 Today we're in chapter 6 here. We're looking at a passage that deals with what is simply We can call the fall of Jericho. And so let's begin reading together here in Joshua Chapter 6 at verse 1 we'll read verses 1 through 5. We'll get into our study Joshua Chapter 6 verses 1 through 5 the fall of Jericho We read now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel None went out and none came in and the Lord said to Joshua see I have given Jericho into your hand It's king and the mighty men of Valor You shall march around the city all you men of war You shall go all around the city once This you shall do six days and Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets Then it shall come to pass When they make a long blast with the rams horn and When you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout Then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up every man straight before him now Joshua is about to engage in his first battle for the possession of the land of promise God had already made a promise and we've seen this in chapter 1 in verses 5 and chapter 9 Rather verse 9 that that God would be with him wherever he went and so with that in mind Joshua sent spies out to go and just check out Jericho check out the land and enter into Jericho And then Joshua led them across the Jordan now During the during the dry season the Jordan is not much more than a small stream During the rainy season it becomes a torrent that can overflow its banks And it was during the rainy season that the miracle occurred And it was through that miracle that God magnified him in the sight of Israel Now carrying the ark the the priest's feet touched the water and the water parted So that was intended to communicate that God was with them as well as solidifying their faith that they would be victorious And as we know as we've been looking at the earlier chapters in remembrance They set up two memorials that they might never forget such a miracle So now they're camped they're camped on the Western banks of the Jordan Joshua knows that the Amorites and Canaanites are petrified He and his people are now ready to go out and they're ready to conquer So before battle Joshua made sure that the men who had not been circumcised were circumcised Because that was an outer emblem of their covenant that God had made with Abraham concerning the promised land They also celebrated Passover which reminded them of their deliverance as well as encouraging them to have faith that God would be with them And then as we've already seen finally the captain of God's hosts had given directions to Joshua So that means that Joshua knew that his orders were to come from above and not from the direction of men and his conquest Was to be a holy one. So his heart was now settled on following the Lord They're ready to begin the conquest the possession of the land that God promised and to do so Their approach will be actually to divide and to conquer You see when you look at a map of Israel Jericho is pretty much in the in the geographic center And there's a small city that was next to it called AI and they were pretty much in the center of Israel So to enter in at that place would be dividing the land from the the north to the south They were going to take Jericho. They were going to take AI. They were going to proceed south and They were going to divide the land and that's a strategy. That's very ancient but the strategy though it is ancient and Has been repeated in many times The method of taking Jericho has never again to be repeated as we'll see in just a moment now We begin at verse 1 to see what's taking place Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel none went out and none came in Now the people of Jericho are aware of Israel's presence, but they're not anticipating really they weren't anticipating This attack They thought that because the Jordan was at flood stage that they would have some time to prepare But when the miracle occurred and they crossed over the only response they now have is to lock themselves up behind these gates Jericho was a fortified city. It was protected by its walls But even though they're afraid They're still prepared the harvest is concluded. So they There they have plenty of grain. They have a spring that would supply water for the city So they're feeling that they're going to be secure there behind these massive walls Even if Israel comes to attack them They have enough enough goods one of my commentators was saying they had enough grain there to last them Probably several years and so they're not really concerned about it at all. They could have withstood a siege Now they're afraid of the Israelites, but they think they're protected behind these walls And so the best thing they can do at that moment is simply to watch and to wait And so that's what it's saying there in verse one when it says Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel None went out none came in verse two and the Lord said to Joshua see I have given Jericho into your hand It's king and the mighty men of Valor So this is a continuation by the way of conversation that we saw begin in chapter Five verses 13 through 15 is continuation of a conversation with the commander of the Lord's army and So God is speaking of this conquest, but I want you to notice how it says it It says see I have given Jericho into your hand He's speaking of it as an event that has already occurred. He's saying this is something that has already been accomplished So let's think about that for just a moment here. They have yet to go and engage in battle and yet God is speaking in the past tense I've given this to you. It's something that you possess You're fighting from the position of the one who has already