Casting Down Vain Imaginations: Biblical Teachings and Prayer

The story of Jericho and the march around the city is significant for Christians.

God rolled away the reproach of Egypt from the Israelites.

Joshua was commanded to remove his shoes while speaking with the captain of the Lord's host.

The walls of Jericho fell down after the people shouted and the trumpets were blown.

For the sake of a title, I know you like titles, And I'm calling this message today, Casting Down Vain Imaginations. And it seems like I've taken a different route or a different way in getting to the very subject of the title, Vain Imaginations. But I do want to begin the message in and with the story, the famous story describing Jericho and the march around the city before it fell. And it's really very significant for our Christians' experience and walk as a sojourner and also a soldier on the way today. And the story is told of the Israelites who had wandered for nearly 40 years in the wilderness and were now standing on this side of the Jordan within the borders of the long-awaited time of entering into their promised land. They were in Canaan, but the land was not yet theirs. And there was a powerful nation which held possession of their land. And they were told that once they entered the land, they would have to possess it. And I'd like us to look at Joshua 5.5 to begin our account of this message today. And I know we have read this story many different times, but I believe you're going to see something different today through this story and through the course of this message that's going to be very life-saving and very quipping as a soldier on your journey. We're just going to break into the setting for our lesson today in the chapter prior to the series of requirements which God had commanded the people. So in Joshua 5, 5, though all the people who came out were circumcised, yet all that speaking about coming out of Egypt, yet all the people who were born in the wilderness on the way after Israel came out of Egypt, they'd not been circumcised. Verse 6, For the Israelites walked forty years in the wilderness, till all who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not hearken or listen to or be obedient to the voice of the Lord. To them the Lord swore that he would not let them see the land, which the Lord swore to their fathers, to give us a land flowing with milk and honey. Verse 7, So it was their uncircumcised children whom he raised up in their stead, whom Joshua circumcised because the right had not been performed on the way. When they finished circumcising all the males of the nation, they remained in their places in the camp till they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. So the name of the place is called Gilgal, rolling. It's what it means, rolling to this day. And the Israelites encamped in Gilgal, and they kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho, verse 11. And on that same day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the day after they ate the produce of the land. And the Israelites had manna no more, but they ate the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Verse 13. When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a man stood near him with a drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said, No, neither, but as a prince or a captain of the Lord's host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, What says my Lord to his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. Joshua did so. We see here that God commanded his leader to remove his shoes while he was talking to him. And where God is, dear people, it is holy ground, and we should always treat it respectfully. Joshua was paying honor to God by being obedient in removing his shoes, thus showing humility by this act required by God before he'd speak to a servant. Now standing barefoot in the presence of the Lord, Joshua then receives his orders. And that's Joshua 6, verse 1. Let's pick up there. Now Jericho, a fenced town with high walls, was tightly closed because of the Israelites, and no one went or came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I've given you Jericho, its king, and mighty men of valor into your hands. I want to pause here and say how wonderful. Is, is not, but is. The walls have not fallen, but the Lord spoke as if it was already done. And I believe that we should think like this too. just like this, that God has stated in his word promises for us that it's already done, though we do not yet see it or the evidence of it. Nevertheless, it's already done. And so it was for Joshua as well. It was good as done because the Lord spoke it and it was done, good as done. Hallelujah. Now let's pick back up in verse 3. You shall march around the enclosure, all the men of war going around the city once. This you will do for six days. Verse 4. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of ram's horn. And on the seventh day you shall march around the enclosure seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make the long blast with the ram's horn, you hear the sound of the trumpet. All the people will shout with a great shout, and the walls of the enclosure shall fall down into its place, and the people shall go up over it, every man straight before him. Verse 6. So Joshua, 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 ram's horns before the ark of the Lord. He said to the people, go on, march around the enclosure and let the armed men pass before the ark of the Lord. When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horn passed on before the Lord and blew the trumpet. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. Verse 9. And the armed men went before the priest who blew the trumpets and the rear guard came after the ark. the priests blowing trumpets as they went. But Joshua commanded the people, You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout. Verse 11. So he caused the ark of the Lord to go around the city once again, and they came to the camp and lodged in the camp. Verse 12. Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually, and the armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, the priests blowing the trumpets as they went. On the second day, they compassed the city enclosure once again and returned to the camp. So they did for six days. Verse 15. Those who are in her house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you keep yourselves from the accursed and devoted things, lest when you have devoted it to destruction you take the accursed thing and so make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it. But all the gold and silver and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord, and they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. Verse 20. So the people shouted and the trumpets were blown. And when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout and the Jericho walls fell down in its place. So that the Israelites went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Verse 21. Then they utterly destroyed all that was in the city. Both men and women, young and old, ox, sheep, donkeys, with the edge of the sword. You see, the Israelites, dear church, were without great military resources at that time. But the word of the Lord was that that city was going to be theirs. And the promise was that the walls should simply fall down once the shout and the trumpet blast went forth. Notice that the enemy did not run out of the walls and scattered, but were kept confined within the walls, ruined, and destroyed therein. We learn of the power and the might of God, first of all here, and secondly, the