REVIEW
Praise the Lord! This is the title of our current series, and as you just witnessed, we are not just wanting to observe what praise is; we want to actually put into practice “Praising the Lord!” So we are stretching ourselves a little bit by finding out what God considers praise to be and then adopting these things into our praise lives. And we are doing this by looking at the various words that are used for praise in the Old Testament because the Hebrew language gives us a much more thorough description of what praise looks like. We started off by looking at the most common Hebrew word for praise, the word halal. We learned that this word is used close to 150 times in the Old Testament and is translated “praise” the vast majority of those times. However, even though the word “praise” is obviously its primary meaning, it actually means to make a show, to act clamorously foolish & like a madman. So we made the point that we see very few people acting foolish or like a crazy person during the praise time, don’t we? And that’s not to condemn us, but it does need to be brought to our attention because if this is how we are called to praise, then perhaps we ought to loosen up a bit. Yeah, perhaps we’ve grown up too much. Then next, we covered another Hebrew word for “praise”, the word todah, which describes thanking God for “things not yet received” as well as things already at hand. In fact, we learned that it is actually translated “thanksgiving” half the times it is used in the original King James Version. So the idea of this form of praise is more that of expressing gratitude and the giving of thanks to God. So we learned that this todah kind of thanksgiving is what we should start out with. Yes, it’s how we enter His gates and into His presence! So, it would behoove us to incorporate this spirit of thanksgiving into our praise lives—for not only is it the right & noble thing to do towards the One who has given us so much, but it’s also the vehicle that leads us into His presence. Amen. Then last week, we dealt with a few Hebrew words for praise that answer the question – “Why do we praise like we do?” You know, there are lot of things that we do in certain Charismatic, Pentecostal circles that I’m not so sure people understand why we do them – whether that be if you are someone who isn’t used to a church like this or whether you’ve grown up in a church that does these things. And the last thing we want to do is do things simply out of tradition or for some other religious reason. So we looked at the popular Hebrew word for praise, which is actually the root word for the word we covered last week (todah), the word yadah. We learned that like todah which described an extension of the hand in adoration, avowal, or acceptance, the word yadah likewise describes "an extended hand or to throw out the hand.” And here it describes praising God by shooting out the hands, thanking Him with extended hands, or we might say to simply lift the hands in praise & thanksgiving. So have you ever wondered why you see some people lift their hands during the praise & worship service? Well, here is one of your reasons – it’s because it’s Biblical since one of the Hebrew words for praise specifically describes it. But we also learned that not only do we have this Hebrew word that clearly describes praise being done with lifted/extended hands, we have several Scriptures that specifically talk about this as well. But even with all this Scriptural evidence, you’ll still have someone who will say, “But I just don’t see the point. What good does it do to lift my hands?” Well, we don’t have to understand or see the point to do it and reap the benefits of simple obedience. Now I think understanding is important. Don’t get me wrong. But there’s just a lot we aren’t going to understand that we should simply do because we are told to. But we saw how lifting our hands is not the only demonstrative form of praise that the Bible encourages us to practice … We saw how there was the word alaz (a-lauze) which describes “rejoicing, exulting, and to be jubilant.” But we learned how this word carries the idea of “jumping for joy.” So there you go! Now you have Scriptural precedence for jumping for joy during the song service. We saw how King David did a little jumping himself. But he also liked to “dance” as well. Yes, he was also “whirling” when they brought the ark back into Jerusalem – the Hebrew word karar (ka-rare) – which described how David was dancing before the Lord with all his might. Now this doesn’t mean to bring your old worldly barroom dancing up in here, but it describes a joyful dance. In other words, what’s your snoopy, happy dance. That’s what the Lord is blessed with, when we let it loose for Him. It might be simply just leaping. It might be whirling around. It might be waving your hands back & forth. The bottom line is – whatever dance you’d let loose when you are jubilant & rejoicing, feel free to do that at this church! In fact, this “dancing” before the Lord is also a common biblical practice. We see it in the Hebrew word mahol (ma-hole), and this word is used in Psalm 150:4 when the psalmist said to praise Him with the timbrel and dance. One of my favorite instances of this is found in Psalm 30:11-12, for turning our mourning into dancing. So David declared how his sadness & mourning had now been turned into rejoicing & dancing. Therefore, we have all kinds of Scriptural proof that lifting our hands, dancing, whirling, and jumping are acceptable forms of praise, but the question many have had is – “Is all of this New Testament?” You see, for some reason, the majority of the church has adopted this mentality that now we are supposed to praise & worship God “in the Spirit” – meaning, we don’t need any of that physical or emotional stuff anymore. But what we saw last week is that the gift of the Holy Spirit whom we’ve been promised under this new covenant, should propel us into even