Tri-State District Campmeeting Friday Morning
by Jonathan Vazquez
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Joshua 6:26, 1 Kings 16:34, John 5:14, Matthew 12:43-45

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/jonathan-vazquez--tri-state-district-campmeeting-friday-morning
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Amen. Thank you, brother Carpenter. Amen. What a blessing to be here. And uh I feel like I'm out of balance, but uh but it's good to see you all here this morning. Amen. What a what a blessing I'm having being here with you all. I I always have enjoyed this district. And um you know, I I've got to the point where I have trouble remembering anything. I you know, I guess building three or four church buildings over my ministry in a house, building programs will do it to you. We were having a prayer meeting at our church one time and at the time we would go around and everyone would say whatever their need was and I would always go last and then start leading the prayer. And uh I had in mind what I wanted to uh I had in my mind what I wanted to uh pray about. And so when I got when they went all around the room and you know, we heard about everybody's ingrown toenails and all the other stuff that they were needing desperate prayer for, it got to be my turn. And I couldn't remember what I was wanting prayer for. And so I said, I I can't remember what what I wanted y'all to help me pray about. And uh so we'll just pray. And so I got about halfway into the prayer and I remembered that I wanted to pray for my memory. And so that didn't work out the best. And uh I I don't I can't hardly remember anything. And uh I struggle with phone numbers and names and stuff like that. And so at some point I'll be in the corner of the nursing home eating chocolate pudding and I won't know who I am or where I am. And but I won't have any stress by the grace of God. Um but uh but but I have almost instant recall of almost every sermon I've ever preached. Almost word for word. So it's I guess you you're whatever you're really interested in you remember and the other stuff you don't. But uh I have a message this morning that I want to bring to you from the book of Joshua chapter number six and first Kings chapter number 16. And uh again, I'm honored to be here talking about memory. The reason I was bringing that up is is my heroes have always been preachers. And my favorite thing has always been preaching. And so I look around this room and I remember sermons. I remember Pastor Mark Mcool 1989 Adams Mark Hotel preached sweet 16 and already been blessed. And uh that was after he opened the the first night I think with worship. And then I remember him doing a seminar on on the kind of music we listen to when I was 13 years old. And so I have I have good memories of uh of a of a lot of things. Brother Street, I owe you three fishing poles. He took me fishing and I think I he thinks I broke three. I know I stepped on one for sure, but uh I I forgot about that. That's one of those things I relegated to the to to the unknown. But then he reminded me Joshua chapter number 6 verse 26 and first kings chapter 16 verse 34. I'm going to read to you from uh Joshua 6 and 26. And Joshua adjured them at that time saying cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. Then we turn the pages to First Kings chapter 16, verse 34, five centuries later. In his days did Hyle the Bethlite build Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof in Abram his firstborn and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Seg according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. I want to talk to you this morning about the tale of an unstoppable father. The tale of an unstoppable father. Lord, I thank you for your goodness and your mercy. I thank you, God, for your grace, for your presence, God, for these good men that love you, God, that want to serve you and want to worship you. God, I pray that you help me as I walk through this passage of scripture today to speak something that will be of benefit to these good men. Lord, I pray in Jesus name. And everybody said, "Amen." >> Amen. >> Amen. You may be seated. Our church has taken two trips to Israel. The first one was in 2020 and uh it was a bit of a of a disrupted trip because while we were in Israel is when the COVID lockdown happened. And so we were at one of the last flights out of the country. I left America where you go to Walmart and there's at least 500 packages of toilet paper you can choose from. I came back to empty shelves. The world changed over those 10 days. While we were in Israel, one of the disappointments of that trip was that we did not get to go to visit the ancient ruins of the city of Jericho because the city was on lockdown. probably because one person had COVID. Then in 2023, I had the privilege of taking my daughter, my youngest daughter Kate, on another trip to Israel, and we were actually able to make the trip to Jericho. We overlooked the ruins of that old city. This city sits between Mount Nebo on the east and the central mountains to the west. The Dead Sea is to the