Joshua 10:5-14 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up,
they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war
against it. (6) And the men of Gibeon sent unto
Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy
servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the
kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together
against us. (7) So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he,
and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of
valour. (8) And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear
them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a
man of them stand before thee. (9) Joshua therefore
came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
(10) And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew
them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way
that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto
Makkedah. (11) And it came to pass, as they fled
from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the
LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they
died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the
children of Israel slew with the sword. (12) Then
spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the
Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of
Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the
valley of Ajalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and
the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their
enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood
still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole
day. (14) And there was no day like that before it
or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the
LORD fought for Israel.
Israel entered the promised land under the leadership of Joshua after
Moses died.
- Moses took them
out of Egypt with the Passover Lamb when Pharaoh was defeated.
- This speaks to us
about a person getting saved from sin and set free from bondage.
- Then Israel
passed through 40 years of wilderness and Joshua took over and led them
into their own land.
- There they would
actually rule and live in a Kingdom of their own.
As much as the Passover lamb and its shed blood saved Israel out of
Egypt, to allow Israel to come to their OWN LAND and rule it, Jesus
Christ was like that Passover Lamb for us.
- His blood was
shed to free us from sin.
- Every Christian
and every church understands that Jesus’ shed blood saves us
from sin.
- Israel put
Passover lamb blood on their doorways so the death angel could not slay
their firstborn.
- Egyptians and
Pharaoh did not have that blood on their doors, so Pharaoh’s
firstborn was killed.
- This broke the
back of Egypt and Pharaoh finally gave in and let Israel go after
stubbornly refusing time and time again.
- The blood of
Jesus broke the back of the devil in a similar sense.
When Jesus died, He took our sins.
- All the sins we
committed were thrown into Him and He took the death penalty we should
have taken.
- And this takes us
back to Adam.
- Adam was sinless
when God created him, and it was not until Adam committed sin that he
was cast from the Garden of Eden.
- So when our sins
are taken away by the death of Jesus on the cross, we are essentially
in the same position Adam was before he sinned.
- But there is
something more to being freed from sin.
- When Adam was
sinless he was also given dominion over the earth.
- He was a man of
KINGDOM POWER.
- This lets us know
that those who had their sins removed by the cross of Jesus in faith
ALSO HAVE KINGDOM POWER!
- If the removal of
our sins put us in the place of Adam when he was sinless, and Adam was
in KINGDOM POWER when he was sinless, then WE ARE IN KINGDOM POWER!
- But
it’s like we have to come to this realization over a period
of time and GROW to understand and appreciate it.
- In fact, the
pattern of being freed from sins and their guilt, and rejoicing in
that, and then learning that we are supposed to now have KINGDOM POWER
and start conquering enemies is found in the Exodus story.
- Israel was freed
from Egypt, and that is great.
- They rejoiced in
that newfound freedom.
- BUT GOD HAD THEM
TRAVEL THROUGH A WILDERNESS AND COME TO THE LAND HE GAVE THEM FOR THEIR
OWN KINGDOM.
- That wilderness
is like the LEARNING PERIOD we require in order to go past just knowing
we are freed from sin, and on our way to heaven, to DOING SOMETHING IN
KINGDOM POWER IN THIS WORLD and conquering devils and defeating evil.
Christians can be freed from sin, but never CONQUER EVIL!
Just going to church and never seeing the supernatural work in their
lives and actually gain territory for the kingdom of God.
We need to take advantage of the fact that our position of being free
from sin means we are KINGS IN A KINGDOM and start destroying the works
of the devil and take THE EARTH BACK!
- What are we doing
clapping and jumping up and down about our sins being removed by the
cross when our cities and towns are being run over with sin and
iniquity and demonic influences?
- LET US TAKE BACK
THE PROMISED LAND!
- Our promised land
IS THE EARTH!
Way back in Abram’s time, that man was IN THE LAND promised
to him.
Genesis 15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
But listen to the interesting words God gave to Abram.
Genesis 15:13-16 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety
that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and
shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred
years; (14) And also that nation, whom they shall
serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great
substance. (15) And thou shalt go to thy fathers in
peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. (16)
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
His people will come forth from him as a nation and be a stranger in a
land that is not theirs.
- Here Abram was IN
A LAND THAT WAS HIS.
- But time would
pass when his people would be in a land THAT IS NOT THEIRS.
- SOMEONE ELSE
WOULD OWN THAT LAND.
- They would be
afflicted 400 years and then COME OUT OF THAT LAND WITH GREAT SUBSTANCE.
- This land was
EGYPT.
- In the fourth
generation HIS PEOPLE WOULD RETURN TO THE LAND ABRAM WAS THEN PRESENTLY
STANDING IN.
And then God said something that is very significant!
- God had Abram in
the land already.
- But he would
allow Abram’s descendants to go into another
people’s land and even be afflicted, and bring them back into
Abram’s land again.
- And the reason He
would bring them back in FOUR GENERATIONS was because HE WANTED TO DEAL
WITH SOMETHING that was only brewing in Abram’s day.
