SUNDAY SERVICE
★ MY SERMON NOTES
@ HOUSE ON THE ROCK, (City of Refuge)
Airport Road, Abuja - Nigeria
31st August, 2014
* God uses the vehicle of His Word to bring about transformation in the lives of Men
SERMON
* Speaker: Pastor Goodheart O. Ekwueme
* Topic: Shout! The walls of Jericho are Coming down
* Text: Joshua 6:1-16, 20
* NOTE: The book of Joshua is a transitory book - it anchors the Pentateuch (five books of Moses) and the Prophets
* Joshua Himself was a transitory leader, charged with the responsibility to take the nation of Israel to the promised land
* Regardless of what happens, God always leaves a remnant for himself
* The remnant are always in the 'minority' but they are the ones who walk in, and live prophesy
* Today, the Church is experiencing a major transition into what God expects of it
* Note the 4 Stages Of Metamorphosis of the Caterpillar
→ The beauty of the butterfly speaks of glory, but it had to undergo a gradual process of transformation
★ Psalm 85:11 →"Truth sprouts up from the ground, while righteousness looks down from the sky."
* This is a season of Spiritual Sensitivity
- You cannot afford to be careless with your walk with God
* It is better for a person to be prepared waiting for an opportunity, than to be faced with an opportunity you are not prepared for
* The only difference between the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins is preparation
→ Matthew 25:1-13
* When preparation meets opportunity, success is inevitable
* Preparation is critical to success
* The victory of lsreal was possible because they saw the land of Jericho through the eyes of the Lord and they were prepared to inherit it by faith
★ Joshua 5:12 →"The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land. Since the Israelis no longer received manna, they ate crops from the land of Canaan that year."
* "The manna ceased": Manna Represents what God does all by Himself. They began to eat of the fruit of their labour
* You don't eat corn by praying or fasting only
* There are things in which God expects your input through:
(a) Participation
(b) Obedience
(c) Wisdom
(d) Hardwork
(e) Involvement
(f) Brutal faith
* Note: When God multiplied bread, He gave the disciples to share: He wanted them to be "involved" in the process
→Matthew 14:15-21
* There are results that are gotten only through your own involvement and effort in obedience to God's words
- The methods of Moses could not bring Joshua into the promised land
- He needed a new strategy
* Note: Money is the lowest rank of wealth.
- there are things that Money cannot buy
* You must be willing to change.
- Those who are not willing to change or metamophosize, die is the "wilderness"
* The enemy knows that if you ever succeed to pull down your 1st major enemy (Jericho), the rest is history
- Satan will do all he can in order to discourage you from reaching your goal
* The enemy has done what he did because he is afraid of God's hand over your life
* What you are going through is a tip-off (an indication) of what God has deposited in you
*Warfare is good because victory is guaranteed at the end
* Christ & I are a winning Couple!
★ Joshua 6:2 →"The LORD told Joshua, “Look! I have given Jericho over to your control, along with its kings and valiant soldiers."
* God challenged/required Joshua to "see" What He had done
* God is not 'about' to give you; He has 'already' given you Victory.
* What you "see" is what you enter into
* "Jericho" is something that requires you to stick closely to divine instructions if you are to achieve victory
* NOTE: The people of Israel did not hear God directly, but they believed Joshua His servant
* God's instructions would always come to pass
* You must be willing to obey seemingly foolish instructions by faith
* The presence of God must take a centrality in all that you do
* You must have a hunger for God's presence
* What keeps you alive and victorious is hearing & heeding God's voice
* When you hear God, the world will hear you
* Joshua 6:10 →"Joshua issued orders to the army: “You are not to shout or even let your voice be heard. Don’t utter a word until I tell you to shout. Then shout!”
* There is a place for silence and stillness in the battle of faith
* Shouting is an expression of faith
* Shouting is usually connected to praise
* Praise will silence your enemy
* NOTE: (Joshua 6:15-16)
- The shout was not because the walls have come down. It was an expression of faith in what God was about to do for them
* Learn to praise God in advance for the fulfilment of His promises in your life
* The shout was to cause the wall of Jericho to come down
* With each level of obedience on the part of Joshua and the army of Israel, there was a deployment of angels to assist them
* It was their obedience to divine instructions that caused the walls to come down
* Through praise, you place the battles (of your life) into the hands of God
