Kerry Shook - Don't Bail
Well, we started a new series a couple of weeks ago where I'm sharing five of the most important things God has taught Chris and I through the years. And unfortunately, God has to keep teaching us these truths over and over again. We forget them so quickly. You see these principles are all through scripture, but I know from me it's taken the ups and downs of life to really wake me up to them. And sometimes it feels like I see them for the first time. My grandkids call me Bapa, and it's a long story on how that name arrived.
I don't want to go into that, but one of my grandsons, Lincoln, who's four years old and he loves to play with Bapa, but one day last week, Lincoln looked up at me, he paused for a moment and he said, "Bapa, where did all your hair go"? And I said, "Well, it left me a long time ago, kid, but thanks for reminding me". I think that could be a country song. "My hair left me and took my pride with it". I mean, it was as if Lincoln looked up at me for the very first time and it just dawned on him that all my hair was gone. And as I grow in the Lord and experience more of life, it's as if I see these truths that were always staring me in the face for the very first time.
Now, I've been calling this series "Five Things I Want My Kids to Remember Forever," because I want to pass these truths along to my adult kids and onto my grandkids and the next generations to follow. I want these truths to be passed down as a legacy. But I have to say that these truths that have made all the difference in my life are truths that every one of us need. And this week Chris said, "You know, really these are five things God wants all his kids to remember". And I said, "Ooh, that's really good". I wish I'd have talked to you before I started this series. So I just retitled the series. I stole it from Chris, I retitled the series today, I can do that, it's okay, to "Five Things God Wants All His Kids to Know".
So today we're gonna look at one of the most important things God wants all of us to remember in life. And it's this. Don't bail before the blessing. Don't bail before the blessing. Don't give up right before God shows up. And we're gonna look at one of the greatest miracles in the Old Testament. It's the battle of Jericho when God calls the great walls to fall, and it's a powerful example of not walking away until the walls fall. So I want you to look at Joshua chapter 6, and would you stand in honor of God's Word? Follow along.
"Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'See I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of ram's horn in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.'"
You can be seated. I want you to see right away some things about walls, because if you don't know these things, you're going to bail before the blessing comes. And the first thing you need to know is barriers always come before the blessing. If you don't understand this, then you're gonna let the barrier you're facing today steal your blessing.
You see, the battle of Jericho was the first battle the people of Israel fought after they entered the Promised Land, they'd been in the desert for 40 long years and finally, they get to go into the Promised Land and they're thinking, "We made it out of that awful desert, now we're in the Promised Land". But they quickly discovered the promised land didn't mean perfect land. They walk into the Promised Land and the first thing they see is the seemingly insurmountable wall.
Now just put yourself in their shoes for a moment. They just entered the Promised Land and it's a party. They're celebrating all that God has done. They know they'll have to fight some battles ahead, but it shouldn't be any problem. Then the first thing they see is this enormous wall. And I'm sure they were thinking, "Hey, I knew we would have to fight some of these enemy armies, but I didn't know I could die just climbing the wall in the first battle. Not to mention all the archers who are on top of the wall using me as target practice and those guys up there with the boiling oil getting ready to pour it down on me". That's not very fun. They're expecting great blessings, but instead, they hit a barrier.
Can you just imagine what they were feeling? I think they went from great confidence to overwhelming fear in just one second. They were not expecting the barrier to come before the blessing. And the reason we start to lose hope and wanna bail before God comes through is because we don't realize the barrier always comes before the blessing. Did you know the population of Jericho was really small and no match for the Israelite army? The population was really small, but they had a tall wall, but all the Israelites saw was the wall. They didn't know what was on the other side of the wall, and walls block perspective. It's really hard to see what God is up to when you're face to face with a wall. We can't see what's on the other side of the wall, and we start to doubt God.
We start to lose hope that there is a blessing on the other side of the wall. All we see is the wall and we start to lose perspective. And some of you today are starting to lose perspective because you've hit a wall. Maybe it's a wall of worry because of a financial problem or a health problem that's overwhelming you. Or maybe it's a wall of depression or a wall of grief and you feel the weight of the wall that's crushing you. Or you've hit a wall in your marriage and you're about to throw in the towel, or you've hit a wall in your workplace and you're thinking, "Hey, I need to find a perfect job, a job that has no problems".
