Taking the Big One First

As the Israelites were healing from their circumcision at Gilgal, a strong-walled city lay right before them. The heaven-inspired strategy to take Jericho was on its way. Joshua had forty years to come up with a strategy to take the strongest city in the Promised Land. He had viewed the city forty years earlier when he was a young man. Now, it lay before them. Should they take the big one first? It was impossible to ignore because it lay directly in their way of entering the rest of the land.

There are strongholds in our lives that should be addressed first so we can more effectively enter the rest of our Promised Land. Sometimes our lack of faith causes us to focus on the smaller things and make excuses for the bigger ones. For some of us there is that besetting sin we are always making excuse for. Scripture tells us we have died to sin and are in Christ. We cannot blame our sin on our old man anymore. He died. Sure, we are capable of sin but we are not to continue to use the crutch of being human as a license to sin. Sometimes we arrogantly confess that we have a besetting sin. In our mind, we trick ourselves to believe it is only “our weakness” – “because everyone has one and it’s no big deal.” The stronghold needs to come down. It will be such a testimony to those around us as they see a new creation and new creature in Christ. (See Galatians 6:15 and II Corinthians 5:17)

The most formidable stronghold of the Appalachian Mountains is the Religious Spirit. By that, I mean useless religious activity and beliefs without intimate relationship with Christ. When I talk of religious activity, I’m not specifically referring to traditional activity or forms of structure within churches. It is not those who use bulletins, or more rituals, or have more order than we do that we label as religious. Even the most traditional communion service can be powerful because Christ can be recognized powerfully in the breaking of bread.

Let me give a few examples of what I do mean when I talk about “religious” activity. It is not uncommon for me to go to funerals and hear that the KJV is the only version that is right and anyone who reads anything else is going to hell. This angers me because I have spent some valuable time in some other nations such as Kenya, Africa and their Bible is written in Swahili. For an ignorant speaker to stand and tell me these people that I have labored amongst are going to hell because of the translation in which they read the Bible is ludicrous to me. It causes holy anger to rise up in me. It makes me want to turn some tables over and use some whips. Another religious mindset in our region concerns women in ministry. The ministry of women is still suppressed here in the name of religion. Women bring more emphasis on the heart while men often focus on rules. If we continue to suppress women and their callings we will continue to be legalistic. What people wear and especially what they wear to church is a big deal in religious circles in these mountains. Escapist mentality is prominent in this region. It hinders tons of believers from occupying the Promised Land now. If we are always only thinking of the “hereafter – when we will escape this old world,” then how can we faithfully take hold of what God has given us now? The religious mindset in these mountains is one of denominationalism and isolation. Because of our Scotch-Irish heritage we have become a culture of isolation. We have a clan mindset that causes us to separate and divide and then gather around religious ideas and opinions. The worst part of all is that we seem to enjoy these negative, binding mindsets. We don’t seem to see any other way. We love to dance with our demons. We sing about our depression. Shall I continue? Bad religion is bad religion. It grips a region and holds it captive – and the walls are thick.

The walls of Jericho were so thick that they built houses upon the walls. Rahab lived in one of these houses. She was redeemed and was blessed to be part of the lineage of the Messiah. No matter how thick the walls of bad religion trail through these mountains they are coming down. I recently had a vision of the Great Wall of China (that once divided so much of that nation) weaving its way through these Appalachian Mountains. I looked at this mighty wall understanding that the original wall in China was so wide that people traveled upon it. I recalled the scripture where Jesus said the way to destruction is wide. This wall is so destructive. However, the good news is…. It is coming down! Proclaimed Revelatory Truth will bring it down. Piece by piece it will crumble. The very foundation is beginning to shatter. Like the Berlin Wall, there will be those who take sledge-hammers to it, and with joy, bring it down. What a time to live! You and I were born for such a time as this…. to bring down the big one.

David, as a young man, heard about Goliath and his threats to the nation of Israel. He made the journey to where his brothers were at war with the Philistines. It just so happened that Goliath, their most formidable giant, came out and made his boast while David was visiting. While others stood back in fear, David questioned why they allowed such a one to even have a platform. He brought him down with the simple strategy of a smooth rock flying from his sling and then cutting off the head of the giant with his own sword. David went for the big one first and then all the others ran. Is this not the way God works? Is this not the way Holy Spirit through inspired scripture is teaching us to live? These are examples and testimonies to the power of the Living God. As the stronghold of bad religion is broken down in the region, the rest will run. The little ones may regroup later, but only to be taken down thereafter, because the big one is history.

A man appears to Joshua (Joshua 5) and tells him that He is Captain of the Host of the Lord. Their conversation continues in Joshua 6 and it is evident that the man is the Lord Himself or the pre-incarnate Christ. The Lord shares with Joshua the plan that will cause the strongest city to fall. The amazing thing and lesson for us to learn is that Joshua willingly surrendered whatever military preparations he had to the declared will of God. We, likewise, must continually surrender all our careful preparations we have made in exchange for new plans or strategies the Lord reveals to us. This deadens the soulish part of us that loves to be in control.

For Jericho, the strategy was different and simple. They would march around the city for six days, once a day. On the seventh day they would march seven times around the city. Seven priests would carry seven trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant. On their last time around they would shout and the walls would come down. There was the promise of certain and easy victory. The Lord told Joshua that He was giving into his hand, the city, the King and the mighty men of valor. It is believed that men had gathered from all seven nations of Canaan. They were there to protect the interests of their nation. They had stored up provisions and were determined to defend themselves to the uttermost. They were all destroyed with the city. There were lots of resounding effects of this fall. Fear went throughout the land. The big one had fallen and the smaller ones were taking notice.

