The Introduction and framework for this series:

The WAR is spiritual.
The BATTLEGROUND is often the mind.
The BATTLES are fear, worry, temptation, anger, doubt, lies, discouragement, past hurts, and the desires of the flesh.
The WEAPONS are spiritual.
The TRUTH comes from God’s Word.
The VICTORY is found in Christ.

THE BATTLE WITHIN

Winning the War for Your Mind

Joshua 6:1-5

Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering.
2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.
3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns.
5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”

INTRODUCTION —

As we begin this series, The Battle Within, we need to understand that the Christian life involves battles. Sometimes it is a spiritual battle. Sometimes it is a battle with our flesh. Sometimes it is a battle with fear, worry, temptation, anger, doubt, or the thoughts running through our minds.

The battles may be different, but the story of Jericho gives us some important principles for how God’s people should face the battles that come into our lives.

Israel was standing in front of something they could not overcome on their own. Jericho was strongly fortified, and its walls stood between Israel and where God was leading them. Yet before Israel ever marched around those walls, God told Joshua, “I have handed Jericho…over to you.” Then God gave Joshua very specific instructions for what the people were to do.

For six days they marched around the city once each day. On the seventh day they marched around it seven times. The priests sounded the ram’s horns, Joshua told the people to shout, and the wall collapsed. Hebrews 11:30 later describes the fall of Jericho’s walls as an act of faith.

Israel didn’t have the strength to bring those walls down. Israel didn’t come up with the plan that brought those walls down. And when the walls came down, Israel couldn’t take the glory for it.

That gives us three principles that I believe apply to the battles we face:

Not by our strength — but God’s.

Not by our ideas — but God’s instructions.

Not for our glory — but God’s.

TAKEAWAY 1

NOT BY OUR STRENGTH — BUT GOD’S.

Joshua 6:2

“The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.’”

BIBLE NOTES

Before Joshua ever marched, before the trumpets ever sounded, and before the people ever shouted, God had already promised the victory. Notice that God didn’t tell Joshua, “You are strong enough to defeat Jericho.” He told him, “I have handed Jericho…over to you.” The emphasis wasn’t on Israel’s ability; it was on God’s power.

Think about the battle plan God gave them. Marching around a wall doesn’t normally cause it to collapse. Blowing a ram’s horn doesn’t destroy a fortress. Shouting isn’t powerful enough to bring down a fortified city. God chose a method that demonstrated that the victory came from Him. The people still had a part to play—they had to march, trust, obey, and eventually advance—but the power that made victory possible belonged to God.

That is an important truth for the battles within us. We often think, “I’ve just got to be stronger.” I’ve got to be strong enough to overcome this temptation. Strong enough to stop worrying. Strong enough to defeat this fear. Strong enough to change my thinking. But the Christian life isn’t about proving how strong we are. It’s about learning how completely we can depend upon God’s strength.

APPLICATION

Stop asking, “Am I strong enough?” and start asking, “Am I depending on God?”

TAKEAWAY 2

NOT BY OUR IDEAS — BUT GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS.

Joshua 6:3–5

3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns.
5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”

God instructed Israel to march around Jericho once a day for six days. On the seventh day they were to march around it seven times, the priests were to sound their horns, and the people were to shout. God promised that then the wall would collapse.

BIBLE NOTES

If Joshua had called his military leaders together and asked them to develop a strategy for taking Jericho, I doubt anyone would have suggested marching around the city for seven days. From a military standpoint, God’s instructions probably didn’t make much sense. But Joshua wasn’t called to improve God’s plan. He was called to follow it.

This is where many of our battles are won or lost. We have our own ideas about how to handle things. We follow our feelings, our reasoning, the advice of the world, or simply whatever seems best to us. But God’s people aren’t supposed to fight life’s battles according to whatever seems right to us. We have God’s instructions in God’s Word.

Imagine what would have happened if Joshua had said, “God, I have a better idea.” What if they had marched five days instead of six? What if they had decided seven times on the seventh day was unnecessary? The power wasn’t in marching or shouting. The significance was their obedience to what God had told them to do.

The same is true in the battle within. When God’s Word tells us how to deal with worry, temptation, anger, forgiveness, fear, or our thoughts, our responsibility isn’t to decide whether God’s way makes sense to us. Our responsibility is to trust Him enough to obey Him.

APPLICATION

Don’t fight God’s battles your way. Find what God says and follow His instructions.

TAKEAWAY 3

NOT FOR OUR GLORY — BUT GOD’S.

Joshua 6:20

“So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the ram’s horn, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.”

BIBLE NOTES

When the walls of Jericho finally collapsed, there was no question about who had done it. Joshua couldn’t stand before Israel and say, “Look at my brilliant strategy.” The soldiers couldn’t say, “Look how powerful we are.” Israel couldn’t take credit for bringing down those walls because they hadn’t brought them down. God had.

God gave the promise. God gave the instructions. God supplied the power. And God gave the victory. Israel participated through faith and obedience, but God deserved the glory. In fact, the structure of the story intentionally points away from ordinary military strength and toward the Lord as the source of victory.

That should also be true of the battles God helps us overcome. When God brings us through fear, when God breaks a stronghold, when God restores something that was broken, or when God gives us victory over something that once controlled us, our testimony shouldn’t be “Look how strong I became.” It should be “Look what God has done.”

Sometimes God allows us to stand before a wall that is bigger than us so that when that wall finally falls, there is no question about who deserves the glory.

APPLICATION

When God gives the victory, make sure God gets the glory.

CLOSING THOUGHT

Whatever battle you’re facing today, remember Jericho.

• You don’t need greater strength — you need God’s strength.
• You don’t need a better idea — you need God’s instructions.
• And when the wall comes down — God deserves the glory.

His strength. His instructions. His glory. That’s how we face the battle.