more demonstrative praise! You see, the Holy Spirit is compared with wine a few times in the Bible because of the freedom & joy that He brings. So what does this have to do with us praising God in all of these ways? Well, just think about it: If the infilling of the Holy Spirit has similar effects on us that alcohol has on people, what do you think might make us feel a little freer to dance, jump, whirl, and act what some might call a little foolish? The New Wine; that’s Who! So yes, being filled with the Holy Spirit won’t make us less free; it will make us more free – for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (See Second Corinthians 3:17)! Yes, freedom from the law, sin, and death, but also freedom to lift our hands, freedom to jump for joy, freedom to dance & spin around before the Lord, etc. Lifting Our Hands to Lifting Our Voices Now this week, I want us to move into another couple of Hebrew words that describe another very important element of praise … So let me begin by asking a very important question: Now that we’ve learned that certain demonstrative actions like lifting our hands, dancing, jumping, etc. are a part of our praise unto God, what about our volume? Is the level of noise we make with our mouth important? Well, like the lifting of our hands, there are people who like to reason out of this, saying things like “What difference does it make if I lift my hands?” Well, like I made the point of last week, just because we don’t see the purpose of it, doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Again, when we were young and our parents told us to do certain things, we didn’t always understand why what they were telling us to do was important. However, when we matured, we realized that there were just things we simply didn’t see when we were young. Therefore, the lesson is this – God, who is infinitely more wise & knowledgeable than us, is likely giving us instructions in the Scriptures to do things that we just haven’t connected the dots on yet. But a wise person will just do those things, trusting that He knows something we don’t. Amen? Well, like we saw last week, lifting our hands is one of those things that He explicitly tells us is a part of praise. So if I am wise child of God, I’ll lift my hands to the Lord. However, if I’m foolish, I’ll just continue doing what I want, what I think, etc. And so my point is that just as there are a lot in the Scriptures about lifting our hands, there are also a lot of verses about lifting our voice. Yes, our voice volume is another one of these examples of God showing us how He likes to be praised that we might not yet understand … So in order to establish the importance of our volume to the Lord, let’s look at a few more Hebrew words related to praising God and Scriptures that they are used in … Shabach’d! Although there are several words that we will look at today that establish the importance of shouting & lifting our voices, there is one word for praise that we see used in the Old Testament that I want to spend the most time on – It’s the word shabach (shaw-bakh). This word literally means, "to shout, to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph." So it’s a loud adoration or an unashamed proclaiming with a loud voice. Now this is a far cry from praising Him quietly in our hearts, isn’t it? Is there a place for being quiet and being still & knowing that He is God? Absolutely! Likewise, there is a place for being loud and shouting forth His praises with a voice of triumph! So if I am consistently only doing one of these two things, then I’m missing it. There is a time & place to do both, and we need to be willing to praise Him both ways, not just the way we are comfortable with. Let’s look at a few instances where this word is used … In both First Chronicles 16:15 & Psalm 106:47, David said, “Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.” The word “triumph” here comes from this Hebrew word shabach. So the idea here is that God’s people are lifting their voices in victory for His salvation! Psalm 63:3 says, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.” Notice that it was his “lips” that was “shabach’ing” the Lord. So, this is where this loud voice of praise comes from. It’s not in your heart or in your mind; it’s done with your lips. So who all is supposed to do this? Well, Psalm 117:1 tells us who: It says, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” “All you peoples” means that every kind of person is called to shabach the Lord! So no, it’s not just those who it’s their “personality” or those who are “wired” that way. It’s all you peoples! Finally, Psalm 145:4 talks about how one generation shall “praise” God’s works to another. So let’s practice this – If you are 50 years old or older, I want you to lift your voice to a “loud tone” and say this to the rest of the rest of the people in this place today – “Jesus saved me!” Now all of you who are 49 years old and younger, I want you to do the same, and say back to them – “He saved me too!” Guess what we just did? We just “shabach’d” each other! Stilling the Storms Now here is an interesting point about this word shabach: Figuratively, it means to soothe, still, or pacify – which sounds a lot to me like how a parent might seek to quiet their baby when they are crying. What do they do? They try and “still” the baby by picking it up and holding it. They try and “soothe” the baby by maybe rocking it back and forth. And they attempt to “pacify” it by giving it a pacifier or bottle. Shabach is used this way in Psalm 65:7 & 89:9 in describing how the Lord “stills” the waves of the sea. So isn’t that interesting? The word that describes shouting & addressing in a loud tone also describes the stilling of the raging seas. Now let me show you how this works: Oftentimes in life, we find ourselves caught in the middle of a storm. And in these trials & tribulations of life, it is important that we understand a couple of things:
I love what Psalm 8:2 teaches us … The original King James Version reads this way – “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ response when the religious leaders derided the children who were praising Him as He entered into Jerusalem on a donkey. He said, “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?’” (Matthew 21:16). Now what makes this statement so interesting is that looking back at the Scripture Jesus was quoting, He was quoting Psalm 8:2. However, in this Psalm, David did not say, “perfected praise;” He said, “ordained strength.” You see, the Hebrew word used in Psalm 8:2 for “strength” was correctly translated. It indeed means “strength.” So, Jesus gave us His divine commentary by exchanging the word “strength” for the word “praise.” In doing so, He showed us that praise is the equivalent of strength. Amen! But Jesus was saying that praise is “strength” to do what? That we might “still” the enemy and the avenger! So praise “stills” the avenger – specifically, shabach is what will still or pacify the devil! Isn’t it interesting that this loud & high-volume kind of praise is what stills & quiets the enemy? Perhaps this is why so many of us get an earful from the enemy and the winds & waves constantly rage around us – It’s because we haven’t gotten loud enough. Amen? Cry Out & Break Forth! But shabach is not the only Hebrew word for shouting or lifting our voices. There are actually several other words that describe something similar: One word is ranan (rah-nan), and this word is used for “crying out or shouting for joy.” It’s used in the following verses: Isaiah 12:6 - “Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Psalm 35:27 - “Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, ‘Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.’” There’s also a word that describes to “break forth” in something. This is the word pasah (paw-tsakh) and describes to break out in a joyful sound, break forth in joy, and to burst forth with a loud noise. You know, a big part of all of this is just “breaking out” of our comfort zone. People might not like to look at it this way, but the fact is, if we do not feel free to praise God in all these way – including lifting our voices – then we are in bondage to something. So the key to breaking the bondage is to “break out.” And like someone who breaks out of prison, they have to do some things that everything around them is telling them not to do to get free. Well, I believe that a lot of times those fortress walls come down and those prison doors swing open when we make the deliberate decision to “break out” in a joyful sound and a loud voice! Amen! (We will see more of this at the end of today’s message) One instance where this is used is Psalm 98:4,6, which says, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises … With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the Lord the King.” Finally, let’s look at one more Hebrew word which means something similar and that’s used in these verses – the word rua. It’s used in Psalm 98:4,6 as “shout joyfully.” This word describes “raising a shout” or “giving a blast.” It was used in several Old Testament instances as the catalyst for victories when God’s people would, say, blast a trumpet to sound an alarm or as a war cry or simply lift their voices and shout for the victory. Here’s a couple of other places in the Psalms where it is used … Psalm 47:1 = “O clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with the voice of triumph.” Psalm 95:1-2 = “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” The most popular place that we see rua used is in the very familiar story of the Battle of Jericho. So let’s turn over to Joshua chapter 6 and look at the important role that “shouting” plays in the walls coming down in our life … From Egypt To Jericho How many of you know that just as the children of Israel had a Promised Land to possess after their Exodus from Egypt, that there are promises God has made to us that we must possess even after we have experienced our salvation? It’s true. Just because we get saved from “Egypt” does not mean that we automatically are ushered into Canaan Land. There is a process to renewing our minds and a spiritual walk that takes us through the wilderness of this world and into everything God has promised us. So, I want us to conclude today by looking at one very key and critical story in the Book of Joshua of how the children of Israel began to possess what God said was theirs—the Battle of Jericho. Of course, we know that the city of Jericho was the Israelites first victory in their conquest of possessing the Promised Land of Canaan. We have all heard the story of the great walls surrounding this city and how when the Israelites marched around them, they experienced a spectacular victory when the walls fell down. But since this is the first challenge the children of Israel faced in possessing their Promised Land, I see it as both a foundational & fundamental lesson in how we too are to possess our Promised Land. So, let’s begin reading this account in Joshua chapter 6: Joshua 6:1 says, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.” You see, like it was with the children of Israel’s challenge of possessing Jericho, many of us have walls built up from our past—things that keep us from getting out and from letting others come in. Sure, like the children of Israel had already experienced their Exodus from Egypt, the parting of both the Red Sea and the Jordan River, we too might have experienced salvation, being baptized with both water and the Holy Spirit. But there can still be walls that must be torn down that keep us from possessing our full inheritance. A good Scriptural example of this is with Lazarus: After he was raised from the dead—a type of us being raised to a new life when we were born again—he still had his grave clothes on, to where Jesus had to tell those present to loose him