The march began and the people fell into cadence. An entire week passed. The longevity deepened several things. It showed the enemy the divine omnipotence of God. It taught the Israelites faith and confidence in the promises of God. It brought deeper reverence and respect for the Ark of His Presence that went before them each day. Somewhere in this week was a Sabbath and still they marched, breaking the traditional rules of Sabbath travel. Much like David who would later eat the bread that only Priests ate and like Jesus’ disciples went into the fields on the Sabbath, it looked like they were breaking the rules. Did they really break the rules or did they step outside their time and through vision take hold of future promises that allowed them to walk in obedience in a different way? Jesus said that the law and prophets were fulfilled in Him. Did they behold this Day-Star arising in their vision and allow their intimacy with their God to take them farther than the letter of the law could ever take them?

This is the challenge of each generation to go farther and even step into the shadows of the next season. Most consider Heaven to be the next major transition of our life. If this is so, and rightly so it is, then why not pull from Heaven’s way of life now? Paul said we have been made to sit with Christ in heavenly places. Jesus instructed us to ask for His will to be done on the earth as it is in heaven. We have every right to pull from heaven’s ways right now. As some remarkable men and women of the Old Covenant pulled from beyond the cross, we must pull from beyond death and bring Heaven to Earth.

There was one major command that the Israelites were given. They were not to take anything from the city. They were not to covet the things they found there. Only the gold, silver, bronze and iron were to be saved and put in the treasury of the Lord. When Achan took a Babylonian garment, some silver and some gold, he caused setback for the entire nation. For the remnant who chooses to be set apart in this season, we must refuse to take anything from the stronghold. Realizing the great stronghold is bad religion we must continually check ourselves to see if we have taken anything with us from that stronghold. This will require regular checkups. The Religious Spirit is a subtle spirit and has many forms. Opening our hearts (circumcised hearts) to Revelatory Truth will counteract this spirit by bringing great light where there has been darkness. I see this transformation to be as real as Luther’s transformation that brought great awakening to Europe and the rest of the world. It is time and we cannot underestimate the impact and power of taking the big one first.

The enemy does not want to give up this stronghold. The enemy wants to bind us and keep us bound so he can overpower us and afflict us. This is seen in the story of Samson. The parents of Samson are barren. They are visited by an angel who tells them of Samson’s coming birth. The angel tells of the mission of Samson and how he will deliver the people. The nation has been under oppression for forty years. When Samson grows up the enemy comes for the sole purpose, “to bind Samson.” Then, three-thousand of his countrymen also come down for the same purpose, telling him, “we have come to bind you.” The mission of Delilah was to entice him to see where his great strength was so the enemy could overpower him, bind him, and afflict him. Is this not the power of bad religion? It overpowers people, binds them, and afflicts them.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:19, “I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.” He repeats this almost word-for-word in Matthew 18:18. In Matthew 12:29 Jesus says, “How can we enter a strongman’s house and take his property unless we first bind the strong man? Then we can plunder his house.” Jesus spoke this in a time of outpouring. There was powerful healing and deliverance taking place. The blind were receiving sight and the mute were talking. The crowds were amazed. In the midst of this, bad religion stepped forward in the character of the Pharisees and accused Jesus of working by the power of the devil. The strongman must be bound instead of us being bound. We have to bind the big one first.

I believe one of the most powerful ways to bind the strongman is through proclamation. We are doing that in our region. Powerful proclamations open the atmosphere and Heaven recognizes what we loose and bind on earth. When we make powerful statements about what God is doing in our midst, it opens the heavens. Here are some statements we have been making lately. Revival has come to the mountains! Walls are coming down! There is a new sound that is penetrating the heavens over the region. The nations are coming to the Appalachian Mountains to experience the Manifest Presence of God. Strongholds of addiction are coming down. These are only a few of many proclamations being released into the atmosphere. Although they may look like little green apples right now, they will be big apples soon. As Bill Johnson says, “Little apples are still 100% apple.”

At Jericho, the Israelites used the shofar, which is a trumpet of Jubilee to proclaim freedom. This was chosen instead of the normal war trumpet. The Priests blew the trumpets and the people let out a shout when the long blast was given. We are getting close to the sound of the long blast. Are you anticipating it? This is not a time to be passive. We must go to war with the freedom-trumpet, which is best manifested in our worship. We need to worship violently. The Kingdom is advancing and the violent take it by force (see Matthew 11:13). When praise is released into the atmosphere it keeps the enemy from controlling our inheritance and purpose. It binds him. Praise includes loud songs, and physical movement along with sacrifice. There are also times of silence, and meditation. A great part of praise is a sanctified (set apart) life. There is such a joyful balance in the ways of God. There were six days of silence and a grand day of shouting. These together, under the declared will of God, brought down the walls. Violent praise and worship changed things in Jericho, it changed things for Israel under the leadership of Jehoshaphat, and it changed things in Philippi when Paul and Silas sang in prison. It still changes things.

So, for regional transformation and personal victory we need to consider taking the big one first. Seek the Lord for simple but certain strategy. Trust His ways and His promises. Watch the walls fall and the big ones move out of the way. Get ready to do what you were born to do. Enjoy life in your Promised Land.