won and there's no doubt as to how this conflict will end God is basically saying to Joshua and this should be a word of encouragement to him. This is a done deal I have given Jericho into your hand. All you need to do is enter in and take it It's yours We can make application of that today One of the things that we as believers need to understand as we fight we fight from the position of the victor not the victim and a lot of people that I encounter a lot of believers I have to say a large amount of believers I encounter Have this mentality that they don't know how things are going to turn out and So they're always in despair. They're always discouraged. They're not really sure what's going to happen They're not battling from the position of the one who's already won God has already guaranteed us victory God has already made it clear that we have what he has promised and When I don't receive that and though it's a very human thing And I'm certainly not about to stand up there and say that I fully arrived because I haven't I'm only ninety nine point nine percent fully arrived No, I haven't fully arrived. I Understand so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm speaking down to anybody because I'm not We have battle after battle after battle after battle But God is faithful and faithful and faithful and faithful through them all and we go through these battles and We think oh, who's going to deliver me? What's going to happen? I'm not sure and the Lord says haven't I delivered you before Yeah, that was before but that's not right now. You see right now I need to know that you're with me And so what I do is I try to concentrate on on his promises like Romans 8 37 in all these things We are more than conquerors through him who loved us more than conquerors in 1st Corinthians 15 57 Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ who gives us the victory we have it We are more than conquerors. He has given us the victory in 1st John 5 verse 4 whatever is born of God overcomes the world that this is the victory that's overcome the world our faith So we trust the Lord God is in control. God has said you're going to make it Jesus tells his disciples get in the boat and go to the other side He remains on shore Well, they go and attempt to get across the Sea of Galilee But they encounter a storm and As Jesus is there sleeping They're concerned that they're not going to make it so they say the worst thing they could say Lord. Don't you care? We're about to perish and what does Jesus do? He gets up and begins to cry and weep and oh my we're not going to make it now He stands up we know the story and he speaks directly to the wind and he says to it literally in the Greek be muzzled What he's saying in the slang is Shot up and that's how he's this is true. That's what the Greek literally says be muzzled shot up That's enough and and you know the thing is is if Jesus was not afraid if Jesus was not concerned Why was his men? Why were they concerned? He wasn't concerned They had the master of the universe there the commander of the waves the commander of the wind What kind of man is this that he speaks and even the wind and the sea obey him? That's the God that I serve That's the God who gives me victory He's able to command. It's easier for Jesus to command the wind in the wave than it is for his men It's easier for him to get the wind in the wave to listen than it is for me for him to get me to listen And so one of the things I've been trying to learn over the years is what I'm trying to share with you right now God had stated to them. I have given Jericho into your hand. I've given it to you It's a done deal. It has been it's completed. You might as well just go and take what I've prepared for you I wonder how many of us are standing before a Jericho right now with the Lord is saying I've already given it to you And we're standing out say I'm not quite sure about that. I know I don't know about that I'm I don't know Jesus. No, he says you can have it. You can possess everything in the city You'll have the king the mighty men. They cannot resist your advance So God's about to show them that they can defeat anything that is before them Again Jericho is a fortified city But God is about to show them that he is with them and they're gonna have victory through him It says in verse 3 you shall march around the city all you men of war you shall go around the city once This you shall do six days and seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets Then it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the rams horn and When you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout Then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up every man straight before him and So he speaks to them and he says this is what you're going to do I'm giving this to you. You're gonna march around the city all you men of war Now God could have done this without their participation, but he chooses not to do so why because he wants to refine their strength and refine their faith He's especially going to be refining Joshua's faith, but he's refining the faith of the nation. He's the leader of the nation But they all need to have their faith refined that they might trust in him They need to follow But what they're gonna do is they're gonna follow a plan that doesn't make much sense March around the city Blow trumpets and Then shout that doesn't make much sense to me All of us know Proverbs three five and six trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not into thine own understanding in all thy ways Follow him on all your ways Meditate on the things that he says in every way follow him and Follow his directions and he's going to he's gonna set the path