Sermonette - April 23, 2018

Breakthrough When Our Walls Fall

by Rev. Randy Hahne

Bethel Assembly of God

“Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days’” (Joshua 6:1-3).

In context, Joshua was called by God to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, and along the way there were cities to be conquered—Jericho was one of those cities. The Lord had given Joshua a specific plan: line up the priests with trumpets, put the ark in a certain spot, have armed men in front and in the back, and they were to do this a certain number of days. On the seventh day, the wall would come down and the city would be theirs.

Honestly, this has to be one of the most interesting battle plans I have ever heard of. Walking around the city, blowing trumpets, and shouting would require a great deal of faith. But these are the places God wants to take us in our life—moments that require faith. Just like the Lord told Joshua, the Lord reminds us that the battle is already won and the victory is ours. All we have to do is trust that and walk through the process in order to experience the breakthrough we have been longing for.

I enjoy working out. As I work out, I have come to discover that there are times when it gets tough and painful—times when I want to quit. Those are key moments in the process because if I stop when my legs are filling with lactic acid, I will never experience a breakthrough and will remain stuck at that level. In comparison, too many people grow tired and give up when things get painful and as a result they never experience the breakthrough God intends for them to have.

God is not in the business of making our life miserable and he does not play cruel jokes on us. However, he does want us to become more Christ-like in our life and he desires that we grow in our faith. Therefore, we can celebrate that the cross of Christ guarantees our victory. Sometimes in order to experience that breakthrough (victory) we have to walk through a process that requires faith. In what area of life do you desire breakthrough? In other words, what is behind the wall for you (joy, freedom, peace, and healing)? What obstacle or WALL is keeping you from that breakthrough (doubt, fear, hurt, a broken past, etc.)? If the walls in your life fell, what would be behind them? It is yours in Christ Jesus!