But you can't get away from walls. You're just too close to the wall and all you can see is the barrier in front of your face and you don't realize the blessing is just on the other side. You're right next to the blessing, you just can't see it yet. So that's when you pray and you ask God to give you perspective that you can see a little bit behind the wall and the perspective to see that the wall is really small compared to the greatness of God. I love Jeremiah 32:27, and I have to remind myself of it a lot. God says, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me"? God is saying, "No wall is too tall for me. So pray to me, because you get what you pray for".
Pray for God to give you some perspective this week. It's my challenge to you. Pray for God to give you some perspective to see that no wall is too tall for God, and pray for God to knock down that wall. So let's go back to Joshua chapter 6, verse 1. "Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in".
So the Bible says that the gates of Jericho were securely barred and locked. The city was on complete lockdown. No one was going in, no one was coming out and I'm sure the Israelites, once they hit that wall, they looked at the wall first but the second thing they looked at was the door, the doors in the wall hoping that they could get through the gate somehow, but the doors were shut, locked, and barred. And locked doors make us feel like we're locked out of God's blessing.
Have you ever felt like God gave you a promise and you're praying believing that is going to come true? Knowing that God gave you that promise and you're praying for a miracle then all of a sudden the door gets slammed in your face and you're going, "This makes no sense". What do you do? Don't stop praying just because a door gets shut in front of you. You see, the city was on lockdown, but why was the city on lockdown? Because the people were afraid of the Israelites. Jericho was just a little city and there weren't many people inside the city walls, it's just the walls were huge and all the people were fearful of the Israelites.
God had put this fear in their hearts, and so they knew that that wall was their last stand. They knew that wall was getting ready to come down, and they knew the Israelites were getting ready to come through. It was their last stand. And sometimes a door is locked because Satan is trembling in his boots and he knows it's his last stand to keep you from possessing the promise that God has given you. And he knows he's on his last leg and he knows that all you have to do is take another step and that wall is going to fall. And maybe you're filled with fear, but that wall and that locked door may not be from God at all. It may be from Satan and you need to be aware of that. It may be from the enemy, it may be the enemy trying to keep you from possessing the promise that God has already given you.
So you keep praying and you keep knocking until the door falls down. Look at Isaiah 22, verse 22. "When he (God) opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them". So when God closes the door, no human can open it. But when God wants a door open, no human can keep it shut. God will blow the door open. People may close the door on you, but if God wants to open the door in your life, he'll knock the door down. And so you wanna make sure when you're praying that you don't stop praying just because you get a door slammed in your face.
Just because the door is locked doesn't mean you're locked out of God's blessings. You keep praying. You need to understand that walls are part of the path that God has you on, why? Because walls cause us to fall. When everything's going great and I'm going down God's path, everything's smooth, and then I hit a wall, it causes me to fall either on my knees or on my face. Usually I fall on my face first, but then I'm learning to get to my knees a lot quicker and pray so God can lift me up. I turn to God. And without walls, just to be honest, without walls, your pastor would never pray. Sorry to admit that, but it's true. If everything was always perfect in my life, then I wouldn't be drawn to get on my knees and say, "God, I need you. I need a miracle. I need you to knock down this wall. I don't know what to do, God, but I need you to open the door".
It's the walls that teach you to walk in faith. Without walls, we would never learn to walk in faith. And the Israelites kept walking in faith around the walls, why? Because the wall was there. Now, sure, they believe God, and they did what he said for them to do, but they would've never walked around the wall unless the wall was there. They would've just walked right into Jericho, seen that small population and they would see that, "Hey, we won that battle". Yeah, they would say, "Look at us, we're a great army". But God taught them to trust him, to depend on him, to get to know him. And it's the walls that teach us to trust God.