before you in a way that it's going to be Directed acknowledge him in all your ways and he shall direct your path is what the scripture says and that's what we do We acknowledge the reality of the Lord We we make sure and this is what I can take a long time. I won't but I could talk about this for a while Why do I trust in Lord with all my heart well one I haven't learned to do that yet again But I'm learning But why would I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not into my own understanding because my own Understanding is not sufficient to understand the ways of God. God's ways have to be revealed to me Because God's ways are not my ways his thoughts are not my thoughts his plans are beyond my plans His ability to perform them are beyond my ability to understand So ultimately what I have to do is I have to rest in him I have to trust in him and I have to rely on him see listen when you when you try and rely on your own plans your own Schemes your own abilities and all of that you're making a great mistake For me as a believer in Christ, I've had to learn to trust in the Lord that he knows what's best there's this old show that used to be on in the in the on TV when I was growing up called father knows best and that's always been true my heavenly father knows best and There are some things that God will have you to do and they may see major things or they may see minor things But they'll have you do something that really doesn't seem to make sense because all he wants at that moment from me is my obedience Jesus was ministering to his men on one occasion and as he was ministering to his men He washed their feet and then it went on to say after Peter had said he didn't want Jesus to wash his feet Jesus went on to say it's found in John 13 7 what I am doing. You do not understand now, but you will know after this There are times when the Lord will simply lead you to do something where you're not fully aware of what the outcome is going to be other than you have a sense that the Lord is saying this is something you need to do and And what he's saying here is he's saying to them. This is what you will do you are going to conquer Jericho and I am giving to you a plan. I have my part and you will have your part My part is to give you the victory Your part is to obey And what's going to be the key to their victory according to verse 3. It's going to be their obedience They are now being trained for war by being trained to trust and trained to obey They needed to learn this at the crossing of the Jordan and Now they need to learn this to take possession of the land follow a simple command now in verses four and five He speaks of the seven priests who are bearing seven trumpets Before the Ark on the seventh day what God is doing now is he delivering? He's delivering a strategy for them to conquer the city First he says have seven priests with trumpets walk in front of the Ark. They're going to walk in front of the army For the first six days the sword soldiers are going to walk silently Priests will blow the trumpets on the seventh day Circle the city seven times and then the priests will blow the trumpets and That'll be the clincher the priests will blow the trumpets and the people are going to yell And that's how you're going to get this the city I Have a better plan than than walking around quietly for a week. Why don't we just storm? Why don't we just take it? We've got a huge army, but God is teaching them to rely on him and to trust him Now it's interesting how God adds trumpets and a shout Why would he say use these trumpets and and say I want you to shout well The trumpets reveal God's presence among the people and the shouts are really shouts of triumph in Exodus 1919 it says when the blast of the trumpets sounded long and became louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered him by voice and so trumpets can reveal the presence of God amongst the people and God is saying in verse 5 that the walls will fall down flat and the people will go up Everyone straight before him so the conquest of Jericho is intended to include a total Participation of the people because each are going to gain some personal experience in how God works See when that wall goes down, and I'm going to give you some details in a minute That's interesting from archaeological discoveries, but when the walls are flattened It's not just a portion of the military that's going to go in the men are all supposed to go in Because in victory in war and victory Total participation is needed In any army there needs to be a division of labor and the people who are involved in the military operation need to be carrying their own load their own weight and So as you enter in it's one thing to go through basic training, but as you enter into actual combat You're learning some things as you do so as you pursue the enemy and you experience victory So people are not supposed to be allowing other people to go out and fight They should be part of the battle themselves Every one of us for example in this room who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ Have our own load to carry our own share that we bear ourselves Each one shall bear his own burden each one of us carries our own Particular load every believer has that We need to be aware of the fact that sometimes we think that that Spiritual warfare is for other people Sometimes we think that evangelization and mission work is really for those who just other people yet Paul speaks to Timothy who was not called an evangelist and says to him do the work of evangelists so all of us may not have the gift of evangelism but all of us have the ministry of being a witness and We can share our faith and we ought to in this room right now I'm