Gibeon was a great city, but now Gibeon was a threat to the
kings of the Amorites because it had chosen the Lords side. The leaders of the
city of Gibeon recognized that God was with Joshua and the children of Israel
and they had come into covenant with Joshua and the children of Israel. Now all
hell rose up against them, but the good news is that by choosing Gods side, all
heaven came to their aid.
Joshua 10:1-6
Now it came to pass, when
Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly
destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and
her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and
were among them; 2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city,
as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men
thereof were mighty. 3 Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem, sent unto Hoham
king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of
Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 Come up unto me, and help me,
that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the
children of Israel. 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. 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.
Just a word to someone who feels like you’re going through
hell, that the devil is throwing everything imaginable at you. I want you to
know that you are not alone, God knows what the enemy is trying to do, and he
will not forsake you. The devil is not going to win. He may have won a round or
two, but you’re going to win the war.
Joshua 10:15-26
15 And Joshua returned, and all
Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. 16 But these five kings fled, and hid
themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told Joshua, saying, the five
kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. 18 And Joshua said, Roll great
stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: 19 And
stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them;
suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath
delivered them into your hand. 20 And it came to pass, when Joshua and the
children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter,
till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into
fenced cities. 21 And all the people
returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue
against any of the children of Israel. 22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of
the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. 23 And they
did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king
of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and
the king of Eglon. 24 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.
I have word for somebody today: The Lord told me to tell you
to put your foot on it! You’re getting ready to change positions!
Someone who has been feeling down, someone who has been
feeling distressed, disappointed, and confused is getting ready to change
positions. You have felt as though something has had its foot on your neck,
like it’s been trying to choke the life out of you, it’s not killing you but it’s
cutting off your breath, making it hard to breathe, and taking the joy out of
your life. The Lord told me to tell you that today the tables are turning,
today your changing positions, you’re going from being under your circumstances,
to being on top of your circumstances, and from being under pressure to being
the one applying the pressure. God said, “You’re going to put your foot on it!”
Putting your foot on it means that you are in charge! It
means that you’re on top of it, that you are in control. It means that whatever
it is, has lost it’s power to affect you, it means that you have won.
I don’t know what “it” is for you: These five kings
could represent anything. They could represent financial problems, marital
problems, physical problems, or spiritual problems. You’re problem may be
labeled debt, sickness, or addiction, but no matter what it is called, it’s
time to put your foot on it!
Romans 16:20
And the God of peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Amen.
From a God perspective, the devil has already been defeated,
Jesus has stripped him of his authority and his power. He has no power over our
will, he has no power over our mind, he has no power over our spirit. It doesn’t
matter what he does, he cannot take us out of God’s hand.
But to believe that the devil has no power, that he is weak
and helpless, is to make a tragic mistake. The devil is defeated from a God
perspective, but he is not dead. While he cannot affect our standing with God,
but he can mess with our circumstances and our emotions, and he can manipulate
people and things. The devil attacks us through people, through sickness,
through financial problems, and he attacks us by attacking the people we love.
In this scripture Paul is Prophesying that there’s a turn-around
coming! Paul is saying that what Jesus accomplished in the Spirit is getting
ready to be manifested in your world, and in your daily existence. It’s one
thing to know that Jesus defeated the devil, but it is another thing to see
that victory manifested in our own personal experience. I don’t know about you,
but I want more than just a revelation of how Jesus defeated the devil, I want
that devil is under my feet!
Joshua said to his captains: Come near and put your foot on
their necks. This was to demonstrate that the victory was real and it was
personal, that enemy was under their feet. Joshua said to those men in essence,
“Today is your day! Instead of running from it, crying about it, or even
praying about it: Today you’re going to put your foot on it, and when you do
your going to choke the life out of it!”
We are often waiting for God to move in some great
supernatural way and with one swipe, wipe out all our enemies, but the truth
is, to a large degree God has done everything he is going to do until we do
something. He has given us His Word, His name, His blood, His Spirit, the power
of praise, and the armor of God.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 5 Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ;
Notice that Joshua himself did not put his foot upon the
necks of the enemy kings, but rather let his captains do it, this was to
represent the fact that this victory belonged to every single Israelite, and
that every single one of them were subduing their enemies that day.
In Mark chapter fourteen we read the story of the disciples
out on the sea, and a great storm arose and they feared for their lives, then
Peter looked through the storm and saw the sea walker, he saw Jesus walking on
top of the thing that was on top of them. Then Peter said Lord, “I want to be
on top of it too.”
Then Jesus said, “Well then, put your foot on it.”
Then Peter Jumped out of the boat and stood on top of the
thing that was trying to kill them. He walked on top of the water, on the top
of the storm.
They brought these five kings out of their cave, out of
their hiding place, and they identified them by name. Before you get the
victory over that which has plagued you and robbed you, and oppressed you. You
have got to bring it out of hiding, you have to admit it, and you have to identify
it. You have to stop pretending that it doesn’t exist, or that it’s not a big
deal, and that you can handle it yourself. Before you can put your foot on it,
you have got to bring it out of the cave. Whatever you keep in the dark, grows,
and intensifies and multiplies and will eventually bring you into bondage, and
if not dealt with it will destroy your life.
Before you can put your foot on it, you have to identify it.
Recognize it for what it is, expose it, get honest with God about it, hate it,
and want to be rid of it. You will never quit drinking if you love it. You will
never quit quarreling and arguing if you love it. You will never quit looking
at pornography if you love it. You will never quit holding grudges if you love it.
You will never quit gossiping if you love it. You have got to hate it.
Your love for God must move you to hate the things that
would adversely affect your relationship with Him. My flesh may want to lean
toward sin, but if it is harmful to my relationship with God, then my spirit
should hate it. Before you can put your foot on it you have got to hate it.
You can’t tolerate it and conquer it! You can’t pet it and
conquer it! You can’t cover it and conquer it! You can’t deny it and conquer
it! You have got to hate it with a holy hatred and when you do you will go
after it to destroy it.
I don’t know what it is in your life today that on top of
you. I don’t know how big or small it is, but I know the Lord told me to tell
you, “it’s time for you to put your foot on it!”
And when you do, something supernatural is going to take
place: God almighty is going to fight with you.
Just like Joshua told those men: If you will just turn and
fight your enemies, then God is going to fight with you and not one single one of
your enemies will stand!
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