- THE INIQUITY OF
THE AMORITES.
God did not want to leave Abram in that land and see his descendants
born and raised there.
- There were
Amorites in that land who were evil people.
- So God would
remove Abram’s people from that land and actually allow the
iniquity of those Amorites to INCREASE.
- God would not
only give Israel that land to enjoy, but God arranged a timeline of
Israel leaving the land entering Egypt and then coming out again so
that WHEN HE WOULD BRING THEM IN, HE WOULD KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE
STONE.
- He would not only
give the land to the people to inherit, but would ONLY DO SO AT THE
VERY PRECISE MOMENT IN WHICH the iniquity of the Amorites would have
risen to such a level that it was considered FULL.
- He would let that
sin rise up and come to its greatest apex of evil.
- AND THEN, at THAT
PRECISE TIME IN HISTORY, He would lead Israel into the land AND WIPE
OUT THOSE SINNERS AND CRUSH THAT EVIL at the same time.
In Joshua, 10 where we read of the supernatural events under
Joshua’s leadership, we read Israel faces AMORITES IN THE
LAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Joshua 10:5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up,
they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war
against it.
According to God’s words to Abram in Gen. 15, Israel would
return when the iniquity of the Amorites was FULL.
- This means that
when sin was at its greatest peak, JOSHUA ALSO ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING
THAT WAS UNPRECEDENTED BEFORE OR SINCE!
Joshua 10:11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before
Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast
down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died:
they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children
of Israel slew with the sword.
Joshua 10:13-14 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,
until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this
written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of
heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
(14) And there was no day like that before it or after it,
that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought
for Israel.
God hearkened to a man and fought for Israel, by causing hailstones to
fall on their enemy, and Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand
still.
It is no coincidence that when SIN WAS AT ITS GREATEST ZENITH, THE
POWER OF GOD MOVED IN A WAY THAT WAS UNPRECEDENTED BEFORE OR SINCE.
Romans 5:20 …But where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound:
THE DAY LASTED TWICE AS LONG AS A NORMAL DAY.
THIS WAS A DOUBLE PORTION OF DAYLIGHT!
The reason Joshua commanded the sun to stop was because he knew the
enemy would get away otherwise.
- And there was
something else that was vitally important.
- After we read he
defeated the enemy as the day was twice as long as normal, HE HANGED
THE FIVE KINGS.
Joshua
10:24-27 And it came to pass, when they brought out those
kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and
said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come
near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near,
and put their feet upon the necks of them. (25) And
Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good
courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye
fight. (26) And afterward Joshua smote them, and
slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon
the trees until the evening. (27) And it came to
pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded,
and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave
wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth,
which remain until this very day.
The kings were put under the feet of the captains.
- They were slain.
- AND JOSHUA HANGED
THEM.
- Then he took them
down and put them in a cave with stones rolled in the mouth of the cave.
When they hanged people in the bible days, it was not by the NECK.
- The gibbeted
them, or hanged them by their hands, or even impaled them on a pole.
- But it is a
HANGING SIMILAR TO JESUS having been CRUCIFIED.
There are THREE THINGS that are related to Jesus Christ’s
victory.
- Jesus hanged on a
tree called the cross.
- He was put in a
tomb with a stone rolled over its entrance.
- He sat down on
the throne to have his enemies to be put under his feet.
Joshua put the enemies under their feet.
- He slew and then
HANGED the kings.
- He put the kings
in a cave with stones over its entrance.
And there was something important that was associated with HANGING
people that helps explain why he had to command the sun to stand still.
Joshua 10:27 And it came to pass at the time of the going
down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the
trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid
great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 And if a man have committed a sin worthy
of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a
tree: (23) His body shall not remain all night upon
the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is
hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the
LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
The reason we read at the going down of the sun the hanged people had
to be removed and buried was because Moses said you cannot leave a body
hanging past sunset overnight, lest it defile the land.
IT HAS TO BE REMOVED WHILE IT IS STILL DAYLIGHT.
- So Joshua not
only required more DAYLIGHT than would normally occur in order to
defeat the enemies, but HE HAD TO HANG THE ENEMIES AS WELL.
- For at nightfall,
no hanging was allowed.
- THIS SHOWS A
POWERFUL MESSAGE.
LIGHT represents TRUTH.
- When you receive
a revelation from God and have a powerful experience of ENLIGHTENMENT
OF TRUTH, it is when the SPIRIT OF GOD is able to get something through
to you.
- What hinders us
from Him getting something through to us is our fleshliness and doubt
and unbelief.
- When the Spirit
cannot get truth through to us while because we are too fleshly minded,
we cannot have faith.
- Faith comes from
hearing the WORD OF GOD.
- Whenever God is
able to get something through to you, it is because you have
successfully gotten out of your fleshliness and opened up your heart to
hear from God.
- THAT IS WHEN YOU
GET FAITH!