importance of precise and strict obedience on the part of the people. If you at this moment were to look at your own spiritual condition, Or as you might look back, you would probably say, my, my, my. I can see that the captain of my salvation has done much in my life thus far. And you might say as well, I didn't even know many times that I was in a battle until I looked back and saw great warfare and understood my faithful God and Father provided protection for me. Maybe you didn't know because of ignorance of what Scripture declares, that you must learn to wage a good warfare for your eternal salvation. And you didn't even know how the battle was to be won. All you really knew is that you had a lot of conflicts and you didn't understand that your enemy was really unseen. well this town that the Israelites had to take was called a strong place and can you see the picture here of Jericho as a type of place a strong place within your own heart in the past we all believed that we were just fine thank you and if somebody tried to talk to you of the holiness of the gospel and the joy that it would bring, you thought that they were weird. Come on, we all did. We thought people who approached us with the gospel of holiness and the joy that it would bring, we thought they were just weird. They were the strange ones. You see, people naturally shut the knowledge of God out and put up barricades or walls to prevent him from coming in. and you thought that you were just fine and there was nothing wrong with the condition of your soul, let alone oppose God? Moi? Me? Oppose God? Look with me, please, in Colossians 2.13. Colossians 2.13. And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature, God brought to life together with Christ, having freely forgiven us of all of our transgressions. Let's pause right here. And remember that in Joshua 5.5, we began with an important significance given to the people before they entered into the promised land. And that was, let me just remind you of it, in Joshua 5.5. Though all the people who came out were circumcised, yet all the people who were born in the wilderness on the way after Israel came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. Verse 6. For the Israelites walked 40 years in the wilderness, till all who were men of war came out of Egypt perished, because they did not hearken or listen to or be obedient to the voice of the Lord. And to them the Lord swore that he would not let them see the land which the Lord swore to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Verse 7, So it was their uncircumcised children whom he raised up in their stead, whom Joshua circumcised, because the rite had not been performed on the way. And when they finished circumcising all the males of the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. Well, Unger's Bible Dictionary tells us that circumcision was used as a symbol of purity of heart. But it was also a symbol of readiness to hear and obey God. And so in Christian circumcision today, Christians are said to be circumcised in Christ. And the circumcision is declared in the book of Colossians 2.9. To be made without hands, that is a spiritual reality and not a physical right. And physical circumcision was putting off a part of the flesh as a symbol of covenant relationship of God's people with the Holy God. And Apostle Paul is telling us in this scripture that Christian circumcision is a removal of, not a part of, but the entire body of flesh. And the body of flesh is the physical body controlled by the old fallen nature like that of Jericho, which we all possessed. Colossians, let's pick it back up. Colossians 2.9. For in him the whole fullness of deity, the Godhead, continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of the divine nature. And you are in him, made full, and having come to fullness in life, in Christ, you too are filled with the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and reach full spiritual stature. stature. He is the head of all rule and authority of every angelic principality and power. Verse 11, in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a spiritual circumcision performed by Christ by stripping off the body of flesh, the whole corrupt carnal nature with its passions and lusts. Verse 12, and you were circumcised when you were buried Verse 13 And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature, God brought to life together with Christ, having freely forgiven us all of our transgressions. 14. Having canceled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note bond with its legal decrees and demands, which was in force and stood against us, hostile to us, this note with its regulations, decrees, and demands, he set aside and cleared completely out of your way by nailing it to his cross. God disarmed the principalities and powers that were arranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them in triumphing over them in him and in it the cross. Since most of you know, since you are taught in the ways of God, that you must now admit and be truthful in your admission, our own soul was entrenched against Christ and his salvation. We really fought against him. We had the walls of our hearts set up like the walls of Jericho and shut the knowledge of Christ out. And we truly had uncircumcised hearts which were opposed to Christ. Oh, you know, some of us thought we really knew something, but we really didn't since the battles raged around us And we could admit we really didn't have peace within our hearts. And just like the Israelites, we were in the wilderness. And when we truly accepted Christ, we learned that the battle had just begun and we must overcome in order to take our Canaan land or promised land too. This is our spiritual journey, our spiritual life and journey. And it seems our trials and conflicts are the ways by which we take our promised land. And the Lord allows these conflicts for our growth and strengthening. And we can learn much through this story of the Israelites taking over the strong city called Jericho. And we can see through this account how the Lord gave explicit instruction which the people were to follow. And if they followed the instruction to the exact command of the commander-in-chief, they would be successful in taking over the stronghold. For us today, as believers, we know not how to master Satan or our own evil hearts, any more than we know how to control the waves of the sea, or control the movement of the sun, moon, or the clouds in the sky. Our Lord must give us instruction in all things. And the real key for us here is to be aware of our need of Christ's instruction and lead as our commander-in-chief in taking us to our promised land. And our real wisdom here, precious ones, is to be aware of our ignorance. We must be aware of our ignorance. In this battle of Jericho, they were given a strange course of action in their campaign against their enemy. And if we would have the strongholds of Satan pulled down in our hearts, we must expect that God will give us many strange commands and deal with us very often in similar ways. And these ways of God are foreign to our mental reasonings. And we really set ourselves to oppose God and his ways or commands because they seem strange to us. Seems exaggerated at times or just doesn't fit with our mental reasoning. but when we look to Jesus for our strength he may answer us by making us feel our own weakness yes when we look to Christ for our strength he may in this time show us our own weakness and when we're burning with zeal and desire to become active and take our enemies by storm The Lord might just say, you sit still and be content to know my