Confronting The Jericho Syndrome
Joshua 5:10 On the evening of the
fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho,
the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that
very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and
roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after[d] they ate this food from the
land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate
the produce of Canaan.
13 Now when Joshua was near
Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword
in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our
enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as
commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown
to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have
for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s
army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is
holy.” And Joshua did so.
Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of
the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered
Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March
around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven
priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day,
march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5
When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give
a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up,
everyone straight in.”
Verse 1 is
parenthetical intended to place into perspective the reassuring instructions
that the angel was about to give to Joshua.
God had already promised him victory: Josh. 1:5 No
one will be able to stand against you all the days of your
life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never
leave you nor forsake you.
The Targum says
with iron doors, and bars of brass… from a human perspective it was an
impossible victory for the Israelites.
WHAT’S YOUR JERICHO TODAY?
JERICHO AS AN ALLEGORY OF OUR HEART – TRAPS THOSE WHO HURT US
AND REFUSES TO TRUST ANYONE ELSE (LET ANYONE ELSE IN)
RECORDING ARTISTE OMARION: Girl I Really Wanna
Work This Out, Cause I'm Tired Of Fighting
And I Really Dont Understand The Meaning The Way I
Want You
Said I Really Wanna Work This Out, Damn Girl I'm
Tryin
There Is No Excuse, No Excuse
(But I Got This) Icebox Where My Heart Use To Be
(But I Got This) Icebox Where My Heart Use To Be
(Said I Got It)
I'm So Cold, I'm So Cold, I'm So Cold, I'm So
Cold(Nooooo)
I'm So Cold, I'm So Cold, I'm So Cold
(But I Got This) Icebox Where My Heart Use To Be
(Said I Got This) Icebox Where My Heart Use To Be
JERICHO AS AN ALLEGORY OF A CLOSED MIND
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices,
they all rushed at him,58 dragged him out of the
city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their
coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Acts 26: 20ff
I preached that they should
repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.21 That
is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill
me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I
stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond
what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that
the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the
dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the
Gentiles.”
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of
your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you
insane.”
25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What
I am saying is true and reasonable.26 The king is
familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced
that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a
corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the
prophets? I know you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time
you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
29 Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you
but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these
chains.”
30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and
those sitting with them.
We all come with our preconceptions, our prior
knowledge, our worldview… but a closed mind is dangerous. We have to be willing to let some knowledge
go out and allow some in.
Unlearning…
Relearning…
Learning…
JERICHO AS AN ALLEGORY OF THE CHURCH – Locked up inside a with a strong sense of self adequacy while Jesus
is outside knocking.
Rev. 3: 14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the
following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation: 15 ‘I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold
or hot! 16 So
because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out
of my mouth! 17 Because
you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing,” but do
not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, 18 take
my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from
me white clothing so you can be clothed and your
shameful nakedness will not be
exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see! 19 All
those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! 20 Listen!
I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.
JERICHO AS AN ALLEGORY OF SELECTIVE
EVANGELISM:
What if we only let in some kinds of
persons and others are not welcome…
Luke 7: 36 When one of the Pharisees invited
Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at
the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a
sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came
there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet
weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her
hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to
himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and
what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
No one going out to those kinds of persons and
none of those kinds of persons coming in
•
Ask yourself a
few questions:
– What constitutes most of the activity and
preaching in your Church?
– Does your Church do the same kind of things that
Jesus did?
– Do you find the kind of people that Jesus welcomed
in your Church (i.e., people on the margins of society)?
– When you listen to the people in your Church, or
your pastor’s sermons, do they sound like the kind of things that Jesus would
say?
– Is your Church actively establishing God’s Kingdom
in your community?
If we think of the Church
as a celebration service that only happens in a building on Sundays, then Jesus
doesn’t fit the model. We
certainly won’t be able to call him ‘Pastor Jesus’….
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