Breaking Down the Walls

Below is an extract from Sunday's sermon.  God is really challenging us in how we think not only about ourselves but about God.  There are so many things in our world, and so many experiences that we have had in our lives that hinder who we are in Christ.  These experiences and false belief systems have a huge impact on how we live our lives.  This week we looked at the issue of walls and how the walls that we build in our lives can actually hinder not only our relationship with others but more importantly our relationship with God.

Walls are important for many reasons but regardless of the wall and its type there are a couple of things that every wall has in common. Their purpose is to either keep hidden the things that are behind the wall, to keep things from getting in or to prevent things from getting out. Walls that people construct usually have a purpose and they can either be of benefit or they can be a hindrance. 

In Joshua 6 we read about one of the most famous walls in history, the wall that protected Jericho. It is thought that Jericho is the oldest city in the world. The city was inhabited by the Canaanite people, a people who enjoyed the pleasures of life. One can only imagine what was being hidden by those city walls. Jericho was also a strategic stronghold that needed to be defeated if Israel was to possess the Promised Land that Joshua was leading the people into. Jericho was also a large city surrounded by two enormous walls which were lined with soldiers and watchmen that stood at every gate. And so the walls very purpose was to keep invading armies out and to protect what was going on within the walls. Jericho was quite literally a fortress. This was the obstacle that stood in the way of the children of Israel and they had several options that they could have attempted in order to invade the city.

But God had a plan and we see that in the early verses of chapter six God speaks to Joshua and promises him that Israel will have the victory over Jericho if they follow Gods instruction perfectly. God will deliver the city into their hands. We see as the story goes on that this is exactly what happened. The people did as God had said and in an awesome shout of victory after seven days of marching around the city, the walls collapsed and Israel was able to enter safely through its walls and conquer the city. 

This event has been called by many as the battle of Jericho but it is interesting to note that at no point prior to the collapse of the walls were the armies of Israel used. No weapons or military tactics were used in bringing down the walls that defended the city. Rather, Joshua relayed God’s words to the priests of Israel and it was the priests that led the march around the walls. You see this was a spiritual battle and not a military one. God was the one that was going to win this war and not the efforts or wisdom of the people. 

Friends the war of the Christian is similar in that the battle we fight is not a military one; it is not a war that we can win by using human methods or human understanding but it is a war that requires faith and obedience. In Ephesians 6 the apostle Paul reminds us that our war is against the things of the spiritual realm but even within the spiritual realm there are walls that need to be conquered.

We have already heard how walls were used by cities to keep out the invading armies of the enemy. We have heard that often cities used walls to protect what was inside them, but I want to suggest to you today that as Christians we too can build emotional and spiritual walls within our minds and hearts to protect us from things like emotional hurt or to even hide the sin in our lives from those around us. In fact sometimes the walls that we build protect us so well that they can even hinder us from reaching our promised land.

Sometimes the walls in our own lives have been there for so long that we don’t even realize that we have built them. I wonder; have some of us here today erected walls of protection in our lives? Are there some of us here today that have been so hurt emotionally or spiritually that we vow never to be hurt again. Have we built walls in to our lives to keep people out? Or worse, have we built walls to keep God out? The problem with walls is that over time they can actually become more of a prison than an act of self-preservation. Sometimes the walls that we build into our lives and into our minds are so strong that they prevent us from experiencing all that God has to offer, and they can cause us to become entrapped in our own anger, our own bitterness, in un-forgiveness, and even in a state of low confidence and fear. If not removed these walls that we erect in order to protect ourselves will over time, actually destroy us.

In John 10 verse 10 Jesus tells us that the “thief comes to steal and destroy and that he came to give us life, and life to the full.” Sadly there are often times when the walls that we build prevent us from experiencing life to the full as well as spiritual fullness. What are the walls in your life? Are there things that you have put in place to protect you? Is there sin in your life that has caused you to build walls to hide it from those around you? Friends, walls limit movement. They trap us and project a false belief that everything is ok and that this is all there is. Are these walls preventing you from living a life of fullness? Are the walls you have built preventing you from moving forward and growing spiritually in God?

In order for Israel to be victorious over Jericho the walls protecting the city had to be brought down. Friends the only way Israel would claim freedom and were able to move forward toward the land of milk and honey was by defeating the walls that were preventing them from moving forward.

We see that in the Jericho story there were three key factors that determined the victory of Israel and they are also the three key factors that will help us break down the walls and strongholds that prevent us from moving forward in God.

The first is quite simply the promise of the Lord.

God said to Joshua that he would deliver Jericho into the hands of Israel. The victory for Israel had already been won. All the people had to do was claim the promise of victory and obey God.