south. And so Jericho benefits from the natural irrigation afforded by the Jordan River, which is only about four miles to the west of the city. Jericho was an oasis in an otherwise barren desert. The city is one of the lowest elevation cities in the world about 800 ft below sea level. In ancient days, Jericho would have been an amazing sight to see. A wealthy city on the trade route from Africa to Asia. Because of its lust, lush, not lust, lush vegetation in the middle of the desert. It was a natural place for wealthy merchants to stop. The famed walls of the city were some 50 feet high and at least in some places 50 feet wide. It's been written that as many as six chariots could be driven side by side on top of the city walls. To the tired and the weary Israelites who had just come through the Jordan River after a 40-year trek in the wilderness, it would have been an awesome but fearsome sight. How would a nomadic people overcome a fortified city? They had no war machines, no catapults that could penetrate the walls, no means to breach the walls. Neither did they have ladders to scale such a wall. From a religious standpoint, Jericho was a city dedicated to the worship of Molech, an idol god. Recent archaeological discoveries confirm the scripture record of centuries filled with idolatry, beastiality, sorcery, homosexuality, and child sacrifice. Every generation polluted the next generation with their perversion and idolatry. in their worship to this demon god Molech. Parents would offer their children as a sacrifice by fire. The ancient worshippers would heat this idol up with a fire until the metal was glowing red hot. And then into the glowing metal of this idol, they would take their firstborn baby. And they would place that baby in the burning arms of this so-called god. And they would watch as their child burned to death as a sacrifice to Molech. I read in one source that the walls of the city of Jericho were filled with the bones of babies who had been sacrificed to this God. God wanted the promised land of Canaan to be a holy land. But he knew that for Canaan to be holy, Jericho, a city so given to perversion and idolatry and infanticide, could not pollute that land. This perversion and moral bankruptcy of Jericho was a pervasive, polluting curse on the land. For generations, these pagan worshippers had been wallowing in their perversions and sacrificing their children. And God could not allow that to continue. If it's going to be a promised land and a holy land, Jericho had to be destroyed. God knew that the wickedness of Jericho and the holiness of his people were incompatible. Idol worship and holiness cannot dwell together. God knows that you can't worship him and coexist with such wickedness at the same time. For Israel to fulfill their promise, Jericho had to fall. That kind of perversion can't continue and someone reached their destiny. That kind of murder of babies can't continue and them still reach their promise. So Jericho had to be destroyed. Can I tell you there is a call upon the church in this wicked end time generation >> to purify herself from the perversions of the land. We don't march around the walls of Jericho anymore, but we pray until the walls of sin in our lives come down. >> I'm thankful that God delivered my life from the plague of this world. Jericho was full of babies bones. And I wonder how many children in this generation have been destroyed by the idols of the land. perversion, abuse, moral bankruptcy. How many lives has the idolatry of this generation ruined? I'll tell you, Jericho cannot stand. I must get sin out of my life. I need to get worldliness out of my spirit. I'm glad that God wiped Jericho out of the landscape of my life. >> Jericho didn't just fall down on its own. God brought it down. How did the walls come down? I know I'm preaching a familiar passage. Uh I think it was TD Jake said that the two great challenges of preaching is preaching a passage that's so obscure that nobody knows it or preaching a passage that's so common that everyone feels like they've already heard it all. And somehow I found a way to do both in the same sermon. The children of Israel walked faithfully every day. Faithful walking with God day after day will bring your walls down. Amen. If your walls don't come down in a moment, just keep walking. They'll come down. >> If God doesn't just bring them down in a second, they will come down if you'll keep faithfully walking with him. I have often said in in teaching sessions that one of the great difficulties of studying the Bible is that is that we sometimes just by the turn of a page across hundreds of years and generations. on one page they're in a terrible battle and they're in a fight for their life and you just turn the page and within about five seconds they're delivered and we don't understand that it was 50 years or hundred years in that page turn and so we become impatient with this blab it and grab it believe it receive it mentality of a lot of modern western Christianity that we think if it doesn't happen in one prayer that it's never going to happen but Israel walked faithfully around the walls walls of Jericho and you just keep walking till the walls come down. Amen. They did not know if it was going to be on the seventh day or they they just kept walking. And if you keep walking, the walls will come down. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but if you won't quit, I promise you the walls in your life will come down. >> Amen. Not only did they walk, but then they blew trumpets and shouted. I'll tell you that worship will bring your walls down. Amen. It may not be with one hand clapping. It may not be with one worship set, but it's not enough just to walk with God. And it's not enough just to worship God, but you must walk and worship God. There is a there is a secret key that's not really a secret that if you'll worship while you walk, you'll have victory at some point. the walls will come down. >> Can I tell you, the church was born in the fire of the Holy Ghost, >> and I've determined I don't want to let my fire go out. >> Amen. I may not run as fast as I used to run. I got brother Willie Ball with us. And he's been so good to drive and and my wife, she called me last night to check on me, see how I was feeling. And uh and uh she said she said, "I heard you might have overdone it tonight." And I I said, "Well, how did you hear that?" She said, "Well, Willy's been keeping me informed." He said, "That you took a lap." And I said, "I don't take laps anymore." He said, "Well," she said, "Well, he he said, "You actually more like scootered across or something like that." Amen. Like brother Nolan said, "Good thing I'm not easily offended, but uh I I don't run like I used to run. >> Amen. I I I can't stand as long as I used to stand. I my voice doesn't hold out like it did, brother Hog, when I preached for you at 19 years old and I preached a message titled the nullification of the law of sin. I see my memory. I remember that kind of stuff. But uh I I don't I my voice doesn't hold out like it used to and I I don't have the energy to go like a you know I I do what they call the bishop shout. You do this but your feet don't leave the ground. >> If you're tall enough, the people in the back don't know that. But I've determined that just because I can't run like I used to run, jump like I used to jump, doesn't mean that I need to let my fire go out. >> Amen. I need to keep my worship alive and I need to keep my walk alive. Many many in modern day Pentecost have modernized so much that old-fashioned worship is out of style. It's too undignified to shout. Uh, if I if I was home and I was just talking to my own young ministers and I was willing to go to my pet peeves, I would go to my I I would tell I'm not going to tell you because I don't want to offend you, but I would tell them that one of my one of my um frustrations is I I like when everybody comes to the front to worship. I like that. What I don't like is when they come and they just hug up with each other and sway >> like we're having kumbaya at the campfire. >> Amen. There's nothing wrong with just getting out and worshiping and not just swaying to the music, but getting our mind on God. And and while I'm there, I also am afraid that maybe our hand clap has replaced our voice. That when we talk about worship, we immediately clap our hands, but then we'll keep our voice silent. But your voice is the only thing that's down inside that comes out when you worship. Your hands move, that's outward. Your feet move, that's outward. But when you engage your voice, you're become an overcomer by the word of your testimony. And the engaging of your voice is critical to worship. >> Amen. >> I don't want to get into all that, so I won't. But but I I don't want worship to go out of style. I don't want real apostolic worship. I I I'm I'm typically, like brother Nolan said, pretty long-suffering. I've only walked out of one conference in my entire life. I' I've gone I've gone to conferences all over and I went to a church growth conference one time and it was the content by and large was fantastic but I was in a a day session and the speaker was on their pastoral staff and in that session they they they said that they have informed their people in their church not to shout like like they used to and carry on and run and dance and all that because our our guests don't understand it and our our guests may be uncomfortable with it. And so we tell our people to do that on your own time, but don't do it in church. And I got up and I walked out and I was eating fajitas before I realized it might not have looked good how I got out of there, but the fajitas were better than the message. >> Amen. If fajitas are better than the message, you need a new message. >> Amen. >> I don't want worship to go out of style. I don't think that just because we've got better buildings and better clothes and nice shoes that our worship ought to take a step back. Amen. We need to walk and worship. >> Praise God. >> Amen. Glad to have my friend, brother CJ Austin here this morning. We're gonna go get a burger afterwards. Y'all can come along if you want to. Joshua is one of the most prominent men of the Old Testament. He was