strength, and I will bring you through. And you will just learn to be still as you go back to your post and wait and rest, and you'll be saved. There are many reasons why God commanded the people in these what seem strange ways to take the city of Jericho. God's ways are not our ways. and we must remember God sees the beginning and the end of any and every matter concerning us. And you must remember that God holds the matters of your eternal good close to his heart. God, our Father, always is concerned about our well-being. And all future generations of believers would read this account of the miracle signs and wonders when the walls of Jericho fell down by what seemed like a series of strange course of activity and be comforted knowing and seeing our God is faithful. We learn that God's requirements are not based on our logic. But what was God's motive and lesson for this? What appears to be for us a very unusual happening. What would be God's motive? What would be the lesson for us here? By what we read in this account of Jericho and the orders given to Joshua by the commander-in-chief, we see the orders or commands were the key factors for us to pay attention to, too, as well. And first of all, we see that there was a simplicity of obedience that was required of them. simplicity of obedience. And obedience is always first on God's list for all true and faithful Christians. And this was certainly one thing this story was intended to teach the Israelites and all future readers of this scripture from that day on. Whatever God commands in his word must not be taken lightly or treated as child's play or trivialized. We are not to sit in judgment of what God requires or debate what he commands in his word. But we are called to just obey them. We must obey them. And the second lesson for us in this account is the simplicity of faith was also infused or implanted here. Plain, simple, unsophisticated orders were given to the people to follow. And God loves to be trusted as well as obeyed. And God delights in the confidence of his people. And when you trust in God, precious ones, you make him very happy. Simple faith is trusting in God. Look, please, in Hebrews 11.28 with me. Hebrews 11.28. By faith, simple trust and confidence in God. He instituted and carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts so that the destroyer of the firstborn, the angel, might not touch those of the children of Israel. Verse 29 Urged on by faith, the people crossed the Red Sea as though on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do the same thing, they were swallowed up by the sea. Verse 30, because of faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they'd been encompassed for seven days by the Israelites. Prompted by faith, Rahab, the prostitute, was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey because she'd received the spies in peace without enmity. And what should I say further? soul worth, even mighty and resistlessness in battle, routing alien hosts. Although you see him not, you believe. You trust him through the reading of his word and obeying what he tells you in his word is placing your faith in him, just as we've read of those, the accounts of those who went before us. We trust in God. We delight God. We make him very happy when we trust him. And a third point here, and most important point, is that the people were taught on the weight and magnitude of waiting on God. They were taught the importance of waiting on God. God always considers our good, not only in the things that he gives us, but in the day-to-day, hour-by-hour, and teaches us that patience is good and best for us to learn early on. It's good and it's best for us to learn early on. And the good things are not always ready for us to have in the moment that we desire them, but we must learn to wait on God for them. Just like in our story of the Israelites who had to wait for the command to get up and shout, sound the trumpet and wait for the walls to fall before they took the city. And God will certainly teach us to wait on him, precious ones. In 1 Corinthians 1, please. 1 Corinthians 1, 4. I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace, the favor, and spiritual blessing of God, which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, so that in him, in every aspect, you were enriched in full power and readiness of speech to speak of your faith, and complete knowledge and illumination to give you full insight to its meaning. Verse 6, in this way, our witnessing concerning Christ the Messiah was so confirmed and established and made sure in you that you are not consciously falling behind or lacking in any spiritual endowment or Christian grace, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit while you wait and watch constantly, living in hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and his being made visible to all. Verse 8, and he will establish you to the end, keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication. He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to his promise, and he can be depended on. By him you were called into companionship and participation with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. I would like us as well to look at Jude 20, verses 20 through 21. 20 and 21. And this is where we're speaking about the point, an important point about learning to wait on God. Jude 20. But you, beloved, build yourselves up, founded on your most holy faith, make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher, praying in the Holy Spirit, guard and keep yourselves in the love of God, expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will bring you into eternal life. And also, let's look at one last scripture here on this point in pertaining to waiting on God. It's found in Titus 2, verse 11. Titus 2, verse 11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Verse 12. It teaches us to say no to the ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Verse 13, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good, then these are the things you should teach, encourage, and rebuke with all authority, and do not let anyone despise you. Well, from this last scripture, we must understand that just as with the Israelites, after the battle at Jericho was won, they gave glory to God. And we must understand that these people did not have military weapons except their swords, a shout, trumpets, and the most important, the very presence of God. The presence of God was with them to help them win the victory. And we'll learn through all of our battles, we must give glory to God. And it was the Lord's presence and power which enabled the people to be victorious over the enemy. Titus 2 again says, verse 13, While we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. And these are the things that you should teach them. While we wait for the blessed hope, there is something important for us to see today. And out of the four points of consideration which we just learned from the people taking the city of Jericho, that is simple obedience, simple faith, waiting on God, and giving glory and thanks to God for the victory. And I wish for us to do a zoom in on the third point here, which we have touched on today. And that is waiting on God. And it's very apparent that we learn as we wait. We must still be doing something with our time in the wait. As we wait, we must grow in understanding and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't just take time out and do nothing. That's dangerous. But it's here, dear ones, that many people fail to take their promised land at all. An apostle Paul advised Timothy at one point in Scripture by saying, My son, study to show yourself approved by God. And if we do not know what God requires of us through the written word, we certainly cannot lead people in the way they should go just like Joshua did when he led people into their promised land And if we are slack or negligent in study and prayer we really are not true already soldiers in the army of God at all. It is here I wish to build this point for you today. If we do not intertwine ourselves in the word of God, As Jesus says, I am the vine and you are the branches. And we're grafted in. In another place in the scripture in John 15, Jesus said, If you abide in me and my word lives in you, you may ask of me what you will and you'll have it. If we do not know the word of God and the requirement of what we ask and that our requests must line up with the word of God, which Jesus said in another place, what you ask of me will bring glory to my Father. And as I said, it is here where many people fail because of lack of knowledge of God's word. Vain imagination sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Vain imagination. Look, please, in 2 Corinthians 10.1. 