and let him go (see John 11:44). This is how some of have lived our entire Christian life—spiritually alive. Sure. But still with our graveclothes on, and these graveclothes keep us from experiencing the complete freedom that is ours in Christ Jesus. Heck, in the spirit, I bet a lot of Christians look like mummies. And I want you to notice how the phrase “shut up” is used here. I understand that this was talking about how fortified Jericho was, but I just think it’s interesting how these words are used here – because one of the things that the walls in our lives can produce is shutting us up. In other words, the reason why we have such a hard time praising God in a loud, demonstrative way is because of the walls that have been erected in our lives. So, these walls need to come down. Like Israel found out how to experience this supernatural victory directly from the Lord, we need to hear from the Lord ourselves and find out how to pull these walls down once and for all. Amen? And I believe a good first step is to study this account of this Battle of Jericho and see how Israel experienced their first victory in possessing their Promised Land. What Is a Stronghold? But I want you to notice how this opening verse of this chapter says that the City of Jericho was “securely shut up” to where “none went out, and none came in.” Did you know that this as a clear description of what the Bible calls a “stronghold”? The most popular reference to this term is found in Second Corinthians chapter 10, where the apostle Paul describes the strongholds, imaginations and renegade thoughts that are to be pulled down by the anointing. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” Now this word “strongholds” was originally used in classical Greek to describe a “fortress” and then later came to describe a “prison.” And this is important to understand because I believe both of these describe the “strongholds” that even we believers can have built up in our hearts & minds: So, first of all, what is the purpose of a fortress? A fortress is used to primarily keep people out. Then this word came to describe a “prison.” So, what is a prison designed to do? A prison is used to primarily keep people in. This sounds like that opening verse of Joshua chapter 6, describing the city of Jericho, doesn’t it? So some examples of a stronghold being a “fortress” could be—if you grew up with your parents never telling you that they loved you and with them making you feel good for nothing, if you have always been rejected by your classmates throughout school, or if you have been physically abused by a loved one. If you have had any experiences like that and now have a hard time trusting people and/or being yourself, this would be considered a “fortress” (or a stronghold) in your mind that “defends” you from being hurt. In other words, a stronghold fortress is a belief system or heart attitude that keeps people from getting close to you. Now some examples of a stronghold being a “prison” could be—if you battle with depression or oppression, if you have this image of yourself as overweight, stupid, or worthless, this would be considered having a “prison” (or a stronghold) in your mind that keeps you bound where you don’t feel like you can get free. You see, strongholds are more than just drug addictions, pornographic habits, and mental sicknesses. Strongholds come in many different shapes and sizes. There are strongholds like these more apparent ones, but there are also strongholds that are less apparent, like insecurities, self-centeredness, and beliefs that are contrary to God’s Word. Most of us have some sort of stronghold in our minds whether big or small. Choosing To Follow the Instructions Now it needs to be said here that as we saw, in these verses, Paul describing the weapons of our warfare as “pulling down” strongholds, the words “pulling down” give us an indication as how they are pulled down. You see, this action verb of “pulling down” comes from Greek word which literally means “to choose down.” That’s right! When you take the words apart, you find that they come from the Greek words which mean “down” and “to choose.” So, the way we “cast down” imaginations and other proud thoughts is by simply choosing not to think like that anymore. Yes, we “pull down” strongholds by first deciding to not let that stronghold have a place in our lives ever again! You see, saints, this is the first step to “letting this mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus” and “not letting our hearts be troubled;” it is a choice—a decision to change the way we think and to adopt a new mentality. Amen! And guess what this does? By choosing a different attitude and a new frame of mind, it will cause us to experience the life of God. As Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life!” We can clearly see here today that the way we choose life is by choosing a certain way of thinking. We choose the kind of life we live by choosing the kind of thoughts we think! Selah and amen! So now, let’s move on to the good part—how we can pull these strongholds down and progress in possessing our Promised Land in Christ Jesus… Now I want you to notice the specific instructions that God gave Joshua in this story. Let’s now read verses 3-5: You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” Now these are some specific instructions, aren’t they? What this teaches me is that I need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and hear the specific battle plan that He has for me. Now, in my opinion, the most important thing to take away from these specific instructions, is how we, too, need to hear God’s specific instructions and obey them. You see, following this specific set of instructions that the Lord gave to Israel back then will not necessarily work for us today (unless, of course, He gives us this story and tells us to do it) just as it would not have worked for Israel if they would have tried it