So what do I do when I hit that wall so that I don't bail? What do I do so that I don't bail right before the blessing comes? Well, this passage tells us the first thing is step in faith to possess the promise. You step in faith to possess what God promises for you. Let's look again at Joshua chapter 6, verse 2. "Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.'" Now, notice that God says, "I've delivered Jericho into your hands". He doesn't say, "I'm going to deliver Jericho into your hands". He says, "I have delivered Jericho into your hands". He says it's a done deal. God says, "Hey, Joshua, don't worry about Jericho on that wall thing, I've already won the battle for you. It's over, it's done".
So God tells Joshua, "Because of my power, that wall has already fallen". But Joshua looks up, and he sees the wall. God gives Joshua this promise that he has already given him the victory, but then Joshua had to step in faith to possess the promise. And just because God promises me something doesn't mean I possess it. God says, "I promise you that it's yours, but you gotta step in faith to take it". I have to trust God enough to take a step of faith to possess what he has promised. And God always works this way. In fact, he told Joshua in another passage earlier, "Every place where you set your foot in the Promised Land will be yours". He's saying, "The promised land is yours," as long as you do what? You have to take a step and put your foot on the ground, and everywhere you take that step of faith and put your foot on the ground, I'll give you the victory.
You see, he had to take another step of faith and another step of faith and another step of faith. And God would give him the victory one step at a time, and that's the way God always works. You take a step of faith, and he opens a door. You take a step of faith, and he gives you a victory. You take a step of faith, and he knocks the wall down. God gives us the promise that he will supply all our needs according to his riches. He says, "Every one of your needs are already met. Every one of your financial needs are already met if you take a step of faith and you obey me and you tithe, and you put me first in your finances, if you obey my command".
God promises that I can do all things through him who strengthens me, but sometimes I don't have the strength for the next step. Feels like I can't even take a step. But God says, "If you start to take that next step, I'll give you the strength for the next step". Don't stop before you step into the promise. I think when we get to heaven, we're gonna see all these blessings beautifully wrapped that have our names on them. Now, I'm gonna see some blessings in heaven that have my name on them that God had already given me, but I never possessed them. I stopped stepping in faith and stopped the blessing. Don't bail before the blessing.
And I have to say there've been many times that I've bailed right before the blessing because what I saw didn't line up with what God said to me, but there've been many times when I step into the blessing and I keep stepping and I keep praying even when what I see doesn't line up with what God said, because God comes through. He's teaching you to depend upon him. So first, you step in faith to possess the promise, but then secondly, stay in faith when you don't see progress. You gotta stay in faith even when you don't see what God is doing, even when you don't see any progress.
Look at Joshua 6 verse 7. "And he ordered the army, 'Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.' When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord's covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priest who blew the trumpets and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding, but Joshua had commanded the army, 'Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout.' So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there".
So the Israelites march around the city one time, they're blowing trumpets. It's this huge processional. It's a lot of fanfare, and I can imagine what the people of Jericho looking out over the wall thought. And it probably took the Israelites about an hour to get around the city walls, knowing the size of Jericho at that time. And then after all this, Joshua says, "Okay, everybody, go back to your tent". Nothing has happened. They do this for six more days, then on the seventh day they march around the city six times and still nothing has happened. They have nothing to show for all they've done, they haven't seen any progress.
Now, if I had been God, here's the way I would've done it. And I think this is a really good way to motivate people. The way I would've done it is after we walked around the city one time and the people obeyed me, I would've had a few bricks just fall off the top when they finished that first lap. I mean, just to keep them motivated, you know what I mean? That's how you motivate people. They need to see some progress, and the next day when they march around the city, I would've had four or five feet of bricks just come tumbling down and they'd go, "Whoo! Did you see that today? I can't wait to get up in the morning. I'm so motivated to get right back to it, because this is working. We're seeing progress. God is working. Man, I love walking around those walls because those walls just keep falling. Oh, I'm telling you it's gonna take just a little bit more and everything is gonna fall down. We're gonna win the battle".