2 Corinthians 10.1. Now, I myself, Paul, beseech you by the gentleness and consideration of Christ himself, who am lowly enough, so they say, when among you face to face, but bold, fearless, and outspoken to you when I am absent from you. I entreat you when I do come to you that I may not be driven to such boldness as I intend to show towards those few who suspect us of acting according to the flesh on the low level of worldly motives as if invested with only human powers. Verse 3. For though we walk, live in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. Verse 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. Verse 5. Inasmuch as we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty or vain imagination that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God and will lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ, The Messiah, the anointed one, verse 6, being in readiness to punish insubordinate for his disobedience when your own submission and obedience as a church are fully secured and complete. Vain imaginations that Paul was speaking of were like the walls of Jericho that needed to be cast down. And the enemy within the walls had certainly barricaded themselves behind the walls and had set themselves up against the wisdom and the knowledge of God. And vain imaginations is described in the Greek hupsuma, which means high thing. High thing, vain imaginations. Every high thing belongs to God. But Satan and his hordes of hell, called powers of darkness, have exalted themselves up against the knowledge of Jesus Christ and against us. Please, Ephesians 2.2. I want you to see this. I want you to catch this today. I want you to grow in God's word in this subject. and be aware of the ways that the enemy works and the way you must work to apprehend your promised land. Ephesians 2.2 At one time you walked habitually. You were following the course and fashion of this world and were under the sway of the tendency of this present age, following the prince of the power of the air. You are obedient to and under the control of the demon spirit that is constantly working in the sons of disobedience, the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving who go on against the purposes of God. You see, this way that Paul is speaking of here is called the way of reason. And this way of thought expressed men's own way and intent of living after his own will and exalted thoughts. This expressed the way of man. And these high and lofty thoughts were based on human wisdom and knowledge. And they were lodged in the high towers of pride in our minds. And these high towers were self-righteousness, philosophic speculations, prideful wisdom which opposed the knowledge of God's truth. True knowledge makes men and women humble. True knowledge will make us humble. Dear church, where self is exalted, God is not known. Where self is exalted, where we exalt ourself, God is not known. He won't be there. We're commanded in Scripture to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. That is, to obey Christ. and if we do not wage a good warfare in this word as Paul is warning we will be led into captivity along with the world in its high tower of prideful exaltation Jericho was our prime example here these people were defenseless when the presence and power of God was present and their high and lofty tower withstood not the power of the commanded shout, the trumpet blast which represented obedience and faith on the people's part. And the power and the presence of God brought down the high walls of Jericho. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Mental elevation. Mental elevation of the enemy is called pride and elevation of self. And the book of Job declares, Yet God prolongs the life of the wicked mighty by his power. They rise up when they had despaired of life. God gives them security and they rest on it. And his eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted for a little while and then are gone and brought low and are taken out of the way as all others are and cut off as tops of the ears of grain. In other words, mental elevation, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness, is stated here in these scriptures as saying, haughtiness or pride has harmed many and its end is eternal death. God was patient, we see in this scripture of Job. That was Job 24, 22 through 24, in case you want to put that in your notes and look at it later. In 2 Corinthians 10, 6, Paul is warning us. In 2 Corinthians 10, 6, you may still be there. being in readiness to punish every insubordinate for his disobedience when your own submission and obedience as a church are fully secured and complete. This sounds to me like a military statement here. After most have surrendered and therefore complied with their obedience, some rebels will remain, and these, Paul is saying, they will be punished. So what is our warfare and strategy here in the lesson today? 2 Corinthians 10.2 Look at that. 2 Corinthians 10.2 I entreat you when I do come that I may not be driven to such boldness as I intended to show towards those few who suspected us of acting according to the flesh. Verse 3 For though we walk, we live in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. Verse 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and the destruction of strongholds. Paul speaks that the enemy is whom this warfare is directed. And this is our spiritual conflict. And we're given weapons of warfare also, the promised victory to win the battle. Hallelujah. The enemy is Satan. Verse 3 says, For though we walk or live in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh, and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. The kingdom of Satan is represented as fortified by numerous strongholds. be aware that you can take capture of every vain or lofty imagination which could prevent you from taking your promised land be aware so that you can because satan has a number of strongholds and some of the strongholds that you need to be aware of are intellectualism and we just talked about that earlier in this word. Another stronghold is willful ignorance. Willful ignorance. 