Joshua 5:13-15 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? Neither, he replied, but as commander of the army of The Lord I have now come. Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, What does my Lord have for his servant? The commander of the Lords army replied, Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. Read Joshua 6. One of the Bibles most dramatic stories about the power of praise is found in the fall of Jericho. Imagine what the inhabitants of Jericho thought as they felt the huge walls of their city crumbling into the dust. And why was it falling? Not because of an earthquake. But because of shouts and praises to God! When even one person praises God, the earth shakes and prisoners are set free. Singing of Gods awesome power is a form of spiritual warfare. Back to Joshua and the Israelites. Joshua had taken over command of the Israelites after Moses died. So it fell to him to take the people into the Promised Land, the place theyd been aiming for as they wandered the desert for forty years. Now their time had come. The manna no longer fell with the morning dew, because God was about to feed them from the fat of the land in Canaan. The only problem was that the first city they came to-Jericho-was already occupied. And the inhabitants of Jericho had other ideas about handing over their city to a bunch of desert wanderers. God had a unique plan for delivering Jericho into the hands of His people. He told Joshua and his fighting men to march around the city once every day for six days, led by the priests. On the seventh day, the people would circle the city seven times, and on the seventh time-after the priests gave a loud blast of their trumpets-they were to shout with all their might to The Lord. As the old song says, The walls came a tumbling down. The supernatural power came not just from a physical shout but also from the Israelites obedience to God. When they did what He asked them to do, no matter how foolish they felt, the miraculous happened. Lets be clear: Not everyone who worships God is delivered from persecution. There are numerous stories of followers of Jesus who have been led to their execution while singing praise songs. When we think of the mighty acts God has done-and will do-when songs of praise are lifted high, we no longer think of hymns as boring or choruses as repetitive. Worship is a powerful instrument in the hands of a Jesus Freak! Live and Love like Jesus, King of Kings, 24/7 365
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 20:32:17 +0000
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