a remarkable man. He was one of the original 12 spies that 40 years before the conquest of Canaan had gone to Jericho to see the land. By the time they got to the point of our text, he was one of only two people alive that had actually seen Canaan land. Of those 12 spies, 10 of them were so afraid of th of the gigantic inhabitants that they convinced Israel that they could not win. So they turned back to the wilderness. Only Joshua and Caleb believed that they tried so much that they tried to convince Israel that God would help them. I I don't want to get sidetracked here, but uh but but I I've wondered, have you wondered why it took 40 years to get through a wilderness that only took a few a few weeks, a couple two, three weeks to pass by? It was uh it would have been a an easy thing for them to just they could have just gone, but but they didn't. And I've wondered why did they not learn their lesson from the first time? And and then even at the very end of of the Canaan passage when they they camped at a place that had trees and lots of of fruit and lots of livestock pl grass for their livestock and they camped they camped for two months at that place and you know what they were a two-hour walk from the promised land and waited that long and I thought how why would they do something like that? Why would God let them do something like that? Why would he let them camp twohour walk from the promised land and and knowing they were right there? Why did not why did God not say, "Okay, let's get up and go." But but here's the answer to that. In my opinion, that when they turned back in the wilderness, when Joshua and Caleb said, "Let's go. Let's do it." And the 10 spies said, "No, we're not going to do it." The Bible calls that the provocation in the wilderness. It's when they provoked God. And so God looked at them and he said, "Your carcasses will die in the wilderness." >> And so God patiently waited for 40 years for funerals to happen. And when that last one was buried at that oasis and they put them in the ground, God said, "Okay, now you can go forward." Can I tell you, there are some times in your life where you will not move forward unless something in your life dies. So there has to be some burials for us to get to our destiny and our promise. And so they waited. But Joshua and Caleb became the only two old men that made it into the wilderness. Joshua, his faith and willingness to serve elevated him in Moses sight. He became Moses right-hand man. Joshua was known for his faithfulness, his service, his ability to lead, but his spiritual life was not widely written about in the Bible. There are no great sermons from Joshua. Joshua is from the tribe of Ephraim. He's not connected to the Levitical ministry like Moses or Aaron. He wasn't a priest. He wasn't a preacher. He wasn't a psalmist. There's no sermons or songs of Joshua recorded in the Bible. As far as the scriptural record, only one time in his life did Joshua seem to step into a spiritual rather than a governmental or military role. When the walls of Jericho fell, as soon as the walls came down, the dust had barely settled. when Joshua stood up and made the only prophecy of his life. Joshua 6:26 and Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Let me read the same passage in the New Living Translation. If this offends you, pray for me. If it doesn't offend you, pray for me. Joshua 6:26, New Living Translation. At that time, Joshua invoked this curse. May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, will he set up its gates. Joshua's prophecy, if someone rebuilds Jericho, it's going to cost them their children. God didn't want Jericho rebuilt. When God remove something from your life, he expects it to remain out of your life. God didn't bring down Jericho so that they could rebuild it as soon as their spiritual fire cooled a little bit. But very often the passage of time causes our resolve and convictions to be weakened. When God delivers us, we're willing to give up anything to walk with him. And then the walls in our lives fall down and we get delivered from attitudes, addictions, sins. He deals with us about holiness and we lay aside the things of the world. We start to take off the ornaments and immodest things the world puts on us and we lay them down for the one who brought the walls down in our lives. And Joshua with white hot fervor and fire at the fall at the fallen walls of Jericho while he was spiritually at his high point. HE SAID, "CURSED BE THE MAN THAT rebuilds Jericho. They'll pay the price in their children if they do. How many times, pastors, have we watched families come to church, get born again, get delivered from perversion, from sin, from worldliness, and in their white hot passion to serve God, they begin to lay aside the things of the world, the things of Jericho begin to lay down. And we watch as their families grow in ministry and grow in faithfulness. But then very sadly at times we continue to watch. And as the falling walls of Jericho as the dust settles more and more, we watch that commitments made in their fire and fervor begin to wayne as time goes by. I've