2 Corinthians 4.4. In 2 Corinthians 4.4. For the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds that they should not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image and likeness of God. This blindness is willful because they neither desired to hear the truth once it came to him, and neither did they care to obey the truth once they heard it. So it's called willful ignorance. and another is called infidelity, or we could say another word for that would be disloyal and lack of belief. Infidelity, called disloyal and lack of belief. And this is where the revealed truth is not faithfully adhered to. And by not obeying it, it is to scorn the truth and to reject it. We're really rejecting God. And this is to say that we really hate it. That's how God looks at it. If we don't obey it, he looks at it, he sees it, that we hate it. If we do not obey it, it's to scorn it and reject it. And a fourth point is superstition and idolatry. And before the walls of Jericho fell down, therein lived a people full of idolatry and superstition. And these were called the Canaanites. The Canaanites had many gods and superstitions, and so it was with us. It has been a stronghold of moral depravity in every heart. And when these fortresses are broken down in our hearts, we will find refuge within because of the captain of the host. See, he lives there within. And our weapons are mighty and they are not common weapons that we would use with our hands. These weapons are not our own reasonings with the use of false or vain imaginary concoctions which we dream up. Because of our obedience, our faith, our waiting on God and giving God the glory, God gives us wonderful and glorious victory to win every battle, precious ones. He equips us for the battle because the battle is his. He is graciously present with us because he's put his spirit in us. And he's given us a new heart of allegiance. And this allegiance is now given to him. We give him our allegiance. and he gives us the divine energy and therefore lets us taste the sweet victory after every battle. We're very aware that the strongholds of Satan have fallen down around us as well in this time. We're very aware of it. These are the strongholds, dear ones, that these have fallen down around us that we understand, that we see, that we know that we've won the battle. These are the strongholds of ignorance. strongholds of superstition and idolatry fall. It's made very apparent to our spirits. Our hearts notice the turning and the desire to be obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. Our hearts notice that it's apparent to us. And these false reasonings and false philosophies and bold speculations and prideful ways begin to be brought into captivity and obedience is now preferred. You see, the ruling force of the heart is now to another king. And touching the scepter of Jesus is now the desire of your heart. Singing praises and giving thanks to God begins to be the victory song in your heart now. You see, God wants all sin vanquished from our lives. All sin. He wants his heavenly kingdom set up fully in our hearts. and you must learn to hold on to the victories that you've gained with each level and every step that you take towards your promised land. Learn to embrace those victories and if you hold any sin close to you close to yourself it's hidden or willful you must be aware that you stand in jeopardy of not claiming the land for yourself at all. the weapons of warfare given you will be ineffective. You see, Jericho was never to be built again once it came to ruin. And the word tells us that in Joshua 6.26. You don't need to turn there. And the scripture says, Then Joshua laid this oath on them. Cursed is the man before the Lord, who raises up and builds this city, Jericho. Cursed is the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city, Jericho. Jericho was never to be built again once it came to ruin. And you and I, too, must watch over the ruins so they will never be raised up again. We must learn to rejoice still in the ruins of those guilty walls. Look forward I say to you look forward to other victories and know that if you are bought with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior you are ordained and anointed to be more than a conqueror And that means a triumphant conqueror because he loves you and he will not let you fall when you are obedient, when you implement simple faith, when you learn to wait on him to fight your battles for you, And when you learn to praise him and give him the glory. Jesus said, you are my friends if you obey what I command. I say to you today, let us pull down every vain imagination that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and bring it into the subjection and the obedience of God's word. let us never be guilty to build up a city of Jericho ever again in our hearts. The End The word in 2 Timothy 1.7 has really been touching me and that we were not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind. And as many times as in our spiritual growth, the Lord will put a word upon our hearts. And the purpose of him doing this is that the word begins to grow, begin to gnaw. And I use the term that many times it's like how a pearl is formed within an oyster. It begins as a little grain of sand, but as the word keeps gnawing away or irritating, I guess you could say, because that's what the grain of sand does. It's irritated by the movement and so forth of the oyster, and it grows. It grows into a beautiful pearl. It starts out as a little piece of sand, but over a period of time, I don't know, years, it is a beautiful, beautiful pearl. And so this is how I liken the Word of God, that it grows within us. And if we're sensitive to the Spirit, as I'm endeavoring to describe to you that this word in Timothy, 2 Timothy 1.7, And we were not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. So this word has been, I don't want to say it's irritating me, but it's like the Lord just kind of keeps pressing the word upon me, my spirit. And out of that, of course, there is something beautiful that comes. and that's where I really encourage you to take a word that when the Lord gives it to you, that you take it serious, that the Spirit of God is desiring you to grow up in that word or to see how pregnant and full that word really is. And so that's how I feel with this word that the Spirit of the Lord has put on my heart, that we were not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. And that's not my subject today, but the subject that I will be speaking about is called Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled. And as I was seeking the Lord for the title today of this message, this scripture, again, comes up, that we're not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. And so do not let your hearts be troubled, because if we're troubled, that means there's a spirit of fear that's working and troubling us, and it's opposite of the spirit which we are given, the spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. And the spirit of power given to us is God's own spirit. And so many times, most of us never think or give thought to the wonderful miracle which happened at the time of our conversion or salvation. The promise and prophesied blessing in Ezekiel 36, 26 was a miracle just waiting to happen in the life of every true believer who accepted the gift of salvation through our Lord and this promised gift of a new spirit was the very presence of God Almighty himself who was going to live within his redeemed children. who were ransomed back from the clutches of hell, from Satan the devil, and give them a new heart. Let's look at that in Ezekiel 36, 26. What the Lord showed in the promised and prophesied blessing that we are now living in today. Ezekiel 36, 26. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will heed my ordinances and do them. Verse 28, And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Jehovah God of the Old Testament is the same God today who keeps his promises. God, through the prophet Ezekiel, spoke a powerful promise for future generations to come. God spoke, I will put my spirit within you. By the Spirit is God's own Spirit, the Spirit of our Father, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of revelation. The Holy Spirit is all of these names and more. God's Spirit lives within our spirit, dear church. This means the love of God for his people was now going to dwell within his people, as it did within the temple in Ezekiel's time. And as I stated at the opening of this word today, most of us never stop to stand in awe of this fact. We never ever really give much thought or credence to the fact that God's spirit lives within me and stands over me and surrounds me. If the people of God truly gave this consideration, they would not continue to fall over the same sins year after year after year as so many do in the body of Christ. the power and dominion of God's desires to have full reign and rule over the land of our hearts. This is the power and dominion of God that he desires to have full dominion, full reign. The power of his dwelling within us to rule over our hearts. Ezekiel 36, 26 again. A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you shall heed my ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your forefathers. and you shall be my people and I will be your God. God says he will cause us to walk in obedience to his ways. And this means that he will give divine ability and the desire to do so. This does not mean, precious ones, that he will force us in any way. He gives us the desire because his spirit now resides in and over our hearts. And he gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to take dominion of the land. This means we work with the spirit of God in this divine work of clearing the fields and planting the good seed of righteousness. Jesus told the disciples when he was training them that when he went away to be with his father that they should not let their hearts be troubled by the news that he was going to go away and be with his father but he promised them another comforter and he was promising the word in Ezekiel to them that was already written in Ezekiel 36, 26. Bear with me as we hear it again. I will give you a new heart and I will put within you a new heart. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. I will put my spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. 28. And you will live in Israel, the land that I gave your ancestors long ago. And you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you, verse 29, of your filthy behavior. And I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. And I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields. and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for famines. 31. Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32. But remember what the Sovereign Lord says. I am not doing this because you deserve it. Oh, my people of Israel, you should utterly be ashamed of all that you have done. Our comforter's ways are not our ways. And the work of the Spirit of God within each believer is to convict the sinner of his detestable behavior and sin, which is offensive to God. Our sins are as filthy rags to God. And by the convicting work of God's Spirit within us, He by His Spirit makes known to our spirits that our sins are offensive to Him who has come to live within us. 31 of our last scripture says Then you will remember your past sins And despise yourselves For all the detestable things that you did But remember says the sovereign Lord I am not doing this because you deserve it Oh my people of Israel You should be utterly ashamed Of all you have done Let me ask you this question. Did you or have you ever in the past have a rude guest come to your house to stay? And no matter what you did to make them comfortable, this rude guest was demanding and selfish and thoughtless, and they thought that they were the cat's meow. They thought that you owed them every courtesy of comfort while they occupied a room in your house. But you could hardly wait for them to leave so you could have your peace once again. You see, we are now bought with a price. And we do not own the house anymore. and God's spirit has come to live within and occupy and clean up each and every room. And he's now saying, all those intruders, those rude guests, which have occupied every room and corner of your house, which is your heart, now have to go. I am a holy God. and these rude, mean and demanding intruders cannot share the holy temple or habitation with me. You see, we understand by previous teachings and by God's word that God doesn't do this work overnight or within a year. This is a process of time. And this work is not to be prolonged by our excuses, preferences, or good feelings, which we enjoy by keeping these rude and mean intruders. God Almighty Himself, precious ones, has come to live within our hearts. And this means we have been given the power and dominion of God, the creator of all the universe, to kick out and despise all of these ites, which we formerly grew accustomed to and preferred as right behavior. Jesus told the disciples in John 4.18 that the world, those who do not accept him, believe in him, cannot accept the comforter, because they neither see him or know him. They neither see him or know him. And this means that the eyes of their spirit and their heart is not privileged to know him, because they do not accept him for whatever reason. Look at that with me. John 14, let's begin in verse 1. John 14, verse 1. also be where I am. Verse 4. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him because you've seen me. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Verse 9, Jesus answered, Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. And the words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. Verse 11. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. And he will even do greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it. Verse 15. If you love me, let me say that again. If you love me, you will obey what I command. If you love me, You will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever. The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. Verse 18. And I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. Verse 20. On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. I say, what a privilege. What a promise. What an honor. God in you. God in me. Verse 20, again please. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father. And you are in me, and I am in you. Verse 21, Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will also be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. The prophecies, dear church of Ezekiel, have come to pass, have come to be within you and me. but to what degree depends still upon us individually. The spirit of truth, the spirit of power abides in those who love Christ Jesus and take serious and stand in awe the abiding of his spirit within. If you love me, in verse 15, you will obey what I command and I will ask the Father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth. When Jesus said he would give us a counselor to live within us, this means the very power of the Trinity abides within our spirits, giving us strength through his Spirit to accomplish every work that needs to be done in order that we grow up and be matured in him. The Spirit of God will abide within us forever and ever. The latter part of verse 16, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever. Forever and ever. He will be with us, abide with us, forever and ever. if, if, if we do not grieve him or resist him. The work of the Holy Spirit is to strengthen