Joshua Generation - Part 7

Joshua Generation: Part 7

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Taking the City

A Joshua-Type Generation has a heart to impact the city with the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.

• The Care

• The Commitment

• The Commission

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 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. 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.” 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.” 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.” 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. 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. 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.” 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. Then 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 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. And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 .” 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. 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. 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.” 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. And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.” So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

-Joshua 6:1-27

The Care

We must care about reaching the city because it matters to God, the world and your children’s future.

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 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. 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.” 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.” 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.”

-Joshua 6:1-7

Keep your eyes on Jericho.

The Importance of Cities

The trajectory of our nations are determined in city centers:

“We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.”

-John F. Kennedy

The vast majority of provision and societal innovation is produced in city centers:

“Just 10 years ago, cities were seen as vital contributors to the global economy. That’s no longer true. Today, cities are the global economy…the 40 largest cities, or mega-regions, account for two-thirds of the world’s output.”

(Ian Wylie, “Knowledge is Power,” The Guardian, Sept 2008.)

The moral compass of nations are shaped in city centers:

“Even if 80 percent of the population of a country are Christian believers, they will have almost no cultural influence if the Christians do not live in cultural centers and work in culture-forging fields such as academia, publishing, media, entertainment, and the arts. The assumption that society will improve simply by more Christian believers being present is no longer valid.”

Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City

The apostle Paul understood that city centers export their values to the surrounding towns, villages and provinces. The missiological pattern in Acts was that Paul focused primarily on the city centers of trade, commerce, culture and thought in the establishment of gospel preaching churches and left it to them to reach the surrounding areas that were pagan.

“Early Christianity was primarily an urban movement. The original meaning of the word pagan (paganus) was ‘rural person,’ or more colloquially ‘country hick.’ It came to have religious meaning because after Christianity had triumphed in the cities, most of the rural people remained unconverted.”

-Sociologist Rodney Stark

*God sends us first to the hard place, the high walled up city of Jericho that demands a miracle to reach. Once we take this by faith, the other surrounding areas will be become a metaphorical certainty. “If I can make it in Jericho, I can make it anywhere.”

If God cares about the city, why was there a seeming genocide of the Cannanite people?

The collapse of the walls was a sign of God’s singularity and supremacy over all of the false gods of the Canaanite people.

God’s justice had to be enacted for hundreds of years of reprehensible sins against the divine Law of the Creator (Genesis 15:12-16). In this time, God gave people opportunity to turn. It was a foreshadowing of the final judgment to come.

In a barbaric society, things not dealt with in the city would ultimately come for the faith (syncretism) and life of the Israelite children (i.e. - Haman in the book of Esther was a descendent of those who were ancient enemies of Israel and tried to ethnically cleanse the Israelites. See Esther 3:1; Exodus 17:8-16; I Samuel 15:1-33). You can not escape through relocation or co-habitation (ignoring, but not addressing the enemies of God).

The Canaanites would have had the opportunity to turn to God just as those who left Egypt during the plagues (Exodus 12:33-38), just as Rahab and her family had done. They chose not to do so.

If you’d like to learn more on this topic, please reference resources such as Paul Copan’s book Is God A Moral Monster?

The Commitment

We must commit to long-term obedience to God’s instructions with a church community to reach a city.

Then 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 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. And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 .”

-Joshua 6:12-19

God wants to build with those who are stable. God is not flakey like us. We need to stop attaching God’s name to everything we want to do. We need to stop using his voice as a scapegoat every time things get difficult (walking around Jericho seven days continually blowing then trumpets) or we lose interest in something (in our relationships, in our marriages, in our careers, where we choose to live, in our financial plans, in our calling). We need to stop blaming God every time we change our minds. He hasn’t. We need to learn follow-through. Let your yes be yes and your no, no.

THE FIRSTFRUITS MUST CONTINUALLY BELONG TO GOD IN OUR LIVES.

God wanted it in Jericho and for it to remain leveled (Joshua 6:26). GOD SET THIS EXAMPLE BY GIVING US HIS FIRSTBORN AND BEST IN JESUS WHO DIED FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS BUT WAS RESURRECTED UNTO EVERLASTING LIFE because of HIS OBEDIENCE. This life, the life that is truly life, is now ours as we turn to God in repentance and faith in Christ’s atoning work.

The Commission

We must embrace our commission to reach specific individuals and families to see the Kingodom of God advance in the city.

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.” 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. And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

-Joshua 6:22-25

Walls come down so that people can participate in the resurrection life of Christ.

The two spies had an assignment from God to go reach Rahab and her family to ensure that they were saved.

Who (not just what) is your assignment from the Lord?

The mission of the church:

“Winning the lost, making disciples and trianning leaders to establish Christ honoring churches that multiply in the city of Chicago and the nations.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

We advance into the city armed with love and the truth of God’s Word.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

-John 3:16-21

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019