It was good timing when Chris Tomlin made Bluetree's song "God of this City" popular, as some of us have been shifting our eyes to the trouble right around us, not just in the hood and in hurting nations. Is God really calling you to go on a Mission Trip that requires a passport...... or might He have a use for you right here in your neighborhood? How does He want us to respond to the darkness in our culture? He has called us the light of the world so we do have responsibility to be a bright and shining presence. What about stamping out the darkness? Is there more we can do to defend ourselves and take back what belongs to the Lord?
The Lord told Joshua in Joshua 1:3 "I will give you every place you set your feet." In verse 1:6 God told him to be strong and courageous because it was Joshua's job to lead the people in to inherit the land. Joshua obeyed every word from the Lord.
God Protects
He gave proof of His faithfulness from the beginning by protecting the men in the hills from their pursuers which increased their faith. They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us."
God gave instructions to choose 12 men; one from each tribe and take up stones from the Jordan from where the priests stood holding the ark of the covenant. They were to put down the stones where they stayed the night and "The stones would be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
God Provides a Miracle
The tribes of Israel and 40,000 armed for battle crossed the Jordan and as soon as the priests carrying the ark of the convenant set their feet on dry ground, the Jordan returned to flood stage. The Israelites faith grew. Joshua reminded them that "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." Joshua 4:24
God Gives Instructions
He told them to march around the city for 6 days and gave direction on when the priests should blow the trumpets and to have all the people give a loud shout and then the wall of the city would collapse. Joshua followed the Lord's instructions exactly and when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord." Joshua 6:17
God Equips Us
"They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword." Joshua 6:21 Today, we have all the power that Joshua had 1400 years before Christ. He has armed us with the power of His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and with the sword of the Spirit, His Word.
Let us take back city with the sword of the Spirit, declaring the Word of the Lord over our land. He is King and ruler over our land. He will protect us and provide all we need to face the enemy in this battle. Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
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