Allen Jackson - Breakthrough... Immovable Barriers - Part 2
Some of you know the order of march as it unfolds. They crossed the Jordan river and God piles up the water in a manner similar to what happened at the Red Sea. They paused for a time of consecration and physical preparation before they begin the conquest. You know that’s an offensive term. In liberal theological settings, the time when the Hebrew people move into the land that flows with milk and honey, the promised land, traditionally, that’s been referred to, in biblical scholarship as, the conquest. Well, in the current era of political correctness, it’s inappropriate that the Hebrew people would conquer the land. But it’s very clearly the biblical narrative.
And there are some… it’s almost comical, the gymnastics that scholars will go to to try to turn that story around to say that’s not what happened at all. But in order for them to occupy their inheritance, they had to displace people. And I don’t believe you and I will occupy the fullness of what God has for us until we have the strength, and the courage, and the determination, and the awareness of the promise of God to displace the principalities and powers that occupy those places and intend to diminish, hinder, and restrict the purposes of God. The breakthroughs that we pray for, the breakthroughs that we seek, often come from spiritual victories. We’re gonna look at it in a moment.
The Bible says that, «We’re, in a wrestling match, not with persons with bodies but with principalities, and powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places». And in the same way that the former slaves of Egypt had to face an adversary and they felt threatened, and intimidated, and frightened by the adversary, we’re going to face those same adversarial positions. They may look like people, or organizations, or institutions, or challenges, but behind them, I believe, the real force is spiritual. So, a church without a dependence upon the Spirit of God, without understanding the authority of the name of Jesus, or the power of his shed blood, is inept in the face of those spiritual forces of darkness.
We have to change. Chapter 5, Joshua’s accepted the assignment. They’ve crossed the Jordan, they prepared themselves. «When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and he saw a man». He’s gone to scout Jericho. It’s the first city when you cross the Jordan river. «He saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies? ' And he replied, 'Neither. But as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.' Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence. He said, 'What message does my lord have for his servant? ' The commander of the Lord’s army replied, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you’re standing is holy.' And Joshua did so».
My opinion, Joshua has an encounter with a pre-incarnate Jesus. But he asks the wrong question. «Are you for me or against me»? It’s all Joshua can think about. There’s a battle that’s imminent. There’s a very heavily fortified city and he lacks the resources or the technology to defeat it. And so, he’s doing reconnaissance and he meets a man with a sword drawn, and he asks the question that I think most of us would ask. I would certainly would have been tempted to ask, «Are you for me or against me»? And he said, «That’s not really relevant. You’re on holy ground».
And Joshua, remember his training. He’s had decades with Moses. He knows something about holy ground, and the presence of the Lord, and the tent of meeting, and when God speaks to the people. And Joshua puts his face in the dirt. And at that point, I think the victory really has probably… remember what God has promised him multiple times, he said, «I myself will go with you». And now he meets the Lord. If I’m with you, it doesn’t matter who’s against you. See, the church has lost sight of this. I keep saying to you that our problem is not fundamentally political, it’s spiritual. It’s not about a majority, it’s about the authority of the truth of God and when we submit ourselves to God’s truth. If we will, we will see breakthroughs from God like nothing we’ve ever experienced in our lives. I’m convinced of that.
Chapter 6, «Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in». The primary means of defense of major population centers at that point in time, was to build a wall around them. And the more imposing the wall, the greater the defenses. The modern equivalent would be like an iron dome that Israel has. It’s a shield put around the people. And Jericho is known for its imposing walls. And they recognized the threat, the plains around Jericho 'cause it’s a great plain when you cross the Jordan river. The plains are filled with the tribes of Israel. They’re camping around the city. It’s got to be terrifying to the people inside Jericho. And the Israelites are equally stomped because they have no means of breaching the defenses of the city.
So, the city’s locked, nobody’s coming in or going out, And the Lord said to Joshua, «I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men». Well, that’s good news. A little further explanation would be helpful. We have no means of overcoming them. And so, God gives the instructions. I suspect most of you know these. «March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’s horns in the front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priest blowing the trumpets. And when you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout. And the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, and every man straight in».
Oh, sure. Makes perfect sense. We’ve seen lots of victories when people shout and blow trumpets. Now, this is Joshua’s first military campaign in Moses’s absence. Now, it’s true the Jordan river has been stopped and they crossed. And they’ve had a time of preparation for this, but this is the first military encounter. And the instructions God’s gives him are, get everybody together and we’re gonna march around town once a day. And on the seventh day we’re gonna march around seven times.