the inner man. And this means like a pillar which supports the building or the temple. And you know that the footings of that pillar go very deep and the pillar is used in support of the whole building. And this is used in the image of a believer where it represents the work of the Spirit of God within us who makes us solid, firm, and upright in right standing with God. You see, it's really the work of moral character and the work of the Spirit of God is a new way and course of conduct in the house of God for us. moral character. We will be like a pillar which the book of Revelation speaks about. And we shall be immovable with the firm footings which are driven deep never more at all to go out. We are required to remain steadfast like a pillar. We're required. That is a believer. We are equipped with all the power and the strength we could ever need. He, the Spirit of God, enables us to do everything we need to do to come into agreement with God the Father, to superabound in every area and aspect of our lives. He gives us everything we need. we are without excuse for our lack of growth and responsibility once we hear the truth and the word of God and it's written in the book of James that we are not to be hearers of the word only but we are to be doers of the word of God and Jesus said in the previous word that we just covered in our text today in the book of John He says, if you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he'll give you another counselor. You see, we will obey what he commands. Jesus says, if you love me, you will obey what I command. And if we hear the word of God and do not put it to work in our lives, Jesus says that we show that we do not love him. and if we desire to have peace and enjoy the promises of God yet we do not obey him we shall have only what we had in the past and most of us were miserable all of us were miserable just didn't know it until we came to Christ and we experienced his peace and joy and tasted the promises that he'd allowed us along the way. You see, we can superabound in Christ if we obey Him and do what He commands in His Word for us to live by as our standard and way of life, which is in Him, Christ, who died for us and now desires to help us superabound with the Spirit whom He's given us. My prayer today for you in this Word is that you grab hold of the reality and the responsibility and the possibility of the divine power who dwells richly in you. That you do not take this for granted and live in ignorance of him who was so graciously given to you and desires with all his heart to see you grow up and become a powerful instrument of his glory, his might and his power, and one who walks with a clear vision and collected thoughts, free of a troubled mind. He wishes to show you the deep things of God, precious ones. He holds the treasures of the Father that were planned just for you from the beginning of time. saying that he superabounds in you is like the oceans in the water, which is so wide and deep and vast and without limit. You see, his limit has no end in wisdom and revelation for you or for me. the Holy Spirit in you discovers the deep things of God that you may know and these things are freely given you of God and the Spirit of God enables us to cry Abba Father as he makes known these dear and precious deep things these truths called the mysteries of God which are revealed to our spirit in purpose to draw us closer to himself in true and deep love with a spirit of wanting to be obedient to him in every way and also come to him with an innocent and unapologetic childlike confidence and freedom. I started out with the scripture of 2 Timothy 1.7. I'd like us to look at that. 2 Timothy 1.7 For God didn't give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardness, of craven and cringing and fawning fear, but he's given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. Do not blush or be ashamed then to testify to and for our Lord, nor of me. A prisoner for his sake. But with me, take your share of the suffering to which the preaching of the gospel may expose you and do it in the power of God. Underline that. Underscore it. Highlight it. Memorize it. In the power of God. Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit here. the work of the Spirit of God who gives us the divine ability, superabounding power, He who leads us into this desire of being cleansed for His purposes, for our future, for our future work in proclaiming the gospel. And verse 9, pick up there again. Verse 9, For it is He who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness, to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness. He did it, not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further his own purpose and grace, unmerited favor, which was given us in Jesus Christ before the world began, eternal ages ago. Verse 10. It is that purpose and grace which he now has made known and is fully disclosed and made real to us through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality, immunity from eternal death to light through the gospel. verse 11 for the proclaiming of this gospel I was appointed a herald a preacher and an apostle a special messenger and a teacher of the Gentiles the first part of that scripture we weren't given a spirit of fear and we shouldn't let our hearts be troubled as Jesus spoke to the disciples when we are walking in the knowledge and the revelation of the fact that the power of the Trinity lives within our house, our temple, our hearts, we shall not have fear of consequences. Those who God has put his spirit within desire to walk in his statutes. They say, God, you own me and I give you permission to make me to walk in your statutes. You wouldn't have it any other way, Father, and neither would I, because I love you and desire to do according to your commands. I remind you of the words of Jesus. He said, if you love me, you will obey me. And we show our love to him and others by our desire to please God. the statutes of God are the rule by which we will walk because you've grown to understand by the spirit of God and by the hearing of his words these years in your Christian life that his judgments according to his word point out the work which they ought to do within your life and these words of God are intended to be lamps unto our feet, giving light to our paths in our going, and showing us what is good and right, and what the Lord requires of us. In these statutes and judgments, God promises that those in whom he puts his spirit will walk in these ways. And this means these statutes will be our habitual way and practice and preference for our walk in the Spirit with the Spirit of God whom he put within us. It means understanding that walking in God's statutes is a voluntary, conscientious choice and decision, which is now agreeable to your new spirit put within you to please God because you love him for who he is. Hallelujah! And you delight in knowing that the new spirit in you is the spirit of God. And you grow and stand in awe and faith and trust that he is pursuing you and desires to capture your whole heart and make it his. Yeah, he's pursuing us, dear church. God Almighty is pursuing us mere creatures of clay. You begin to lay hold of this, this reality of God in you, where he had to laboriously and with great skill and precision pry your fingers and hands off the old grave clothes, And now you're running ahead of him, pulling and tearing them off yourself with great exuberance. Sometimes he says, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like he did with Peter. This is likened to having heavenly preferences now instead of earthly desires. And you find yourself