The sermon titled 'A Blind Church in a Miraculous Place' from Luke 18 and Joshua 5 emphasizes the need for a spiritual awakening and a cry for God's mercy. It highlights the story of a blind man near Jericho who cried out to Jesus for sight, symbolizing the need for believers to cry out for spiritual vision and breakthroughs. The message challenges listeners to humbly seek God's intervention, break free from strongholds, and experience the miraculous power of God in their lives.

I want to talk to you this morning from Luke chapter 18 and the book of Joshua chapter 5, and it's a message called A Blind Church in a Miraculous Place. A blind church in a miraculous place. Now Father, I thank you God with all my heart. I thank you Lord Jesus Christ for the presence of your Holy Spirit. I thank you for the anointing of your Holy Spirit. God, for you take us in our frailty and you overshadow us and you bring us into your victory, into your strength and your power, your wisdom, your understanding. You cause your word to live in our hearts and you give us faith to be able to believe you for the miraculous. Would you help us again Lord God in this generation? Would you help me as I speak this word this morning? Would you overshadow my frailty, my weakness, oh God, and do what only you can do. I can only speak one way but you can take this that I bring and you can multiply it a thousand ways and speak to every heart exactly where everyone needs to be encouraged. I thank you for it with everything in me. Oh God, above all I ask you Father that you would glorify your name once again in this generation. That you would take us God out of what has made us powerless and bring us into that incredible victory that was won on the cross. Would you give us eyes to see it, hearts to embrace it. Would you give us a passion inside of our inner being that longs for the true victory of Christ in each of our lives. Would you draw us and take us, oh God, where we need to go, each of us Lord, to the fullness of how you have determined to express that victory through each of us. Would you help us not to drop back into form, tradition, ritual, and unbelief. God spare us from ourselves in this generation. And one more time let there be an explosion of grace and vision among your people. God have mercy on this generation. I ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Luke chapter 18 beginning at verse 35. Then it happened as he was coming near Jericho that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out saying Jesus son of David have mercy on me. Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet. But he cried out all the more son of David have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he had come near he asked him saying what do you want me to do for you. And he said Lord that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to him receive your sight, your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed him glorifying God. And all the people when they saw it gave praise to God. Now this scene in verse 35 happens in the vicinity of a place called Jericho. It's a place of both historic and spiritual significance to the people of God of that generation. It's my viewpoint that Jericho should have produced such a sense of awe in every heart as the people of God of that time would have passed by and remembered the marvelous and supernatural victory that was won there. It was here at Jericho that their ancestors had followed through with their decision to be spiritually separated from their former places of captivity. Remember it was Joshua before bringing that next generation. A generation had failed and died in the wilderness. And Joshua was about to bring the next generation through into this incredible place of promise. But before they would achieve that promise, before the supernatural of God could be known there had to be a rolling away of the reproach that had become part of them while they were captivated in Egypt. And before we will know anything of the supernatural life of God in our generation, there has to be an inner decision in everyone who calls himself or herself by the name of Christ to put away practices that we know are wrong. We can't have it both ways. We can't be doing this on Friday night and expect the glory of God to visit us on Sunday in our hearts. It doesn't work two ways. We have to do what we know the Word of God is calling us to do. It is painful. It is a sacrifice. It does distinguish us. It means that we're willing to be separated under God for His, not only His eternal purpose, but for His purpose for us while we live here on the earth. It was here at Jericho after the people of God had made that definitive choice to be separated under God that Joshua had an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ. In other words, he met Jesus Christ before Jesus came to the earth as a baby in human form to the womb of Mary in the New Testament. He did appear in the Old Testament in various forms. The Bible tells us in Joshua chapter 5 and verse 13, it says, It came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or our adversaries? And so he said, No, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, What does my Lord say to his servant? Then the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Take your sandal off your foot in a similar way as God spoke to Moses when he appeared in a burning bush. In other words, I don't want your strength, I don't want your ingenuity, I don't want your plans. I want you to listen to me and I want you to do it my way. If you're going to know the victory I'm about to give you. Take your sandals off, take your sandal off your foot for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. The commentator Matthew Henry says this about this passage of scripture. He says, Christ had his sword drawn which encouraged Joshua to carry on the war with vigor. Christ's sword drawn in his hand denotes how ready he is for the defense and salvation of his people. We do not have to persuade a reluctant God to revive us in this generation. We simply need a people who are willing to walk God's way and are willing to lay hold of his willingness to show his power and his mercy one more time. Now Joshua was a place, not Joshua, but Jericho was a place of impossibility. Historians, at least some say, the walls were 30 feet high and 20 feet thick. The walls were thick enough to actually drive a chariot or a horse across the top of them. It was considered by the people of that generation to be an invincible place. Joshua chapter 6 verse 1 says Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in. In