watched people that I pastor that God pulled them out of alcoholism and abuse and all kinds of mess only to watch them years later as their fire begins to diminish and their memory of what Jericho was like begins to fade, they start picking stuff up that they had laid down when Jericho's walls fell. Somehow the memory of that fiery moment when God delivered them, somehow the passage of time causes it to fade. And somehow for Israel, the passage of time caused them either to forget the prophecy or somehow they thought that maybe God had changed his mind and he doesn't really care about it anymore because their convictions had weakened. They assumed God's convictions had weakened as well. And so five centuries go by. Is this okay? >> I don't know if I'm supposed to preach or teach. So sometimes I just teach and sometimes I yell a little bit. Five centuries went by until the Bible tells us of a fateful story of one of the worst decisions a man ever made. First Kings 16 and 34. In his days did Hy the Bethlite build Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof in Abram, his firstborn. And he set up the gates thereof in his youngest son, Sego, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua, the son of Nun. Hy is a very obscure man. He's only mentioned one time in the entire Bible. this verse which we just read. His name means God lives. This man whose name served as a constant reminder that God is alive, that God doesn't die, also was a Bethlite. It means he came from Bethl, the Hebrew word for the house of God. the place where Jacob got the vision of angels ascending and descending and received the confirming promise that had been given to his father and grandfather. It was where the Lord gave Jacob the promise that Messiah was going to come through him. Hyle God lives the Bethlite from the house of God. a man that grew up at the house of God, knowing the word of God and knowing that God was alive. This man rebuilt the foundation of Jericho. And according to Joshua's prophecy when he laid the foundation of the city walls as they cleared away the rubble from five centuries ago that God had brought down. and he begins the building project and he digs and begins to lay the foundation. When the foundation is finished, tragedy strikes his family. His oldest son, Abram, dies. What a terrible price that sin brought to Hy's life. A man who knows that God is alive. a man from the house of God, knowing the word of God and the presence of God, the ways of God. He let something slip into his life. He forgot the word of God. Maybe it was the passage of time. Maybe it was just self-ride and willingness to achieve, but somehow he paid a terrible price for disobeying the word of God. Can I tell you? When you start to let sin return into your life, your family will suffer. >> There are consequences to letting things back into your life. When you begin to consider rebuilding Jericho, you better think about the consequences of sin. H from Bethl that knows God is alive somehow ignores the word of God and he rebuilds the foundation and when he lays the foundation of the city he buries his oldest son. You would think that he would have learned his lesson but when someone gets a taste for the world they often don't stop until it's too late. Their desire for worldliness takes over their mind and all they want is the taste of sin again. I have a person in my life that I'm very close to and love with all of my heart. The man had a beautiful wife and family, two children that were amazing. looked like a postcard for a wonderful apostolic family. The man at his job began he got transferred to a department working near by a lady and somehow along the line the flirting began. And maybe at first it was put away and resisted. And then over time, the Jericho starts to be rebuilt. I ran into him, spent some time with him, and I could tell there was something off about his spirit. There was something that just wasn't right. You could just sense that something wasn't right. His attitude, his his demeanor, it it was it was different. And in church, his his worship wasn't what it used to be. He There was a there was a distance and a coldness. There was there was some response, but that it seemed like it was more mechanical than it was relational. And and uh and and there was a time we were together and and uh and I got the sense that and I so I just when we got by ourselves, I said, "I want you to tell me what's going on. There's something not right. You need there there's something that's off here." And he said, "Oh, there's nothing it's nothing. You're just making that up." And I said, "No, there's something going on. I know that something's not right. And then he told me, he said, "Well, I' I've kind of been talking to someone else." And uh and I said, "You know, you can't do that. You know, you can't you're not dumb. You've been you've been around church your whole life. You're a Bethlite is what I was kind of saying. And and you you know, God, I was saying you're you're high. You're you know, God's alive and you're you know better than this. You know better than to do this." And he