sure that I have Many of you have friends and relatives who who don't know the Lord and God has been speaking to you about speaking to them But sometimes we're afraid to do that Sometimes we're afraid to speak because we don't know how they're gonna respond to us And so we say Lord I I would like them to be saved but but you know they're not gonna listen to me So could you please send an evangelist go speak to them and God has a way of doing that? But sometimes he may say I could why don't I make you the witness? Why don't I use you and and like Isaiah? We need to get to that point in our lives where we have a burden for the glory of the Lord And we have a burden to be used by God so we can say here am I Lord? Send me I want to be used a lot of people say there. He is Lord send him I'll support him. I'll pray But the Lord is saying why would I want to send him or her? When I have you When I can use you When you have the ability you have enough Bible in you you got the power of the Holy Spirit All you need is some confidence all you need to do is trust the Lord All you need to do is step out and open your mouth and watch what God will do I began to learn to share my faith when I was a new Christian What did I know once I was lost now I'm found once I was blind now I see once I was deaf now I hear once I was dead now I'm alive That's all I knew But that was enough at that moment So I could tell other people who are blind deaf and dead that there's one who can save them and You share with them and then you blow your mind at what God does Then you say wow that was good stuff. I must have listened in church the other day As I oh, I oh, I should have taken that and put that on on a CD and I could sell it at church Put it on the radio good stuff bottom line is guys All we need to do is learn one is God will make us victorious According to his plan for victory in our lives what that may be he defines that for us and Two he's going before us and he's with us the Ark of the Covenant is a symbol of God It's a picture of God being amongst the people. They're not going in this battle by themselves He's already saying you're gonna have a trumpet because that trumpet reminds you of my presence all the way back to Exodus and Not only that but you're gonna have a shout and that shout is a shout of triumph It's a shout of victory and so as you go in and you shout and as you have the trumpets blowing It's symbolic of my presence and the victory that I'm giving to you And so trust me Now in verses six and seven Joshua the son of none called the priest and said to them Take up the Ark of the Covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams horns before the Ark of the Lord And he said to the people proceed and march around the city and let him who has armed advance before the Ark of the Lord seven priests Seven trumpets seven days seven times speaks of God's work being complete And so they began their march In verse eight So it was when Joshua had spoken to the people That the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets And the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord followed them The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets and the rear guard came after the Ark While the priests continued blowing the trumpets Now Joshua had commanded the people saying you shall not shout or make any noise with your voice Nor shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I say to you Shout Then you shall shout So he had the Ark of the Lord circle the city going around it once Then they came into the camp and lodge lodged in the camp So the priests are as you can see this they're really in the center of the men of war and the rear guard And there they go sounding the trumpets They're walking silently in a procession around the walls Now the army of Jericho Most likely Was they're lining the walls And they're watching this spectacle of these people There's no rain of spears or arrows. There's no stones or anything like that There's no attack that comes forth They're just watching as these These Israelites are circling their city And they're they're looking down upon them. I don't know if they were quiet. It doesn't say Could it be that they were yelling derisively at them because they felt that they were safe and secure behind the walls Now the the jews the Israelites knew what to expect in Deuteronomy chapter 9 verse 1 Moses had prepared the Israelites and he had said listen. Oh, Israel Today you're about to cross the Jordan river to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky So he's already said listen, you're going to enter into a place that has walled cities and these cities are massive So they're already prepared and they know that Jericho has these huge walls But he's given them an opportunity to go around that's the first day verse 12. Joshua rose early In the morning and the priest took the ark of the lord Seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark of the lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets The armed men went before them But the rear guard came after the ark of the lord while the priests continued blowing the trumpets in the second day They marched around the city once and returned to the camp So they did six days and so Lessons are not always learned the first time They have to be completely taught and therefore they're going to continue going around There are some things that the lord wants you to learn and he does so by the way through repetition There are some lessons that you will learn over and over again in a lifetime When you think that you finally got it the lord teaches you afresh You may think oh man, and i've become a loving person man You know i've changed so much and then you'll