other words you are not getting by us. We're not letting you in. There's no way you're going to win this victory. And the Lord said to Joshua, see I've given Jericho into your hand. It's king and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war, and you shall go all around the city once. And this you will do six days. And the seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn and when you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout. And then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people will go up every man before him. The Bible also tells us that people were told as you go around the city all these times every day and seven times on the seventh day except for the very end on the seventh day you are to march around the city in silence. In verse 10 it says now Joshua had commanded the people saying you shall not shout or make any noise with your voice nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth until the day that I say to you shout and then you shall shout. What an odd battle plan this is in the natural. Can you imagine all of these people they're not to say a word all of these days. Now it doesn't mean there are not things going on in their hearts. I'm sure everybody inside their heart is screaming out loud. But firstly the silence was a sign of faith that God will do what he said he will do. Remember the Lord said to the prophet Isaiah it's in quietness and confidence that your strength will be found. That's what I wanted to give to you. This confident assurance that no matter what your eyes are seeing I have given you promises and these promises take precedent over what you see around you. It doesn't matter how thick the walls are and how high they are. It doesn't matter how many people are telling you it can't be yours. If I said it will be yours it will be yours. And secondly the silence was a sign to the powers of darkness and the devil himself that unlike what's what once happened in the Garden of Eden there would be no discussion with the enemy about the faithfulness of God. There will be no discussion. God is and he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Let the tongue of every enemy of the truth of God be put to silence. We will not debate the devil about this. We will not debate his adversaries, emissaries rather, who shout at us over the wall. Now no doubt there was an inner prayer for those seven days. What would you be doing? Oh God have mercy on me. Oh God give me everything that you promised you would. You can imagine after all that time being virtually raised this generation in the wilderness and all that time of of hearing of about how people failed and their failure brought them into captivity and powerlessness and and suddenly one more time technically speaking Jesus has come. He wants to give his own people a victory. He wants to take them into a place of incredible promise and supernatural power that is undeniable even to their enemies. It's not a battle strategy. It's not by might or by power. They're not building battering rams to take down the gates. They're not trying to starve out the city. They're simply doing it God's way. They're being quiet. Be still he said and know that I am God. They're trusting God with all of their heart but yet inside can you imagine? Oh God have mercy because everyone going around that wall would be familiar with their failings. They would know the trembling that's in their heart. It's not like everybody just exuded this incredible confidence. Part of the reason why I believe the Lord wanted the people to be quiet is so they wouldn't infect the people on their left and on their right with unbelief as had happened in previous days and without doubt there would be voices calling to them from over or far behind that impenetrable wall. There's no doubt in my mind that people would be shouting at them as they went around in silence. Some battle plan. Is this how you expect to get your miracle? Do you really think that God cares about you? After all we heard that yours is a history of repeated failure. So what makes you think that suddenly you're going to have this incredible victory or be able to overcome this stronghold that has entrenched itself in your place of promise? That's what it was. It was the promised land but there was a stronghold. If you can't get by that stronghold then the rest of the promises would seem so distant so far away so impossible. I can hear these voices saying why don't you just stay quiet? Stay quiet and go back to where you came from. Forget this illusion that you're going to be able to defeat us and somehow you're going to get over or through around this wall. It's not going to happen. Then in Joshua 6 in verse 14 it says on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp and so they did for six days. But it came to pass on the seventh day they rose early about the dawning of the day and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. Verse 16 and the seventh time it happened when the priests blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people shout for the Lord has given you the city. Verse 20 so the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets and it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat and the people went up into the city every man straight before him and they took the city. Feel free to say amen at any time you want. What an incredible story. What an incredible history. It should stir something in your heart. It should stir something in my heart because we all have a Jericho of sorts. There's always something in everyone's life whether it's just unbelief, whether it's a particular thing that you can actually point to that sits in that place of promise and says listen my walls are so high and they're so thick and they've been here so long you're never going to get the victory. You're never going to get in past us into that place of promise so just be quiet and go back where you came from. What makes you think you're ever going to get the victory? And so we fast forward many years and we're into another generation and the people we're talking about now are the descendants of that generation that took the city of Jericho and because of that previous victory they're living in a place where the miraculous is still possible because don't forget the promised land was going to be a place of miracles. It was going to be a place where people could come into the house of the temple at that time and pray and their answers would come. They would be given strength against their enemies. They'd be given clear thinking in the midst of confusion. They would be