Go and take the city!
Spies Sent to Jericho
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, “Behold, certain men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring forth the men that have come to you, who entered your house; for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; and she said, “True, men came to me, but I did not know where they came from;
5 and when the gate was to be closed, at dark, the men went out; where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords; and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
Go and take the city!
10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any man, because of you; for the Lord your God is he who is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
This past weekend, God spoke this word to me in prayer. I asked Him, “What are you doing?” God said, “Go take the city.” Our church has passed through its Red Sea experience.
The Red Sea’s name is derived from the color changes observed in its waters. Normally, the Red Sea is an intense blue-green. Occasionally, however, it is populated by extensive blooms of algae which, upon dying off, turn the sea a reddish-brown color.
In order to pass through the Red Sea, you have to come out of Egypt. Tell someone, “I will never be a slave to Egypt again!!!” The first thing a new convert wants to do is go tell someone what God has done for them.
“When you say we are having a prayer meeting,” they say, “count me in.” They didn’t ask what day are you going to do it on. They don’t say, “You know, I need to check my schedule.”
God said, “Go and take the city!”
Jericho taken and destroyed.” When the man of God says, “March,” you march.
Joshua 6:1-5
1 Now Jericho was shut up from within and from without because of the people of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor.
3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; and on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets.
5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as 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 every man straight before him.”
March means march. The only thing you can do is march. Pray means pray. There’s a time to shout, and there’s a time to fight. You cannot take Jericho on your own strength. I believe this church has come across its Red Sea.
We are blood-washed and Holy Ghost-filled. Now we stand before Jericho, and the king of Jericho isn’t surrendering. We will have to take the city. “Somebody say, ‘Pastor, don’t you know there are giants in that country?'”
In America, we have allowed the giants to take over. Let me remind you, even a giant has to crawl before he walks. If we will stop the giants at the gates, we won’t have to deal with them in our schools. Let the gatekeepers rise up and take the city. Let the prophets rise up with a word from God.
Proverbs 18:21 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
I have some giant killers in this house,” you said. “Who, me?” “Yes, I’m talking to you.” “We all start on our knees. A giant killer starts on his knees, and through prayer, we find the strength of Samson. I prophesy to you that the strength of Samson is coming to you.
Hear me, there are giant killers in this house who have the heart of David. You will step in front of your giant with a sling and a stone. Can you hear the charge of the Holy One as He says, ‘Rise up and take the city’?
Rise up and take the city.”
The Apostle Paul was on a ship bound for Rome. However, a storm took them into the deep. The devil thought to kill the apostle, but Paul had a destiny on his life and he would not die. Not only did he survive, but he also managed to save 288 people.
Paul stood on the deck of the ship, a giant killer. Are you someone who remains calm in a crisis, or do you tend to panic? Do you face crises with courage and composure, or do you become anxious and lose your appetite? When storms break in life, what is your natural instinct?
Rise up and take the city!
With God’s help, we can have the courage and confidence needed during times of crisis. These are the same qualities that Paul possessed when he was caught in a terrible storm while in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea; he learned to crawl before he walked.
It’s time to get some stability. God is raising up prophets and prayer warriors who wage war on their knees and will not be stopped.
The Holy Ghost has said, “Rise up and take the city!”
If you are lost today, we are reaching out to you. Hell has been fighting for you, but so is this church.
Hell is coming for our children, but this Holy Ghost-filled church is taking ground that has never before been contested.
Rise up and take the city.
Will you push back? How long are you going to live with open sin between you and God? It’s time to get rid of that double mind. You can’t live for God one day a week. Jesus didn’t die just to set your spirit man free; he died for your physical body too. If you didn’t have a physical body, you wouldn’t need a spiritual one. Every house is different, just like the body you’re living in, which God made. Do you realize that your body is a sacred place? The Holy Spirit resides within it. You can’t live however you please and squander what God paid such a high price for. The physical part of you isn’t just some property that belongs to the spiritual part of you; God owns the entire thing. Let people see God through and in your body.