bring somebody into your life. That's really hard to live with Maybe it's your husband or wife. I don't know when your kids became 13 I don't know but something's going to happen. Have you discovered that you think that you've got it down You think you've got it down And the lord says i'm going to give you a new wrinkle to this And then you go oh no and oh i thought i learned this and then you go through that And maybe two or three years later you thinking that you're settled in this and the lord brings something else in Really the same guy. Why does he do that you ever ask him why why do you do that some lessons Are learned through repetition When you look in the book of acts i'll give you an example out of the book of acts. There's a chapter 10 There's a man by the name of cornelius there Cornelius is a Gentile And he's been praying and fasting It's a god-fairer He's not a jew. He's a Gentile. He's a god-fairer But god Ministers to him and lets him know that his prayers and supplications have been heard And god says so i want you to send to the apostle peter who's in the city of japa He's lodging at the home of simon who's a tanner And i want you to have him come and see you and so Cornelius sends three men to represent him and The apostle peter is there on top of the roof. It's our prayer. He receives a vision of a sheet and uh On this sheet are all kinds of four-footed beasts and all creeping things And god speaks to him and says rise up peter slay slay and eat And peter says not so lord i'm kosher. I've never eaten anything unclean God says see him don't call something unclean that i have cleansed And he's pondering that he's wondering what's this vision all about when He's told there are some men waiting to see you and he goes down and there's these Gentiles Jews have nothing to do with Gentiles And they say we've been sent here. We want to take you to see Cornelius And so he goes to see this man named Cornelius and when he begins to speak to Cornelius Cornelius shows him great respect the kind of respect that peter has a problem with them says because he falls at his feet and says No, you get up. I'm a man like you And he begins to minister to him But he makes a statement to Cornelius and and as he's speaking to him He basically says to him that that god has showed me that I am not to call any man common or unclean God has showed me When you look at that comment that he makes there in the original language that's found in ax 10 28 when you see that In the original language, it's a very strong statement. He's saying I have learned something. It's like a permanent lesson Then I can have fellowship with Gentiles. God is not a respecter of persons, right? So he's saying I've learned this lesson But later on in the book of Galatians The apostle Paul is speaking and he speaks concerning the apostle Peter And he says Before Jews would show up Peter would be eating with the Gentiles But when the Jews would show up he would withdraw himself from the Gentiles And thus was acting the part of a hypocrite And Paul says I confronted him to his face for he was to be blamed Now wait a minute Peter had earlier said I know for a fact That god said nothing is common or unclean and what he has declared to be clean is clean and yet Paul has to rebuke him for going back on what god had originally taught him So I take great Comfort knowing that some lessons that god wants me to learn are going to be relearned There are going to be lessons that I learned through a lifetime sometimes Some of the lessons you're learning right now are lessons you've learned in the past But there's a new variation to it and it's actually taking you into a deeper walk with the lord By going through another layer another gradation another understanding of how god works And then one day you're going to wake up and you're going to say I I get it Then you die. I mean that's that's what's going on That's your future Well in verses 15 and 16 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day And marched around the city seven times in the same manner on that day only they marched around the city seven times And the seventh time it was so when the priest blew the trumpets that joshua said to the people Shout for the lord has given you the city And so The people are finally released to fulfill the second part of the command. He says I want you to shout Like it says in psalm 47 1 clap your hands all you people Shout to god with a voice of triumph Psalm 47 5 god has gone up with a shout the lord with the sound of a trumpet And so they're about to see what god had promised moses had prepared them in deuteronomy chapter 3 verses 21 and 22 Where moses says I commanded joshua at that time saying your eyes have seen all that the lord your god has done To these two kings so will the lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass You must not fear them for the lord your god himself fights for you The lord your god himself fights for you Those surrounded The inhabitants and armies of jericho felt secure behind the walls The walls surrounding the city were high and securely fortified Excavations have revealed that jericho Had a retaining wall at the base Ground level a retaining wall that was between 12 and 15 feet high. That's a retaining wall Right above it. There was a mud brick wall that was six feet thick And that rose to the height of 26 feet And then between that second mud brick and the retaining going up a bit up up up a hill That surrounded the city was another wall And archaeologists have discovered that and that stood 46 feet above the ground And so when you have this series of a retaining wall mud brick wall space and then another wall, that's 46 feet high If you were there Looking from that