given provision in their poverty. They'd be given forgiveness in their guilt and their doubt and unbelief would be met by the presence and power of God. It was it was to be a place of the miraculous and Jericho should have been that to them. As the people passed by Jericho just as if you and I today were taken in the tour to the upper room in Acts chapter 2 where the presence of God came down on a hundred and twenty failures and empowered them with the Spirit of God took them out into the marketplace and those people were able to overthrow the walls of Rome in the long term. It should have caused them. It should have brought a sense of awe into their heart and that's the way it should be for you and I this morning. Every time we open the word of God there should be this sense of awe. This life is mine. I don't have to live on the outside looking in for the rest of my days. I don't have to listen to the voices of doubt and unbelief. I don't have to put up with the curses of the enemy. I don't have to debate with the devil about the faithfulness of God. The things that are in this book are mine because when Jesus Christ rose from the grave he took captivity captive and gave gifts unto men and so now in Luke chapter 18 the scripture says it happened as he was coming near Jericho. I want you to keep in mind this is the same Jesus that Joshua met coming near Jericho again. Folks there are times in history that Jesus just passes by again. The times in history where he determines to do the miraculous. He decides to meet with his people and here is a blind man sitting in the place where the power of God had once before been made known. This blind man has more than a 30 foot wall and 20 foot thick wall before him. He's got a veil of impenetrable darkness. He has a condition in his body that is never going to change apart from a miracle. He doesn't see a future. He doesn't know how to get home without assistance. He doesn't see much but he sees something that nobody else is seeing at the moment. It's amazing. You have people who have natural vision but they don't have any spiritual vision. They've lost their vision. They're a type of a blind church in a miraculous place. And so suddenly he sees something the crowd is largely unaware of and he asked a question. He says hearing a multitude passing by he asked what it meant. In other words why are these people getting together and why are they when they're passing by what does it mean? To me it's a type of our society today who are saying those people going down the highway or going down the street and they're meeting together in groups in this place they call the church. What does it mean? What significance what significance is it to this moment in history? Why do they get together? I want to know. There's a cry I believe for God coming into the hearts of this generation. As we see society literally deteriorating daily all around us there is a cry. It's not in everybody but it's in many now. What does it mean when you go to church? What do you find there? What happens in that place? Why do you go there? What's it all about? And then somebody said to this blind man Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. They're going they're meeting with Jesus. Now the irony of it all is the agenda-driven church has no idea what he's passing by. No idea that he's willing to do the miraculous and I can see the crowd now. Now some are everyone there is corralling him for a specific reason. Jesus himself said some are just there for the bread. They're there because there's been supernatural provision and so they say hey this is awesome. I don't have to work as hard and I get ten times as much in my cupboard so I'm gonna follow him. Others were there for the miracles. Others were there for the excitement of the moment. Others were there trying to politically move him to their agenda their party as it is. God is with us. No God is with us. No God is with us. Trying to push him in every direction and here he is passing by Jericho where the the walls once came down. This victory this incredible victory was once given to a previous generation and the crowd just somebody casually says well it's Jesus going by and I wonder did this blind man remember the story? Did he hear the story about how once there was an appearance of a being from heaven who spoke to Joshua because that had to be told that story and gave an incredible victory one time to the people of God and he begins to cry out. He sees something the irony of it all he sees something the whole group of God's people at that time don't see and he starts to cry out Jesus son of David have mercy on me. A man is behind a wall. The man has an impenetrable fortress in his life keeping him out from the promise and the power and the provision and the possibility of life that lays before him. Now look who's shouting over his wall of darkness and telling him to be quiet. Then those who went before him warned him that he should be quiet. Imagine. You see folks here's what happens I can't help but wonder are we really aware are we ready for a spiritual awakening as the people of God because I'm going to tell you something when God begins to touch his people again when he starts meeting with people people are going to come in here to this house and others like it they don't know our program they don't they don't know how many hymns we sing they don't even know how long we're going to be here but one thing they do know Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and they're going to start shouting have mercy on me. I remember one time when I was pastoring in Canada we dismissed the service at noon and we just stayed to worship we just stayed to worship and we worship probably till about 2-2.30 in the afternoon it was awesome was wonderful and in the middle of the worship this lady who had been visiting I don't know if I'd even noticed her up to that point she just stood up and cried somebody help me I'm lost help me you know folks when an awakening happens when a spiritual awakening comes that's what's going to happen people you tell them you dismiss the service they won't go home they'll stay and they'll cry out to God for the next five hours but what happened is everybody in this moment had become so programmed that they couldn't recognize the cry that God wanted to answer they couldn't recognize even the reason why Jesus was there I came to give sight to the blind I came to open doors to those that are in prison I came to tell the poor about the treasure of heaven I came to heal the broken in heart release the captive that was the ministry of Jesus Christ but there's such