said, "Well, I said, "I I don't see that that there it's it's just fun. There's not much that." And I said, "You're not that dumb." And and so I I told him, I said, "You're like a buck in rut." I said, "You you don't kill a buck unless a buck is in rut." Because a buck knows better than to come out in the open. A buck knows better that but but when a buck is in rut, they lose their mind. They they'll they'll they'll step right out in the middle of a field in broad daylight if they if they sense that there might be a dough close by. I said, "You're as dumb as a buck in rut." And then he got mad and and and walked away and left. And and then before long he left his wife. Then before long he lost his children. And then before long his life was a mess. And an apostolic preacher ended up going to a Nazarene church because That's the only place that would let him play music and still live the way he wanted to live. Jericho. The desire for worldliness takes over the mind. You lose your good sense. The taste of sin is so intoxicating that for some reason that that that old prophecy can't really still be good today. We're living in a different world. I wonder if Hy thought that we're living in a different world than it was when Joshua came across the Jordan River. Surely what God said 500 years ago isn't really that important now. But he does. He's standing over the grave of his oldest son and he has the opportunity right then to stop. He could have called off the project at that moment. He could have sent the workers home, sold whatever materials were unused. Sure, he would have taken a loss. Sure, he might have lost some money. Sure, some people might have thought he'd lost his mind. You spent all this money in time to lay the foundation. Why? It's just a coincidence. Everybody dies at some point. That doesn't mean that that the word of Joshua, I mean, he's only prophesied one time. Surely, you're not going to stop and lose all this. He should have stopped his foolish quest when he buried his oldest son. But for whatever reason, he continues. The first course of stones that go immediately on the foundation are the largest, the heaviest available. Things that are most difficult to move, carefully fit together, positioned without gaps. It's not easy or fast. It's a deliberate, intentional process to rebuild an ancient wall. During this process, Hy had plenty of time to consider that prophecy. He had time to stop and think about his actions, but he just kept laying stones, visiting this website. And because judgement didn't Immediately he lays another stone. Then he flirts with this one and because because it seemed like nothing, he just he lays another stone. And at first it's the most difficult stones. And when somebody's walking away from God, it's hard to cross those barriers. It's hard in your mind to reconcile that that that I'm going to really break down this wall and break down this barrier because the first stones are the But once you lay those, it gets easier and easier and easier to build the wall higher and higher and higher. He had time to think, but he could not be stopped. He presses forward with his fool's air. And after these lower levels of large, tightly filled stones, the walls have thinner outward face and inward face that then they fill the middle of it with rubble. They put a good stone here and a good stone here. They they lay the big foundation stones. Then they have narrower walls and they have to fill that gap with something. And so they begin to fill it with rubble, trash, broken things. The inner walls are packed with crushed rock and smaller stones, dirt and gravel. Again, it's not a fast process. It's just the gathering of things that other people throw away and they just fill the space in their wall with stuff that normal people would not want. Hy has time to consider while he's accumulating rubble and filling his life with things that have no value. But H can't be stopped. The third stage of raising an ancient city wall requires the building of ramps, scaffolding, embankments to move materials. It takes huge amounts of time, manpower, and money to prepare the infrastructure needed to finish the walls, but you can't just you can't just get the stuff up there. And so, you start devising means to make it happen. And then the further you get from God, the more out of your way you'll go to devise a way to get what you want. You'll build ramps. You'll make up excuses. Oh, I got to go here and there. Don't I I I won't I'll be away from my phone, so don't bother trying to call. But really, what we're doing is building ramps to places we shouldn't be, accumulating things we shouldn't have, and the walls slowly rise and narrow. Joints become staggered. The project goes on from time to time with no consequences. The walls of the city are built upon the foundation. Lookout towers completed because I mean once you get to that size of the wall, you got to have a lookout because you you become you become paranoid because somebody might find out. And a wall system the complexity of Jericho would have required several hundred labors, thousands of tons of stone and