Friends victorious Christians are the people who know the promises of God, because they spend time meditating on the word of God. They believe the promises of God because the Word of God generates faith in their hearts.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you about what it means to be conquerors in Christ. The message today from Joshua is similar in that God promises us victory over the walls in our lives, we are more than conquerors over these blockages because in Jesus we already have the victory; we just have to claim it.

The second key is faith.

Hebrews 11:30 tells us that “it was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down after the army had marched about the city for seven days.” In 1 John 5:4 we are told that “this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”

Charles Spurgeon once said that “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a great faith will bring heaven to your soul”

Martin Luther once said that “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. Then to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerant.”

Friends, faith was essential to victory for Israel. They had to believe more than anything else, that the promise God had given, to give them the city, was going to happen. If we are going to overcome the walls of hindrance in our lives then we must believe and receive in faith that God can handle our circumstance. Sometimes the walls we put up are too hard for us to break down on our own, but God promises that through Jesus we are able to break down the walls and strongholds in our lives. Our enemy would want us to be imprisoned behind our walls but Christ gives us hope and He wants us to overcome the things that hold us back. God is bigger than our walls and if we allow Him he will help us break free.

Finally, breaking down the walls is a process.

Walls take time to come down. It took Israel 7 days before God delivered the city into their hands. The activities of the week were a test of the Jewish people’s faith and patience. No doubt there would have been some who were anxious to get the walls down so that they could move forward and take the city. I am sure some would have even thought that the way God told them to do it was futile and a waste of time. God was teaching them patience and obedience. Friends as God helps us deal with the walls we have erected in our lives it can take time. Sometimes we just want to get rid of the blockages so that we can move forward spiritually in Christ; sometimes we don’t want to deal with the walls because we feel that we would be vulnerable without them. This all takes time especially if we have hid behind our walls for a long time. Often our prison can become the norm for us and we need to learn how to trust God as he takes us outside of our comfort zone in order to be free. Friends if you are feeling your walls are just not coming down then I want to encourage you today to hang in there. God has already given you the victory but He may be trying to teach something through the process.

Breakthrough also takes more than just time, it also takes effort. God won’t just move in and break down our walls. If we want to be free; if we want to move forward then we need to want, and work towards breaking free. As Israel marched around the city they blew their trumpets and carried the ark of God before them. So too if we are to see our walls come down then we need to keep God in front of us. We need to remain completely focused on Him and we need to be praying and praising God throughout our experience. When we do this we will at some point see breakthrough and success. Friends if we are to be truly free and if our spiritual and emotional walls are to truly come down then we cannot remain the same. We cannot keep doing the same things that we have always done and expect a different result. Freedom comes at a cost and it come by pushing into God even when we don’t feel like it.

Friends, is there a Jericho sized wall before you today that is preventing you from growing spiritually with God? Are there walls of fear, bitterness, un-forgiveness and anxiety in your life? I want to encourage you this morning by saying that God wants to set you free. There is hope in Jesus. He came that we may live life to the full and to not be imprisoned by our walls. Are you willing this morning to take a step of faith and allow God to bring down your Jericho? Is there un-forgiveness in your life that you want to be free from? Is there fear in your life that you want God to tear down? Is there un-repented sin that is preventing you from fully immersing yourself in the presence of God? If there is then you need to trust that God is able to set you free. It may take some time and it will certainly require you to act in faith. If we are going to break free from the prison walls then we will need to change what we have always done.

"Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands..."

Joshua 6:2

We are trapped by what we believe

The following is an excerpt from a message a preached a few weeks ago.

In Proverbs 23:7 we are told:

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”(NKJV)

It has only been in recent years that this verse, Proverbs 23:7 has made sense to me. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”


I wonder, has there ever been a time in your life when you knew that God was calling you to do something? But because of fear and self doubt you chose not to do it? Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt led to do something by the Spirit and you did it, and then a little later doubt creeps into your mind as to whether you have done the right thing or not? For years I had run away from my calling but when I said to God that I would enter into full time ministry the peace I experienced was amazing and I felt great; but then after a few days the enemy showed up and I started thinking about everything that had happened in my past and how great my job was and I started doubting what God had called me to do. I started telling myself that there was no way I could do what He wanted me to do. Why would God want to use me? He must have made a mistake; I am not smart enough or talented enough. I want to say to you that as soon as I started thinking like that, I had opened the door for Satan to start causing problems for me. You see for me the battle of the mind has been, and still is an issue. It has prevented me in the past from doing the things I have wanted to do and if I am not careful it will prevent me from doing what God has planned for my life and what He has called me to do. It will hinder me from growing in God and experiencing Him to the fullest in my life. Satan knows this is a vulnerable area in my life and I am sure for many of you also. He constantly attacks my mind trying to bring me down, trying to inject doubt and fear into my thought patterns and trying to distract me out of the will of God. I want to say to you this morning that the Devil will always tear down, he will always condemn and he will always sow seeds of negativity and doubt into your mind.