again at the next city in Canaan. But no, God had a different battle plan for every city that they were to possess. No, God has a specific battle plan for every battle and doing what we did last time or what someone else did will not cut it. We have to inquire of the Lord, hear from Him, and then do what He tells us to do, come hell or high water! This is how we get results in the kingdom of God—whatever He says for us to do, just do it! (see John 2:5). Nevertheless, I believe there are some good general lessons in this account of the Bible that will work every time for all of us! Notice what Joshua chapter 6 goes on to say in verse 6-14: Then 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, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.” So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. So, what we see here is that for 6 days, they were told to take the ark of the covenant and lead it around the walls of Jericho for 6 days, making only one pass a day for those 6 days. And the trumpets leading the ark were to be blown, but no one was supposed to say a word or make any other noise with their mouths for those 6 days. Now can you imagine how difficult that must have been? I can only assume that the people of Jericho might have been on the top of the walls harassing them, perhaps throwing rotten fruit & veggies on them. So, it must have taken great faith to not say anything, right? Likewise, it takes great faith for us many times to not open our mouth. You see, it is so easy to get in the flesh and try to win our own battles, but by telling the children of Israel things like don’t use your own words, but just let my praise be in your mouth, it shows that God wants our faith to be in Him. And why is this so important? It is because we, in ourselves, cannot make the walls come down. No, they are not going to fall because of our own power or might. It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord! Therefore, we need the power of the Holy Spirit—God’s manifest presence here on the earth—to pull these strongholds down! (Compare with Zechariah 4:6-7) So, the fact that they marched around the city for those 6 days without the people even saying a word and the ark went before them with the trumpets teaches us that biblical principle to be still and know that He is God. When we wait on the Lord, we exchange our weaknesses for His strength. And why? Because God inhabits the praises of His people (See Psalm 22:3) And now let’s look at what happened on the seventh day: Verses 15-16 go on to say, “But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” But then came this seventh day—the day that the Lord rested from all His works! So, as it is said about the Sabbath rest, we must labor to enter into that rest. Now it is time for us to do something to trigger the manifestation of His victory. And interestingly enough, on the seventh day, they were told to march around the city seven times. Sevens are wild, amen! And as we see in verse 16, “And the seventh time it happened…” So on the seventh day—the day which the Lord has made—when they obeyed in marching around the city seven times, then it happened! So, it all starts with God completing His part (seven being the number of completion) and then us laboring to enter into that rest. When we mix together God doing His complete part with us doing our complete part, then it happens! So, you might be wondering— “When is it going to happen?” When we mix faith together with God’s part! Shout It Out! Now notice that when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” Now came the part where their silence was to turn to shouting—from one extreme to the other. And notice why the Lord told them to shout. It wasn’t just to shout for nothing, but to shout for (or, because) the Lord has given you the city! In other words, the Lord was telling them to act like they would when the Lord gave them the city. But the fact is, it is already a fact—the Lord had already given them the city! Again, it might not have looked like it in the natural. The walls might still have been up. The people might still inhabit the city within those walls, but from God’s perspective, it was as good as done! Therefore, He was telling them to act on what was already a reality in the spirit. For example, if you were unable to walk right now, and then you were able to not only walk but leap, dance, and run, what would you do (i.e. how would you act)? Well, I am certain that some of you shyer people who might say, “Well, it’s just not my temperament, pastor,” would start shouting and praising God! Well, that is how the Lord wants us to act before we see it. But it is not us doing this to try and get God to do something. No, it is us acting in faith because we know that we know that we know that God has already done something. Amen? In other words, we are responding this way because we believe what we have “seen.” So, we can clearly see that we are not “shouting” as one who buffets the wind; no, we are “shouting” because something is real, true, and a fact—God has already given His promises to us! Skipping down to verse 20 and on, notice what happened: “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.” You see, this story is in the Bible to show you and I how we can take our Promised Land – because it’s important to understand that just because we have a promise from God, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be possessed by us. No, we have to possess God’s promises, and one of the ways we do so is by following His instructions. And in this case, the instructions were to know when to have our mouths shut and to know when to shout! So when it comes to strongholds in our lives, where we feel “shut up,” we can see that breaking out and shouting is the key to seeing those walls come down! Amen? As that company’s commercial used to say, some stains you got to shout out! Amen!
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