You Got To Hate It, To Crucify It

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 tonight: 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, or 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, 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 entirely, 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 to experience the reality of the devil 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. The enemy was under their feet, and they could feel it for themselves. The victory wasn't conceptual, it was real!

Joshua said 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, and if he hadn't taken his eyes off of Jesus, and let the thing that sought to destroy him, cause fear and doubt, it would have stayed under his feet!

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, and hate 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 to hate it to crucify it!

"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Galatians 5:24 KJV)

Your evil desires will keep dragging you into sin as long as your flesh loves what your doing. That is why you have to die daily. You have to hate it, put your foot on it, and crucify it!

Your love for God must move you to hate the things that 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 sin and conquer it! You can’t pet sin and conquer it! You can’t cover it up 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, and you will put your foot on it's neck!

I don’t know what it is in your life today that is 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!