You see God uses our past experiences and our current ones to mold us, to strengthen us and to teach us. Satan uses those same experiences, especially the tough ones and the ones where we may have failed in the past to destroy us. He tries to discredit us before God by accusing us and he tries to remind us of our past failures in the hope of causing us to doubt and to step out of the will of God. Sometimes he even works through other people to sow these seeds of doubt.

Have you ever told someone an idea that you knew God had told you only to find yourself being told by another that it can’t be done, it will never happen? Or we don’t have the resources or the talent to do it? Or we have tried that before and it didn’t work. Friends I want to tell you today that when we hear stuff like this I want to say to you that this is not from God. If God has called you to it then He will make it come to pass. The devil constantly lives in the past whereas God looks to the future; encouraging us to be what He has created us to be and encouraging us to strive for a better future filled with hope, peace and possibility.

In Romans 8:31 we are reminded of an amazing promise of reassurance that “if God is for us who can be against us?” And that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Satan comes to steal our joy, our hope, our peace and our faith that we have in Christ. He plants seeds of doubt and fear in our minds in the hope that we will just give up and walk away from our God given purpose. You know whenever we make a choice to live for Christ these attacks will inevitably come. Satan does not want us to do what God has called us to.

This is why we should always give thanks to God in every circumstance and to sing praises to our father in heaven. We need to keep our mind focused on God and the things of Heaven. Satan cannot get a foothold in our hearts and minds when we are praising God. I don’t know about you but for me the battle in my mind is a constant thing and often I can feel very negative about myself and my ability. But when you feel negative you start to speak negative and then you start to act negative and if you’re not careful the atmosphere you can create will affect everyone around you. If God is going to be able to move us forward then we have to guard our thoughts and our words.

This last year has been especially hard for me as the enemy has tried to make me give up. He has told me that it is just too hard and he has tried to make me doubt that I could ever be effective as a minister. Our enemy would have us believe that we are useless, that we are not talented enough or have the skills that God needs for us to do what God has called us to do and I would say to you this morning that when we get thoughts like that it is just a lie of the enemy.

When God called me to ministry this is exactly what happened. You see in the past, when things got hard, my response was always to run. To give up and throw in the towel before I had even given it a go. Why? Because it was easier to do that. The enemy regularly tries to get me out of the will of God by telling me that I am no good and that the ministry is not the place for me. He tries to remind me of my childhood and my past experiences. He tries to convince me that what I have to say is not important and because I failed at school, how could I ever expect to do well at studying the word of God. He tries to convince me that I can’t pray because people will judge me or I won’t have the right words to say. But greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Friends, when God calls us He will never ask us to do something that we are not capable of doing and that He is not willing to resource us in. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11 God says: “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”” What a great promise.

I love what Paul reminds us of in 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31(NIV) when he says:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Satan is right about one thing, I can’t do it!, on my own. But when Jesus enables me to do it and it is His will for my life, I can do all things. If God had said to me seven years ago that He wanted me to enter the ministry I would have run. He knew that it was not the right time for me then.

You know God does not care how smart we are, how many degrees we have. How much money or talent we have. All He asks is that when He calls us to do something that we are obedient and trust Him and to allow Him to do what He needs to do in us. Then all things are possible through Him who gives us strength and He will give us what we need to do His will. When Jesus selected His disciples who did He pick? Twelve ordinary men. And look what He was able to do through them. They changed the world. Why was that? Because they were willing to be used by Him.

You know the verses in Romans 8 are probably the most reassuring of all the verses in the bible. My favourite verse is probably verse 37 when Paul says: That we are" more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Did you hear that? We are more than conquerors because we are children of God. Friends our relationship with God and the Holy Spirit allows us to take authority over the stuff that has tried for so long to control us. When we receive Christ as our Lord and saviour we are able to overcome everything that the enemy can throw at us through the power of the Holy Spirit. If God is for us then it doesn’t matter who is against us because scripture says that we are loved by God and we will be victorious in Jesus name. God’s love will protect us from anything that has taken place in our past and we no longer have to be bound by past experiences. You know the devil will try and limit our ability by reminding us of our past. If people pleasing and fear has been an issue for us before then that is what the enemy will use to hinder us. Maybe we are bound by addiction, self doubt, a lack of confidence, negative talk or self-sabotage. Whatever it is we can be free from it through the power of the Holy Spirit. You know there are times when the battle rages and I want to encourage you that when that time comes (and it will come), push into God. Spend time in prayer, read and reflect on those scripture within the bible that remind you of the victory that you have in Christ and of the strength and the peace that He brings. Paul reminds us in Philippians four to think of the good things, the heavenly things. When the difficulties come call on a friend to pray with you. Play your favourite praise and worship songs and seek out God. The devil cannot infiltrate our minds when we are completely focused on Jesus.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Romans 8:31