Now, you know we read that and go, «Well that’s no problem». Well, I would wanna submit to you, maybe that’s not as easy as it sounds. And what do you know about this group of people Joshua was leading? On a scale of compliance, with zero being very compliant and ten being no way, no how. This group is what, a 12? God finally got so angry at their parents that he said, «You could just die in the desert. I’m done with you». And so, Joshua gets to go to the people. God didn’t announce this to the people, Joshua did. He said, «Here’s our strategy. Tomorrow we’re gonna march around the city. In absolute silence».
Maybe day one, you could get some percentage of people. Everybody would take a march around, then you’d stop and wait. Morning number two, «What are we gonna do today, Joshua»? «We’re gonna march around the city». I suspect there’s still a few people willing to go. By the sixth day, and we think there could have been some, just maybe, perhaps, slight chance a person or two was unhappy with Joshua’s leadership. «I got blisters. What did we do? Come to take a hike? Let’s at least change the path». Until you get to day seven. «Here’s the good news, today, we’re gonna march around seven times». «Moses picked you? I wasn’t there. Who else voted»?
And at the end of the seventh lap around the city, shout and blow your trumpets. And I promise you there was resistance. It’s just impossible that everybody was compliant. In fact, we will know in the next chapters, some weren’t compliant and the judgment of God comes for the lack of compliance. But when the people cooperate with Joshua’s instructions, the walls of the city fall outward. Illogical. And there’s a tremendous victory. It’s a breakthrough. A very difficult, if you’re leading that initiative, I promise you, those first days are very difficult days. God, why couldn’t we just walk seven laps on day one and the walls fall? I mean, I know we can talk about psychological warfare and the people are being intimidated. If you’re the one marching, I think that’s a tough talking point. «God, couldn’t you just make the walls collapse today»?
In my imagination, there’s nothing about this scenario that is simple. So, I brought you some breakthrough hacks, lessons. First one is pretty, I mean, these aren’t complicated, they’re pretty obvious, but breakthroughs emerge through obedience. Joshua had to do what the Lord said. The walls didn’t collapse because of some violent storm or a tornado. It’s not like some circumstance and Joshua stood up and screamed, «God did it». It took some serious obedience on his part and the rest of those that were with him. Victory was on the other side of days of obedience. And you’ll have to think about that a little bit. Most of us wanna bargain with the Lord.
«You know, I would be more committed to you if you would bring me a breakthrough. I would raise the bar on my compliance with the truth that I know if you would do what I want». We bargain with God in this some form of this fashion, right? «God, if you’ll do what I want». And the breakthroughs are on the other side of obedience. It’s the only way we can learn. So, my suggestion is if you’re willfully noncompliant, if you know truth that you’re not implementing, just quietly say to the Lord, «I’m sorry,» and begin to choose a path that moves you towards the greatest possible compliance. Stop offering excuses. The second breakthrough hack, is breakthrough required many expressions of faith. It wasn’t just Joshua that had to march, the priest had to march, armed men had to march, the people had to march.
Everybody was given an assignment. We have been highly indoctrinated on a personal faith and personal salvation, I believe those things, but there are some things God accomplishes through the community that require us to work together, to help one another. We have all these passages in scripture where it says, «Encourage one another daily. Don’t grumble. Help one another». Recognize that all the parts of the body aren’t the same. Some are more honorable and some are less honorable. Some have different strengths. Help one another, we’re all parts of the same body. We just blow past all of those and go, «No, no, this is pretty much an individual journey». Not really. We only find maturity together. Everybody marched.
The third one is not quite as obvious, but I think it’s significant. God told Joshua to tell the people, «You be quiet while we walk. Six days, no words». Do you play the quiet game with your kids in the car, how long does that last? Not long. Psalm 46 and verse 10 says, «Be still and know that I’m God». It’s not in your notes, but it is in the book. «Be still and know that I’m God,» Psalm 46:10, «I will be exalted among the nations». I think there are times when God says, «You just have to be silent».
You wanna defend yourself, in the face of something that’s not true. Or you wanna assault your adversary. You know, in the current world that we… it’s about trash talking. It’s part of most competition. And I think when we understand that we’re in a conflict with spiritual forces, and principalities, and power, sometimes we’re inclined to be filled with some trash talking and I think we would gain something if we would learn to be still, and know the power of God. Let the expressions of God’s power tell the story. The next breakthrough hack to me was breakthroughs are often unique expressions of God’s power.