vantage point you would feel that there's no way anybody could get to you It doesn't really matter you have to go through all of these things to reach us You're not going to be able to do that and so undoubtedly they were very very secure These are the walls that are about to fall down and now the people are commanded All you need to do is shout And so that's what they're about to do Now When it says of verse 17 the city shall be doomed by the lord to destruction It and all who are in it only rehab the harlot shall live She and all who are with her in the house because she hid the messengers that we sent You by all means keep yourselves from the accursed thing unless you become accursed when you take of the accursed Things and make the camp of israel a curse and trouble it But all the silver and gold the vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the lord They shall come into the treasury of the lord These people who are there in jericho are in total rebellion against god God is saying they are to be eradicated These are people when you study the people and the beliefs of that time. These were confirmed idolaters These are people who worship demons And so god is bringing judgment So god is going to eradicate that but they have silver gold bronze and iron That is going to be taken and that is going to be dedicated to god This is what is called a first fruits offering And what it's intended to do is to communicate future conquests But notice the only rehab and her family are going to be allowed to remain He says this though if the people take the things devoted to god israel will be judged So verse 20 the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpet And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet And the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat Then the people went up into the city every man straight before him and they took the city They utterly destroyed all that was in the city both man and woman young and old ox and sheep and donkey with the edge of the sword there's an archaeologist her name is kathleen kenyon And kathleen kenyon describes the walls having collapsed The upper walls collapsed against the retaining wall. That's what they found in the ruins of jericho That would have made a sort of ramp For each soldier to be able to actually do what the scripture says to go straight up and to take the city She also found that at the north end of the city there was a stretch of wall that did not collapse A portion of the mud brick wall was still standing And it's there's evidence that houses were built against that wall That would have been where rahab's house must have been And so she was saved Her house wasn't destroyed and there's evidence that there was a home there are homes dwelling places that were not destroyed Verse 21 just basically describes the taking of the city But notice verse 22 joshua had said to The two men who had spied out the country going to the harlot's house and From there bring out the woman and all that she has as you swore to her And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out rahab her father her mother Her brothers and all that she had so they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of israel So they burned the city They took the silver gold bronze and iron They dedicated it to god But they spared rahab As it says in verse 25 joshua spared rahab the harlot her father's household and all that she had So she dwells in israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom joshua sent to spy out jericho They had made that arrangement remember They had made that arrangement with her that they would spare her But she was to remain in the house and not to leave she and her family And so she had kept her part of the bargain and so she was spared As is noted she married a jewish man and we know that studying the genealog genealogical chart of jesus that She ended up in his genealogy And so god spared her and she actually ended up in his genealogy joshua charged them verse 26 at that time saying cursed be the man Before the lord who rises up and builds this city jericho He shall lay its foundations with his first born and with his youngest He shall set up its gates. So the lord was with joshua and his fame spread throughout all the country Now Who fought the battle of jericho? There's that song, you know joshua fought the battle of jericho, right? Who fought the battle of jericho god god fought it Well if god fought the battle of jericho, what was man's part in all of that? Well, the writer of hebrus tells us in chapter 11 verse 30 By faith the walls of jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days God's part was to give them jericho Man's part was to trust god to do it That's how it works God's part is to do it Man's part is to trust him So What is it that they had that would cause them to trust him now? I'm going to close with an application They had god's word They had god's promise to rely on And they had a faithful god And so do we There's an interesting scripture that you can find it's found in second corinthians chapter 10 Verses three through five I'm going to share some things with you In second corinthians chapter 10 verses three through five It says though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in god for pulling down strongholds Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of christ The picture that paul gives to us in second corinthians Is that we have entered into an offense against a fortified city That's the picture that you have casting down imagination He speaks about every high thing that has exalted itself What he's speaking about is us having the ability and the lord jesus christ to pull down stronghold by casting down the