THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN IS LIKE A CITY UNDER SIEGE. HE IS SURROUNDED BY A WALL OF FIRE
ANY ATTEMPT TO BREACH THE WALL OF FIRE ON EITHER SIDE LEAVES THE OFFENDER (CHRISTIAN OR ENEMY) ROASTED
CHRISTIANS, DO NOT GO OUT OF YOUR SIEGE BECAUSE THERE ARE LIONS OUTSIDE
WHEN YOU CLAIM TO BE A CHILD OF GOD, BE TOTALLY IN OR YOU WILL BE PUSHED OUT. GOD SPEWS OUT THE LUKEWARM
WHEN YOU CROSS OVER TO LIGHT, DO NOT GO BACK TO DARKNESS ELSE YOU RISK PERISHING WITH THE WORLD
YOU MUST STAY ‘IN’ TO BEGIN TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF BEING BESIEGED BY FORCES OF DARKNESS OUTSIDE BUT YOU ARE DWELLING IN LIGHT
AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU BECOME LIKE ONE IN A BESIEGED CITY BUT YOU CAN SURVIVE – EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS WITHIN YOUR CITY – THE CITY OF GOD
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO INTO THE WORLD TO LOOK FOR ANYTHING; ALL YOU NEED IS WITHIN YOUR CITY
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN (Part 18)” || RCCG Online Sunday Service || 18th June, 2023
We are moving on to part 18 of our study of the life of Joshua as an example of someone for whom the Heavens opened. Our text today will be Joshua 6:1. We have learnt that if God is for us we will be more than conquerors. We have also learnt the danger of what should happen if God should be against us. Church Gist. We have learnt that anything that can cause God to be against us, we must avoid. Which is why we must run away from pride. We’ve learnt that because he is the Almighty that all we need to do as his children is believe in him, trust him and leave our future in his hand. We’ve learnt that we must show gratitude after every victory because after one victory, there may be another fight and you will need him again.
We now come to our passage of today: Jericho was under a siege and we want to discuss the issue of a siege.
What is a siege? In the olden days one of the best ways of defending a city is to build a wall round about it and in the 4 corners of the wall there will be watch towers. There will be people manning the watch towers – watching out for enemies approaching the city. Church Gist. When the man on the watch tower sees the enemy coming, he will sound the alarm and all the members of the city that are outside will run in quickly and the gates of the city will be shut. By the time the enemies will arrive, those who are natives of the city will be secured inside because the walls will keep them out.
Then the enemies may now stay put outside there and say, ‘alright, you’ve run inside, stay there. We will camp out here. We will be waiting for you. Sooner or later, you will come out and meet us here.’ Church Gist. The purpose of a siege therefore is to starve those who are inside because once they are in, they can’t come out to farm, trade, they are shut in. The Bible says those who are in can’t come out even as those who are out can’t come in.
Something to say clearly about the issue of a siege: if you don’t run in when the man on the watch tower sounded the alarm and the gate is shut, you are outside when the gate is shut, oh you become easy meat for the enemy. Church Gist. The purpose of the siege is to starve those who are inside. 2 Kings 6:25-30. A siege can be a terrible situation.
However, if everything you need is inside the city then sooner or later, the besiegers, those who came to attack you will get frustrated because they will run out of supplies and then they will leave. Church Gist. Of course some besiegers can be very resourceful – they probably keep sending home to go and bring more resources and they can stay there permanently.
Why do we need to discuss the issue of a siege?
1. It is because the life of a Christian is like a city in a siege. A Christian is like someone living in a city, surrounded by a wall, only that this time the wall is a wall of fire. Zechariah 2:5. Church Gist. It means if the enemy tries to come in, he will be roasted. But of course it means if we try to go out, you will be roasted too.
b) When we say the life of a Christian is like that of a siege – 1 Peter 5:8, don’t go out because there are lions outside. Church Gist. You go out of the city, the people waiting outside will be happy to have you.
In the case of the Christian however, you can survive any siege. Why? Because everything you need is inside your city. Philippians 4:19; John 10:10. Within the city of God where every Christian is supposed to be, healing is available. 1 Peter 2:24. Church Gist. You don’t have to go to the world to look for healing; your healing has been provided for more than 2,000 years ago. You don’t have to go into the world to look for prosperity. You don’t have to go to the herbalist for charms so you can prosper because prosperity is within your city. 3 John 1:2. You don’t have to go to the world to look for money. Haggai 2:8. You don’t have to go to the world to look for joy. Psalm 16:11. A Christian is under a siege; surrounded by the world. You don’t need to go outside to get drunk; you can be drunk in the Holy Spirit. You want to be high? You can’t get higher than when you are full of the Holy Spirit. Church Gist. On the day of Pentecost when they saw the people rejoicing when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, some people thought they were drunk. You don’t have to go outside to look for peace; within the City of God you have peace. John 14:27.