doing the will of your heavenly father with great joy and find far more real pleasure and satisfaction in pleasing Him than you do in the sensual desires, worldly riches, and the notice and flatteries of men. Walking in God's way and rule without a troubled heart, is a diligent and progressive work on our part. And no doubt there will be obstacles and lessons for us on this path which are designed for our growth, whereby we experience grace after grace after grace, which encourages us to continue and grow in our trust in him. It's like a parent holding their arms out to a child. and the parents encouraging the child as the child's learning to walk, to take those steps. And the child trusts that the parent will not let him fall. One main point I wish to make here in this word today, that Jesus gave us the gift of his spirit. And he tells us in Luke 11, 9, In Luke 11.9, he tells us, So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it shall be given you. Seek and keep on seeking, and you shall find it. Knock and keep on knocking, and the door shall be opened to you. Verse 10. For everyone who asks and keep on asking, and he who seeks and keeps on seeking and him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened. Verse 11. What father among you, if his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Verse 13, if you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts, gifts that are to their advantage to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him? We have been given a great and wonderful gift, which shall live forever in us, dear church. Let us always consider God with us a privilege. God in us is a great honor. And please always remember that the gift of the Spirit of God in you is a person. And we are very capable of grieving him. He is a divine person. He is not an it. Please never call him an it. He intercedes for you and me as believers. And he guides and hears and speaks and shows you the things which are yet to come. He is truly God. And when or if we ever lie, lying to him is lying to God. Remember, you are the temple or the house where he has come to live. he delights himself in you he is at work anew building anew in your house every day and by his power he is tearing down the old and building the new heart within you by his power and he is imparting truth and life to your new spirit he is purifying the house and hanging up beautiful pictures in your renewed mind now, instead of the old thoughts, the sensual things that used to come up and float up and float around in your mind, are now beautiful pictures being hung up in your mind. And he's nailing peace and consolation and wisdom and revelation to the walls of your new heart. And there's a sweet fragrance now which is on your breath instead of the harsh and mean or vile, impure, filthy words that used to come out of your mouth. And his fruit adorns the intentions of the gates or the doorways of your heart now. Remember that you must sincerely continue in your asking him along the way in this walk with him, asking in faith that he would continue this beautiful work and process in your heart and your temple. God our Father has given us a beautiful gift. And it is our responsibility to take serious the role of the gift that he has given us. God Almighty has given us himself. and he's not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power. He's given us a spirit of a sound mind to live at peace while the great and awesome work of the new heart is being done. Let me leave this with you too. When you accepted Jesus he said I give you my spirit. You actually received him in your heart. Like one standing at the door, knocking at the door when someone knocked. You didn't let a stranger in, dear one. You received him who spoke the world into existence. You opened the door to the spirit of truth to come into your house and enlighten your mind and save you from the ignorance, air, folly, disillusion that you've lived in all of your life. Me too. The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive or welcome, take to his heart because it does not see him, recognize him, know him. But you know him and recognize him for he lives in you constantly and will be with you. John 14, 7. We read that several times in this message today. You open the door to the spirit of life who causes you to live in a new and better realm. You open the door to the spirit of grace Who shows you unmerited many favors and promised blessings Which will be for eternity When you are weak He will make you strong in his strength When you are poor He will make you rich in his knowledge and wisdom Comfort yourselves today please In knowing that you have the strong and great God living within you, who has given you all power. Comfort yourself in knowing that the word of God in your mouth is a powerful and creative force, which when used honorably will bring things into existence that are not yet. Healings, deliverances, family members who are not saved. standing believing and using God's word you'll see those things that are not through your prayers you'll see them come to be and remember that of and by yourself you are weak but when you stand on the sure foundation who is Jesus Christ all true believers are given the gift of God's spirit to make us mature wise and perfected in him. Perfected in him. In Isaiah 41.8 Isaiah 41.8 But you, O Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I the Lord have taken from the ends of the earth and have called from the corners of it and said to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off, even though you are exiled. Verse 10. Fear not. There is nothing to fear, for I am with you. Do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties. Yes, I will help you. I will hold you up and retain you with my victorious right hand of rightness and justice. Verse 11. Behold, all they who are enraged and inflamed against you, you shall be put to shame and confounded. They who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. Verse 11. Behold, all those who are enraged and inflamed against you, you shall be put to shame and confounded. They who strive against you Shall be as nothing and shall perish You shall seek those who contend with you But not find them They who war against you Shall be as nothing, nothing at all For I am the Lord your God Hold your right hand I am the Lord who says to you Fear not, I will help you This is where our trust lies Precious church in the one who tells us, do not let your hearts be troubled. I am the Lord who will help you. We must know that we stand on the sure and the true foundation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this must become a certainty and a reality in our hearts that God Almighty lives within us. Bow your heads, please. let us invite the best gift ever to give to mankind the very Spirit of God, to touch our hearts. And we do that right now, Holy Spirit, asking you to please touch our hearts. Where you alone know the building in our hearts need to take place. Spirit of God, how privileged we are to be called by name and to be called your own. Spirit of God, please touch and cleanse and purify any room of our hearts to meet your satisfaction. Please continue your perfect process of making us fit for the kingdom of God and eternal life in your eternal kingdom. Thank you for giving understanding today that we were not given a spirit of fear, but you. your very best your very you Lord have come you yourself have come to live within our hearts and your power and strength upholds us and makes us strong Holy Spirit we pray open the eyes of our hearts and give us the

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