LISTEN
This sermon was preached by Andy Wisdom at the Fallowfield site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 26th January 2020.
SERIES
This message was part of the ‘How to Pray’ series, preached at Christ Church Manchester’s church in Fallowfield in early 2018. The full series included the following sermons:
BIBLE VERSES
This sermon was based on Joshua 5:13-6:23.
The Fall of Jericho
1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 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.” 6 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 rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”
8 And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. 9 The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 10 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.” 11 So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.
12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ 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 rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.
15 On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 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. 21 Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.
22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel.
KEY POINTS
Acheiving the Impossible
- Joshua and his army accomplish an impossible task (conquering Jericho). The walls of Jericho (4-5+ metres tall, 9m watchtower, up to 2m thick, surrounding the entire settlement). The soldiers are thinking *look up at wall*, ‘Joshua… Are you sure about this?’
- emptation to pray ‘easy prayers’ but what if we prayed ‘impossible prayers’? ‘Easy prayers’ build self-confidence. ‘Impossible prayers’ build faith. What if we asked God to do things in our lives/city/world which we can’t just go out and do?
- The Israelites win because Joshua humbles himself before God, has confidence in God, and perseveres. These are three central principles for prayer. When we humble ourselves before God, and pray with faith and perseverance, God makes the impossible possible.
Humility before God
- Think of a time when you had to stand up in front of people and speak. Thankfully, prayer isn’t about how articulate you are. Prayer is about the position we put ourselves in before God.
- Joshua falls to his face and takes off his shoes. He puts himself in a position of physical humility when he speaks to God.
- Prayer is asking God for supernatural help. Prayer is saying ‘I can’t do this, but I know you can’. Putting ourselves in a position of physical humility can help us to approachGod with spiritual humility.
- Prayer begins in a place of humility before God.
Confidence in God
- Prayer is both about humility and confidence… but not self-confidence! Prayer is inherently linked to faith; confidence in God.
- Prayer involves both asking God for help and believing that He will help.
- They believed that God would win the victory. This week, pray as if God can knock down the walls of Jericho like they’re made of lego.
Perseverance
- The Jericho campaign was a 7 day process, with excitement at either end.
- As the Israelites march round Jericho, they are constantly reminded of their own inability to conquer the city. Often as we pray, we are constantly reminded that the things we’re praying
for are impossibilities which we can’t fix. This is the point where prayer becomes about perseverance. - Prayer leads us to stand before massive walls and ask God to topple them. In prayer, we acknowledge our weakness and request God’s power.
- Come before God in humble prayer, pray with confidence that he hears you and is powerful enough to act, and keep going.
Christ, the Captain of our Salvation
- Ultimately, they won because God stepped into the centre of the battle.
- God has never shied away from a fight. God the Son, Jesus Christ, stepped into the centre of the battle between mankind and God. He became a man, and gave up his life. Then he took it up three days later.
- It’s no coincidence that Paul speaks of the ‘sword of the Spirit’ then says ‘pray in the Spirit’. Because in this spiritual war, prayer is our weapon.
- Christ is the captain of our salvation, and he’s the one we look to as we fight as soldiers of Christ.
MORE SERMONS
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