Joshua nor any of the people who’d left Egypt, they’ve seen all the plagues, they’ve seen the Red Sea parted and the Jordan river stopped up. They’ve eaten manna every day. They’ve seen water come out of a rock in the middle of the desert. They’ve seen a whole nation of people with no sick amongst them. They’ve seen some supernatural things, but they’ve never seen the walls on a walled city collapse. So, this wasn’t something built from their experience. And real breakthroughs, the challenging breakthroughs of our lives are those places where we’re asking God to do something that isn’t a part of our portfolio.
That’s why it’s harder to follow the Lord. It’s why we’re more filled with fear and dread. It’s why God says you’re gonna have to be strong and courageous on this. You haven’t done this one before. «But God, couldn’t you just do it in a way I’ve done»? You know, when we have a God experience, we like to take that God experience and extrapolate it under the rest of our lives. This is how God moves. Years ago when I was a boy, there was a lady that we knew that the Lord met her one morning while she was getting dressed. We lived in South Florida and the houses didn’t have adequate heat so if it was cold, she would turn on the oven and open the oven door. And while she was praying in front of the open oven door, the Lord met her in a pretty powerful way.
So, guess what she did when she had somebody who needed to God event? She’d go turn on the oven and open the doors, they were gonna stand here and pray. As if the electric oven, I mean it’s very understandable that one’s a little easier to smile at, but all of us want to put God into the profile of the experience we’ve had and say, «This is how God moves».
And the challenge in this particular breakthrough is nobody, they’ve got a portfolio filled with more miracles than any generation in history. But nothing in their experience portfolio suggests what God’s about to do. And you and I need breakthroughs we haven’t seen before, expressions of his power that are unique. And it isn’t gonna be the normative pattern. Not all the walls in the Canaanite cities are going to collapse. Some are gonna take very pitched battles. Not all the cities are gonna be conquered as easily as Jericho. Because God remains at the center of the initiative. It’s not a formula for victory, it’s a person that brings the victory. And we serve at his pleasure.
And finally, I would submit to you from this lesson and we didn’t read it all, but some of you know the rest of the story, that our response to the breakthrough is what truly impacts our future. It’s not just what God does, it’s our response to that. I can’t tell you how many people I have done life with and God has intervened in their lives with supernatural healings, with miracles, with remarkable things. And they walk through those seasons and step back into their lives and patterns of dishonoring the Lord. It’s your response to God on the other side of the breakthrough that truly impacts our future. The breakthrough is not an end in itself, it’s a doorway into a different kind of a relationship.
Do you remember the next city that the Hebrews faced? It’s a little two-letter city, it’s called AI. It’s spelled, A-I, Joshua, son of Nun, AI, this is the… come on, stay with me. It was a much smaller city, much less, not nearly as well defended, and the Israelites were defeated. Because some of them had not followed the instructions that Joshua had given them, they had taken the plunder from Jericho. You see, our responses to the breakthroughs matter. It isn’t just that I want my way, and I’m demanding that God do a miracle. We’re saying to the Lord God, «I need to know you in a new way. I need to experience you in a new way, and as I do that, I wanna walk with you in a new way». Now we’re beginning to assimilate the components that cause God to be engaged in our lives more fully than we’ve known him before.
I’ll close with Ephesians 6, this isn’t just some Old Testament Hebrew Bible concept. In Ephesians 6, the language is very similar to what we’ve been reading about Joshua’s commissioning. «Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power». If you’re saying that to a group of people, what can you surmise? They’re weak in the Lord and don’t know much about his mighty power. «Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s scheme».
So, I don’t wanna stand against them. Do you? I wanna have a victory parade. I wanna have a triumphal entry. The assignment is to take our stand. «For our struggle,» it clearly suggests very directly that we’re to engage in a struggle. «Well, I don’t wanna struggle. I wanna celebrate». Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It’s not a people problem, «But against rulers, and authorities, and powers of this dark world, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,» it’s coming. It doesn’t say, «If it comes». «When the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you’ve done everything, after you’ve done everything you know to do, you stand there».
Sounds a lot like Joshua to me. «I’m with you. I won’t leave you or forsake you. My abiding presence is within you». «If I leave, I’ll send you another comforter. He’ll be with you always. He’ll take what’s to the Father’s and what’s mine and make it known to you. He’ll remind you of the things you need to know. Wait until you’re baptized in the Spirit, you’ll be empowered to be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth». «Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power». Stand against all the attacks of the evil one. I brought you a prayer. It’s a breakthrough prayer. Why don’t you stand with me we’ll read it together.
Heavenly Father, I stand in Your strength and serve at Your pleasure. You are my fortress and my deliverer. May the Spirit of God give me an understanding heart and the boldness needed to complete my assignment. May the fear of God be more real to me than my fear of anyone or anything. Grant daily full provision for the assignment and deliver me from evil in Jesus’s name, amen.