edition of this, don't you?
You know, 80% didn't believe anything was happening. A lot of them weren't paying attention, didn't know what was going on in the first place, you know, all the things that happened in a big crowd. Okay? Now, I mean, you're looking at it, and this is still a walled fortified city that nothing has happened in the last six days now, seventh day, and we've marched around seven times. Shout for the Lord has given you the city.
I can't even say get you all to say amen, much less shout. Right? Shout for the Lord has given you the city, and we say amen. And we say, almost saying, well, I hope so because I haven't seen anything. I haven't seen God do anything miraculous here, so I don't really know what to do.
And so, what we see in verse 20. 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. And so, they marched around seven times, and something does happen after they shout and be obedient. And God follows through only after his people followed through with their obedience.
You see that? Did God need the people to march around that city to do what he did? Was anything gained in this warfare by them marching around the city other than them killing the vegetation where they marched. Right? Did anything help the walls to fall down?
No. But God asked for our obedience. He asked for us to put our faith in him, and to be obedient, and he followed through only after his people followed through. And we read in Hebrews 11, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith, They produced, they gave nothing toward the walls falling down, only that they had faith that God could do it.
And that's true for whatever you're dealing with in your life. To have faith that God can do it. It may not make sense, you may not know how it could ever happen that way, but have faith that God can do it. James even talks about having prayer. If you're not going to pray pray in faith, what are you doing?
Right? You better pray believing, having a faith that God can do it. Do you believe He can? Have you quit believing in miracles, Christians? If you have, quit praying.
Right? I hope you haven't. Believe in Him, believe that He is able, that God can make it happen. And so, faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled, not because not that they did anything, but because they had faith. God does the impossible, but he still calls us to be obedient in what we do, to follow him even when it doesn't make sense.
And so, the people shouted in faith, believing God could make this happen, not because they had already fallen or they had seen any proof that anything they were doing had worked, or was working. They did so in faith, because they trusted that he would make it happen. Psalm 100, make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing, know that the Lord, he is God, it is he who made us, and we are his, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. I read this this morning because I I think what we're seeing here is when they're shouting, they are praising God, just like in the Psalm. Praising God, having faith in him that he has made us.
He has created all that we see, and if he's done that, he can fix this. If he's done all that, he can work with my situation. Right? Because we use so much logic, I think a lot of times we think about God only in terms of the way I think it can work out. Right?
And so, if I think it's impossible, well, I don't think it's going to happen. One of the friends of my family ended up with a very bad stage four cancer, and when I heard about it, was pancreatic. You know how bad pancreatic cancer is, and the first time I heard it, I thought, well, he's gone. That was years ago, and he's still with us. Now, I'm upset with myself that I thought that because that's logic.
You hear that? That's just John's logic, I know stage four, I know pancreatic is bad, it has to be over. But what can God do? You may be sitting in a bad situation in your life, maybe in your marriage, in your relationships, maybe at work, and you may be thinking there's no way that I can get out of this situation, that this situation can work out, but guess what? God can do it.
It's not about what you can do, or what you think can happen, it is about what God can do. And so that leaves us open. It should bring about a praise that really sets us up to continue moving forward towards him, because God can do it. Worship is not something we do just after we see the walls fall, or after the situation clears up. Worship is something we are obedient in, that we continue to do in the midst of the storm, before the storm, and after the storm has cleared up.
Yes? Yeah. That's what God has called us to do, to continue in our obedience to him. And so, some of you may be feeling it. Maybe you're on day four or five.
Maybe you've gotten to day six, maybe you're on day seven, and you're making the laps going something's still not changing. God, I need you to to work, I need you to act. God, I I I feel like I've been obedient, I've been through all of this, and I feel beat down, but I'm not seeing anything. Some of you are waiting for that miraculous thing before you take a step, and that's not what God has called you to do. God has called you to continue in your obedience.
Second Corinthians five seven says, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Let me explain something about that. That doesn't mean that God has not given you evidence of what He is, or who He is, and what He can do. It does not mean that God has not shown you how much He loves and cares for you. Do you have evidence of God loving and caring for you?
We got a whole church full of people who don't know. I'm not sure. Thank you. Hallelujah. Praise God.
God loves you and cares for you. He is going to work things out. We walk by faith, not by sight, not saying that God hasn't shown you evidence, but in the midst of a storm, you may not understand how it's gonna work out, you may not see it. We walk by faith, understanding that he is all powerful. He who created the earth, he who created us, that we are his, we walk by faith in him, not ourselves, walking by faith in him.
James one twenty two says, but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. Keep walking, keep listening, keep obeying him, put your faith, put your trust in him, continue to walk. Continue to trust. Shout, even when it looks like nothing's happening. Continue to praise God, even when the wall looks like it is still there.
We, as Christians, need to learn how to surrender, to continue to obey, and to trust in God no matter what happens. Walls still fall when we put our obedience in in Christ, when we continue to be obedient to him. Do you believe that? Thank you. Some of you are getting it.
Walls still fall when we are walking in obedience to him. Amen? And so, this morning, I want to encourage you, if you're beat down, remember God is still working. You may not see it, but he's working below the surface just like that seed you put in the ground. All of a sudden, one day you go, where'd that come from?
I I didn't know if that was going to happen. I didn't think anything was happening. I couldn't see it. I couldn't observe it. Well, his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts higher than our thoughts.
And because of that, I'm gonna put my trust in him. Will you? Let me encourage you this morning, we're gonna have time of invitation. We'd love to pray with you. I don't think we do that enough.
I'd love to pray with you, wrap our arms around you. If you haven't started that walk with Jesus, we'd love to see you start that this morning, to be a part of, this church even, that we can. We're not we're not gonna do this perfectly, nobody in here is going to. But as we try to be obedient to him, we walk together, we encourage one another, put our arms around one another and walk forward. We do that as we stand and sing this morning.