mud brick, significant earth movement. Modern estimates suggest that construction projects of this magnitude would require anywhere from 5 to 20 years depending on available labor and resources. Whether five years or 20 years or anywhere in between, how had time to consider his actions stopped the project. The cost was already so severe that he lost his first son to the project. But the The last step of the project is to hang the gates of the city and finally close off the walls. Once the gates were hung, the city was secure and threats diminished. He finished the gates of the city and tragically when the gates were put on the hinges. His youngest son see dies. God doesn't want us rebuilding things that he destroyed in our lives. God doesn't want us rebuilding things. Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda and healed a man that had been lame for 38 years. And later Jesus found the man at the temple and he goes up to him in 5:14 of the Gospel of John says this. Afterward, Jesus findeth him in the temple and saith unto him, "Behold, thou art made whole. sin no more, lest the worst thing come upon me. Jesus said, "Don't go back. Don't sin. Don't rebuild Jericho. It's going to be worse." He said a similar thing in Matthew 12:43 and 45. When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it walketh through dry places seeking rest, findeth none. Then he said, "I will return to the house where I came out." And he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. And he goes and brings seven worse. And so the condition at the end was worse than at the beginning. Unclean spirits like dry places. The man was delivered but empty. Can I just tell you, I don't want to be an unstoppable father. I don't want to allow things in my life that I know shouldn't be there, but I won't stop. Things that I know I shouldn't watch, but I won't stop. Things I know I shouldn't listen to, but I just won't stop. things I shouldn't bring back that God took out of my life. But my mind is so fixated on rebuilding the wall that I don't realize the cost it's inflicting on my family. Poor H's wife that did not rebuild the walls but still had to bury her children. God, help me, Lord, to not rebuild things that you tear down in my life. As your eyes are closed this morning, can I tell you that God's opinion of holiness has not changed just because Hollywood has? Can I tell you that the prophecies of the word of God about perversion and adultery and fornication and ornamentation and modesty have not diminished just because centuries have gone by. You and I are hiles. We know God is alive. We have walked in his presence and felt his glory. As your eyes are closed and your hands are lifted, we are all hiles. We are all people that know that God's alive. We've we've we've felt his presence and experienced his glory. We've seen his work. We're here today because we're hiles. We know about the glory of God. And not only that, but we're Bethlites. Most of us have spent our lives in his presence, in his word, in his house. Most of us have grown up in Sunday schools and youth choirs and youth camps and conferences. Most of us have been around Bethl our entire life. We know the word. We know the prophecy. We know what God said. We know what he asks of us. He knows what he We know what he requires of us. We know about holiness. We know about faithfulness. We know about giving. We know about tithing. We know about worship. We know about serving God. We know we're Bethalites. We know all about it. But for some reason, the enemy wants us to get a desire to rebuild something in our life that God tore down. And I'll tell you that the cost will be precious. And yet, even after the first time, God will give you an opportunity to stop your building project. Your eyes are closed. I'm telling you, I know you are good men. I know you're good God. I mean, you're at church on a Friday morning. I know you're good people that love God. I also know we have a subtle spirit of Jericho that's trying to infiltrate the apostolic Pentecostal church. I get tired of opening social media and see people that used to live holy be like the world and refuse to believe that there's any cost. I have a man in our church and I'm closing with this. You can stand with me. I have a man in our church that was addicted to drugs. He had grown up in our Sunday school. Got out in the world. became a drug addict, was a heavy drug user and dealer. His mom stayed faithful to God. And one morning, she woke up and she just knew something's not right. Something's there's something off. And this mama began to pray and intercede and talk to God. And a little bit later in the day, she could not get out of her spirit. There's something not right. So, she goes to her son's house and she knocks on the door and there's no answer. His wife is at work. The kids are gone. Kids are are are with the mother. They're babies at the time. The uh mother knocks on the door, but she can't shake this feeling. Something is just not right. So, she begins to look in the windows and she doesn't see anyone in the living room. She goes around to the side by the