arguments Whenever you are walking with the lord You are finding yourself in spiritual warfare There are people who have arguments that would undermine the faith of christ There are those who would argue that you can't really believe the word of god to be true But the only thing and most sure thing that you have that is true is the word of god His word is truth That's why jesus prayed and said sanctify them in truth Your word is truth If there's one thing you can rely on it's the word of god You can trust in god's promises god is not a man that he should lie neither the son of man that he should repent As god said it shall he not do it? And so what you have from genesis to revelation Is a book that has compiled promises that god has given to us So that we might spiritually war By holding fast in faith to his promises There are times that god will say to you you might as well just give up There's no way you don't have any hope That friend will never come to christ will never come back to him. Just let him go So my friend bill Who walked away from the lord within a year after claiming to know him? Not even remembering how he at one time had taken me to church to hear the gospel Not remembering incidents concerning that bill walks away Goes in the military we go on the buddy plan. He goes off to germany on station in north carolina We lose contact reconnect a few times over the years When he talks to me he he says, you know david sometimes i'll listen to the radio and i hear you And you've mentioned me And i don't remember anything that you're saying he said i don't remember any of it He says you talk about things that i i did or said and i don't remember any of that Then i see him a few years ago he comes to a baptism here He wants to connect with me He had been in middle east and He had said god if you get me out of here i'll go visit david True story, so he did And he comes and he talks to me And after talking to me i say so what now he says i don't know he says i fulfilled my promise to god He got me out of there and here i am I said what do we do now bill I don't know i said why don't we begin to meet So he and another friend of mine named bobby And bill and i begin to meet And we meet for a year over a year and he comes he starts asking questions He starts talking to me about about god What does god do i had been praying for him not every day I don't want to pretend that it was every day, but i had been praying for him for 30 plus years well over 30 years praying Lord touch bill Bring him back Bring him to yourself Then you think what's the point man makes his own decisions. He's decided that he wants nothing to do with god Now he's back in my life. We meet for over a year Sharing he's asking questions And finally i say to him okay bill god i ask you Where do you stand with god now? He says i believe that i've gotten right with god and i've received jesus and my lord and savior I said oh really Goes yeah So i wait to see whether that's true so he comes Next month and We're in his truck going off to grab something to eat. He says Look at this. He hands me a bible track He says you know what i do with these And i said what? He says he says i give him way obviously he says but when i pull up like And an off ramp and there's somebody there with the sign He says i give him to him And then talk to him about jesus And i'm going this is bill Okay, an alien has invaded his body and has he's disappeared He comes now And he brings two pages of questions every time we get together two solid pages of questions And every month for the last almost three years Every month he comes with bobby And he first thing he'll do and this is the truth i'm he'll go like this And wave the paper at me and then he'll go like this and he'll go Which means we're going to be here for some time. That's what that means And one question after another after another and i will sit there with him for an hour To an hour and a half Answering every question that he has one at a time giving him scripture giving him an answer So god has given to me the joy of being able to minister to him For the last couple of years He serves the lord in the church that he attends now He's gone to haiti on missions trips. He helps to serve in the church. He's attending Do not give up Do not give up Don't give up God is able You will encounter people who have their arguments and have their belief system the walls of jericho still exist There are still people on those walls looking down on the people below thinking i'm secure in my opinions But we have the word of god in his promises And god has said that he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repenting And so when i share with people One on one or whenever i have conversations like that i could keep that in mind God wants them saved more than i do God loves them more than i ever could And god's already done something for them All i have to do is trust the lord and give what god gave to me his word And present a promise to them That jesus christ can set you free He can forgive you of your sins. He can cleanse you from all unrighteousness He can make you so new that even your best friends won't recognize you. That's what he does He makes you into a new creation old things are passed away behold all things are become new And so we still have been given by god marching orders We still have the opportunity of walking around if you will Affordified city we still have his presence with us and we still can shout praise of victory that god has given to us That's what he's given to us and all we need to learn to do is trust him Take him at his word And watch what god will do and the walls will come tumbling down and god is the one who causes that to happen Understand that