Now, wouldn't that motivate you? But God knows better than I do, and they kept walking and walking and walking and didn't see one brick fall from the wall. So what do you do when you're praying for a miracle and you don't see any progress? You're circling around that problem and some of you have been circling around that broken heart, that hurt, those damaged emotions in your life, circling around, circling around, praying and praying and it's not getting any better. And some of you've been circling around that marriage problem over and over again and nothing seems to change. And some of you've been praying for one of your kids who's going the wrong direction and they're not turning back.
What do you do? What do you do when you're praying for a miracle and you're praying and praying and things get worse? What do you do? You stay in faith, leaving the results to God. Hey, by the way, when you can't see God working, when you can't see any progress, when you can't see what's going on, God is still working. Sometimes you can't see anything happening to the wall in front of you, but something's happening inside you. I want you to see one of my favorite promises in all of scripture. And I believe that God is speaking this to someone today that really needs it because you're about to bail right before the blessing. God says you pray and then you stay.
In Habakkuk 2:3. God says, "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day". Somebody needed that. Somebody needed that. You're getting ready to bail, and God says you get what you pray for, and you get what you stay for. You stay for the blessing and don't give up because God says it may seem like it's taken a long time, but it's surely gonna come to pass and it won't be over to a single day. God won't be late one single second. It's coming and it's coming right on time.
So you step in faith and you stay in faith and then you keep walking in faith until the walls fall. It's interesting that Joshua never tells the people what God told him specifically. He tells them how to walk around the wall, but he never tells them what's gonna happen on the seventh day, the seventh time around. He doesn't say, "Hey, by the way, on the seventh day on the seventh lap, the walls are going to fall down, so just hang in there. I know nothing's happening now, but God told me this. So just hang in there".
He never tells them that. I don't know why he didn't tell them that. Maybe it's because he wanted them to learn that they could follow him knowing that he was following God. And maybe it was 'cause God was teaching Joshua how to follow him no matter what the results were, that he was gonna step out in faith and lead these people. And so they didn't know that the walls were going to fall on the seventh lap. They had walked around the wall six days, and then on the seventh day they took six more laps. They still hadn't seen one brick fall. And I just think about it, what would've happened if they would've gotten discouraged and said, "Joshua, we're done. Nothing's happening". I mean, this is the wrong thing to do.
What if they would've stopped on that sixth lap right before the blessing? What if they'd gone through all that just to bail before the blessing? But that's what we do so often. Some of you're on the sixth lap and you're about to give up when the blessing is on the next lap. Don't bail on the sixth lap, you just keep walking in faith. Take the next lap expecting the walls to fall. God doesn't tell us when we're on the final lap before the blessing. We just have to keep walking in faith, and that wall will fall.
Some of you're giving up, and the miracle's on the seventh lap. It's on the next lap. Don't give up on the sixth lap. Don't stop on six, you keep walking in faith. Take the next lap expecting that wall to fall, and one day they will. And you don't know when you're on the last lap before the blessing. God doesn't tell us when we're on that lap, we just have to keep walking in faith. And by the way, the number six in the Bible is always the symbol, a man's number. Imperfect, broken, sinful man. That's why 666 is the mark of the beast. Six is always used as the imperfect number, but seven is always the symbol of God's number, the perfect number, seven.
So they didn't know when they were on the perfect lap for God to come through. They didn't know that the seventh lap was the perfect lap, that was the number the wall would fall. And we don't know when it's the seventh lap. We don't know. The next lap maybe the lap where the walls fall. Don't give up before the seventh lap. You keep walking, you keep walking, you keep walking.
Don't give up. Some of you're about to bail right before the blessing. The blessing is coming and you don't even know you're on the sixth lap and you're about to start the seventh lap, but it feels like nothing is ever going to happen and you're about to bail before the blessing. Hey, I want you to stand for this last verse. We stood for the first verse. I want you to stand for the last verse in honor of God's Word is bookends.
In Joshua 6:14, says, "So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, 'Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!'" And the walls came tumbling down. And the Lord has given you the city. I don't know what your city is. Filled with enemy warriors coming against you. I don't know what the wall is, but what do you do when you've gone around six times and you haven't seen any results? You keep walking in faith.