kitchen and she there's no one in there. And so, she goes around to the back and she looks through the bedroom window. Her son is laid across the bed. Foam had come out of his mouth. She finds a way to get in the house. She goes and she feels for his pulse and there's no pulse. His chest is not moving. He's not breathing. He's cold. He's turned blue. In a panic, she calls the ambulance. The ambulance comes out. And while the ambulance is coming out, she lays across his body and begins to pray and cry in Jesus name, weeping over her son, begging God for his life. And the ambulance comes and they start compressions. His eyes open up, takes a breath, he comes to church and prays through and gets his life right with God. He's so thankful for it second chance at life. He's delivered from drugs. He gives up drinking. He puts all that stuff away. He becomes He feels a call to ministry. He becomes a home Bible study teacher. He won probably at least 50 souls himself teaching Bible studies. Was over our drug program was helping to reach people. But over time, I watched his worship just sort of settle in. This is a man of God. This is a Bethlite. This is a man that knows that God's alive. man brought back from the dead. But yet that call starts to come. His worship's not quite the same. He misses a few Wednesday nights here and there. No big deal. I mean, maybe work late is but but but there's something not right. There's a foundation for Jericho being laid. His wife asks for an appointment. We meet with his wife. She says, "Look, you you probably need to know that that something's not right with my husband. He's uh he's he's going into rages, and when he does, he curses, and it's our house is very tense." And so, and so I can't use him because I know this. But she says, "I don't want you to tell him we talk because it'll cause a lot of problems." And so, so I don't tell him that. He just gets mad because I won't use him. some this happens, that happens. He leaves the church. He gets back on drugs, drinking. It's away from God. His daughters, beautiful young ladies, are taken out of the school, put into the world. You could walk down whatever the most worldly in America is whether it's Vegas, LA, or New York, and you wouldn't be able to pick them out from anyone else. Finally, life gets to a point, he comes back. He's fighting right now to try to get back where he was, but is a struggle. Jericho's hard to bring down the second time. But the worst thing is his kids want nothing to do with church. because they had an unstoppable father that would not stop the rebuilding of something God told them. So your eyes are closed. Lord, I know these are good men. I pray you help us. Help us, oh God, to remember the ancient prophecy and give it more heed than what we give to the call of Jericho. God, there's not a man under the sound of my voice that Jericho is not calling to their heart and mind. There's not a man in this room, whether preacher, prophet, or church member, that Jericho's not calling for them. God, help us not to think that God has changed his mind on holy living. Help us never to consider the fact that maybe God doesn't really mean what he prophesied all that time ago. Help me not to be unstoppable. Help me not to be an unstoppable father and pay the price with my children and family. God, help me not to be unstoppable and pay the price with my ministry and calling and destiny and promise. Amen. As I close, why don't you lay your hand on somebody close to you and just pray one for another? And why don't you ask God, "Help us, God. Help us, God." Those of us who are Bethalites that know that God's alive, help us, God, not to let Jericho entice us into rebuilding what you tore down. That's right. Pray one for another. >> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Could we have a prayer of self-examination right now? Mighty God, I love you. WOULD YOU PRAY LOUD ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN HEAR YOURSELF PRAY RIGHT NOW? WOULD YOU LIFT YOUR VOICE FROM DOWN INSIDE YOU? Would you SPEAK UNTO THE LORD RIGHT NOW? GOD, ORDER MY STEPS. GOD, DIRECT MY PATH. LORD, let me never LAY A NEW FOUNDATION TO JERICHO. HALLELUJAH. YES, LORD. YES, LORD. WE CLAIM IT IN YOUR NAME, JESUS. SAVIOR, WE CLAIM IT RIGHT NOW. YOU HAVE SPOKEN YOUR WORD to us. God, let none think that WE ARE UNABLE TO FALL TO THE TEMPTATION IF WE DO NOT TAKE OUR LIVES WHERE THEY SHOULD BE. GOD, WE REBUKE THE ENEMY THAT WOULD COME AGAINST EVERY MAN IN THIS ROOM. WE REBUKE THE ENEMY THAT WOULD TRY TO ESTABLISH A NEW FOUNDATION OF JERICHO. HALLELUJAH. IN THE NAME OF JESUS. IN THE NAME OF JESUS. HALLELUJAH. YES LORD. YES LORD. Yes Lord. Glory. Glory. Glory. Glory. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory. I hope that we can leave this place today with the prophecy of Joshua in our mind, in our lips, that we will go from this place being reminded of the cost of ever rebuilding any walls that God has so mightily torn down just by simply walking. Just remember, got to walk before you shout. We like to shout, but it took six days of walking before a shout did any good. Just walk it.