Within the besieged city of the Christian, you don’t have to worry about what is going to happen tomorrow. Colossians 1:27. Church Gist. So yes, when you become a Christian you become like somebody living in a besieged city but everything you need is in. So you don’t have to go out. You should be happy that you are in.
However, we need to learn some serious lessons about this revelation:
You are in, you better stay in. Once you are in, stay in because the Bible describes the city in which you are as light; outside is darkness. Church Gist. Ephesians 5:8. You must stay in to begin to enjoy the benefits of being besieged by forces of darkness outside but you are dwelling in light. The Bible describes back sliding as a dog returning to its vomit. 2 Peter 2:20-22. You were once in the world, enjoying what the world calls enjoyment – getting drunk, waking up with headache and reaching for more alcohol, boasting that you need a curse to cure a curse. Then God opened your eyes and you saw all the foolishness that you have been calling enjoyment. You cross over to light, don’t go back to darkness. Church Gist. Only a dog that vomitted something because that thing irritated it will after sometime say, ‘well, I think that is food I better go back. 1 John 2:15-17. You go back into the world and you run the risk of perishing with the world.
When you are in, when you claim to be a child of God, please be totally in because one of the things about a besieged city is that if anybody in the city is sneaking out of the City, if the people within saw somebody sneaking out, they will push the fellow out permanently so as not to endanger the rest of the people. Church Gist. This is because if the people outside can see just a little crack in the wall, they will take advantage of that. That’s why the Elders say, “If there is no crack in the wall, a lizard will not pass through.” Revelation 3:15-16.
I’m sure many of us didn’t fully understand the story in Acts 5:1-11. You will wonder why is the punishment so severe? Because these people want to bring hypocrisy into the Church. Church Gist. If you want to be in, be in. If you want to be out, be out. I am going to beg you to say, Amen to the prayer I am about to pray. Of course you have to think a bit before you say, Amen.
– Every agent of the devil that is hibernating into the Church of God, may the Almighty God uproot them!
So you are someone who is in, you know you are in and you are besieged by forces of darkness outside wanting to come in, you have to deal with any part of your life that still wants to go back to the world. Church Gist. Colossians 3:1-10. Don’t say, I have only one little weakness; deal with it now! 1 Corinthians 5:1-7. Any part of you that longs for the old ways, deal with it.
I am sure you may not be hearing this kind of sermon from too many sources but this is how to remain more than a conqueror. You need to know you are like a city under a siege. Church Gist. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. There’s nothing as terrible as being an ex-christian. It is my prayer that those of you who are already in, nothing will ever take you out again in Jesus name. That’s why it is so painful to God to hear of a child of God going back to herbalist or some fake prophets here and there, to go and begin to buy red candle, green candle, when you already have Jesus Christ the Light of the World. Stay in and do so permanently. Church Gist. Hebrews 7:25.
When you hear somebody like me hammering again and again, “Be holy,” I know what I am talking about. I have seen as young as I am, mighty people, mighty men and women of God who had performed miracles, signs and wonders, they end up saying we are not even sure if Jesus Christ is alive. Church Gist. I have heard of an Archbishop who on retirement took his cassock and Bible and threw both into the River saying all he has been teaching have been myth. Be warned!
A true child of God, you are like a city under a siege. Stay in and you will be okay. Stay in 100 per cent. If you are sitting in a room full of light at night and you point just one finger out of the window into the darkness outside, if a snake is passing by and bites your finger, the poison will kill your body that is inside. Church Gist. Don’t say I didn’t tell you; I’ve told you because I am your father and I want to see you in Heaven one day and I know by the grace of God you will make it.
As for those of you who are not yet in, you are living in the camp of satan, living all the days of your life in darkness, don’t you know you are in danger? Don’t you know that all manners of evil things happen in darkness? Church Gist. But you can cross over to light today. Colossians 1:13. If you will cross over to the Lord Jesus Christ, he will surround you with his light and for the rest of your life you will live in victory.
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