- If we open our
hearts when the Word of God is preached, or when you read the bible, or
even a Christian book written by someone who heard from God, YOUR HEART
CAN BE GIVEN LIGHT.
- And when that
happens, YOU GET FAITH exploding in your soul!
- And when you have
that faith, it is THEN that you are able to conquer the enemy.
We can only conquer the enemy through the power of God’s
Spirit.
- And His power
cannot work unless we have FAITH.
- And we cannot
have faith unless the Spirit can get a revelation through to us.
- So when we open
our hearts and receive the WORD, LIGHT SHINES ON US.
- Since this light
is truth and creates faith in our hearts so we can believe God for
anything, it is then that WE EXUDE WHAT IT TAKES FOR GOD’S
POWER TO BE UPON US so we can conquer enemies.
- So we could say
that WE CAN ONLY WORK OR DO SOMETHING WHILE IT IS DAY.
- THAT MEANS WE CAN
ONLY HAVE POWER OF HIS SPIRIT ON US TO CONQUER ENEMIES WHILE WE HAVE
REVELATION FROM GOD AND IT IS CREATING FAITH IN OUR HEARTS.
- We can do nothing
significant or anything that can hurt the enemy when we remain in our
fleshly power.
- But as soon as we
hear TRUTH and REVELATION from God, or LIGHT SHINING ON US, THAT WORD
AND LIGHT creates faith that causes us to act in the power of the
Spirit of God!
The reason the defeating of the enemy, putting him under our feet, the
enemy’s hanging and putting him in a tomb-like cave with
stones rolled over it, MUST BE DONE BEFORE NIGHTFALL is because GOD IS
GIVING US A MESSAGE THAT ONLY WHILE WE HAVE LIGHT OF REVELATION TRUTH
SHINING IN OUR HEARTS, can we CONQUER ENEMIES AND RULE IN THIS KINGDOM
OF GOD!
But its more than just having light.
- Many people have
received light from God and revelation, but they are not conquering
enemies like they could.
- But there is a
REVELATION and a LIGHT OF TRUTH that conquers enemies!
- IT IS DOUBLE
PORTION LIGHT!
A double portion is TWO PEOPLE’S portions.
- Kingdom power is
always represented in the bible by DOUBLE PORTION.
- Elisha had a
double portion of Elijah’s anointing and did things the sons
of the prophets were not doing.
Jesus died on the cross and now sits on the throne of God.
- He awaits his
enemies to become his footstool.
- But Jesus sat
there after HE DIED IN YOUR PLACE, WAS BURIED IN YOUR PLACE and
RESURRECTED IN YOUR PLACE.
- You see, the
double portion revelation is more than knowing JESUS DIED.
- If you can
receive everything the bible has to say about the cross of Jesus, you
would know that YOU DIED WITH HIM.
- YOU WERE BURIED
WITH HIM AND RESURRECTED WITH HIM.
- You were also
seated together with Him on THAT RIGHT HAND THRONE.
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin.
Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye
are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead.
Ephesians 2:5-6 Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
(6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
So when you see YOURSELF seated there with Him, you have a DOUBLE
PORTION REVELATION.
- And the great
thing about the double portion revelation is that not only do you know
Jesus is on the KINGDOM THRONE, BUT YOU ARE THERE WITH HIM.
- That means YOU
CAN RULE WITH JESUS NOW.
- YOU CAN COMMAND!
People who only know they were set free from sin will never really
conquer devils and live in KINGDOM DOMINION because they only see a
single portion revelation.
- They only see one
person on the throne – Jesus.
- But to see YOU
AND JESUS TOGETHER is a double portion revelation, and YOU REALIZE YOU
CAN RULE AND CONQUER, TOO!!
THAT IS WHY THE DAY WHEN JOSHUA HAD TO CONQUER THESE FIVE KINGS, PUT
THEM UNDER HIS FEET, HANG THEM AND PUT THEM IN A TOMB like Jesus
experienced, WAS A DOUBLE PORTION DAY WITH TWICE AS MUCH DAYLIGHT THAN
NORMAL.
You cannot defeat KINGS of the devil UNTIL YOU GET A DOUBLE PORTION
REVELATION That you and Jesus are seated together on the same right
hand throne.
- When you see YOU
AND JESUS THERE TOGETHER, you realize THRONE KINGDOM POWER IS FOR YOU!
- That
automatically leads you to realize YOU CAN START CONQUERING NOW.
Hanging the enemy is a powerful truth.
Because the cross set us free from sin, it put us in the position Adam
had WHILE HE WAS KING.
- That means it was
because of the cross that YOU HAVE KINGDOM POWER.
- The cross that
took away your sin is the whole reason you are in KINGDOM POWER NOW.
- So when you
defeat enemies because you received DOUBLE PORTION REVELATION LIGHT
that you are ruling with Jesus on His throne, IN EFFECT YOU HANGED THE
ENEMIES.
- You used the
power of the cross that put you in the Kingdom on the throne with Jesus
to defeat the enemy.
- Therefore, since
the cross put you there, you can say you HANGED THE ENEMY by the cross.
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