an agenda driven people around and they can't see it anymore you know you look historically when a nation knows a spiritual awakening who resists it it's always the the staid stalwart church that resists the move of God it's so tragic and here's a man crying out have mercy on me the crowd has to know that Jesus can do miracles and so what are they doing telling him to be quiet but Jesus stood still and he commanded him to be brought to him and when he came near he asked him what do you want me to do for you just said Lord I want to see I want to see my children come home I want to see a future for my life I want to see the power of God manifested inside of my heart I I want to see the reason for my life I I want to see a way out of my darkness I want to see a way into my future I want to see where strength comes from Jesus but even more than all of this I just want to see you as a son of God I want to see your victory I want to I want to see you can help me the agenda driven crowd with all the reasons and religious practices couldn't see it but he said he saw it and he started crying out Jesus help me you can help me you want to help me you will help me your sword is drawn one more time Jesus is passing by you see I happen to believe that Jesus is passing by America one last time I believe with all my heart it's something he's speaking to me it has been for years now he's passing by one more and maybe one last time in verse 40 it says what do you want me to do verse 41 he says Lord that I may receive my sight and Jesus said to receive your sight your faith has made you well in other words one more time the wall of Jericho falls and a blind man took the city prophet Isaiah I'm talking about those who will win the victory says the lame will take the prey that which God has brought the victory that God wants to give it will it will be the least expected in society that will lay hold of something of God and this man it says immediately received his sight and followed him glorifying God see that's what happens in the spiritual awakening that's what happens in the book of Acts chapter 2 immediately the strength of God gives vision when they came out of the upper room they were speaking about the things that God had determined to do through his people and they were saying it with such glory and such authority and such power that 3,000 people that day drop their powerless religion and laid hold of a living relationship with God he began glorifying God folks I used to be blind now I can see I used to live on the side of the road in a place of miracles forgetting who it was that could give me a miracle then one day he was just passing by one day I was just at Times Square Church it was a Sunday it was 10 o'clock and and suddenly my heart just filled with faith and suddenly I just started to believe I don't have to live here anymore I don't have to be captivated by this anymore I don't have to allow the devil to occupy this place of abundant life that's supposed to be mine I don't have to live here anymore and I started to cry out and I didn't care who heard me Jesus son of David have mercy on me have mercy on me Oh God have mercy on the mess that I've made of my home and my family have mercy on me for what I've been thinking seeing where I've been going have mercy on me Oh God for my powerlessness to see a way out of my situation Oh God have mercy on me and when I cried he stopped he called me to himself and he spoke to me and said what do you want me to do for you and I said Oh God I want to see I want to see and he touched me as that song goes oh he touched me know all the joy that floods my soul something happened Oh God and now I know he touched me and made me whole the scripture says and all the people when they saw it gave praise to God you see a spiritual awakening always begins with a cry I'm seeing that now in the prayer requests that we have coming in from around the world on Tuesday night I'm hearing it from various places I'm I'm seeing prayer requests from deacons and churches that are secret alcoholics and they're tired of it they're tired of the hypocrisy and they're signing their names to the requests and even though their town is small they've gotten to the place on the side of the road of saying I don't care who knows anymore I want to be free I want to see a way into the future I'm tired requests coming in from pastors to in particular in the last couple of weeks one man said I'm I hate my congregation another man said I'm filled with envy and ambition and that's not the kind of man that I need to be God set me free God help me I hear that cry that cry for freedom that cry for victory that cry that says I don't care who knows I'm not sitting here on the side of the road as Jesus goes by and I'm not gonna let my eyes stay blind when the giver of life is here the one who brought down the walls of Jericho is passing by again the one who will fight for me that's why the Bible says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways I'll hear from heaven forgive their sin and I will heal their land praise be to God praise be to God praise be to God you see true awakening starts with a cry and when that cry comes into the heart you look at Psalm 106 I believe it is or 107 where it talks about people going down into bondage because of unbelief or because of false practice or because of just an ignorance of the ways of God the words of God because of rebellion but then it says and then they cry and when they cry the Lord hears them and he brings them out and he brings them to their desired haven he brings them to that which their heart is always longed for but I'm telling you an awakening doesn't happen until that cry comes into the hearts of God's people he resists the proud but gives grace to the humble I'll finish with a story many many years ago in my marriage I was a very very selfish man and selfishness would cause me to hold my ground you know what I'm talking about right Pastor Teresa would try to tell me about my faults and I would hold my ground and tell her about hers and then one day I just got fed up with the whole thing we were sitting in the kitchen of our farmhouse and suddenly out of my innermost being came a cry and it didn't matter to me that my wife was in the same room because I was desperate to be the man that I felt God wanted me to be I'm reading in the scriptures about giving myself for my wife as Christ gave himself for his church I'm reading about how I should be leading and not pushing my family there's just a lot of stuff I'm reading about that I'm not and so I was just sitting in my chair we had a fire going in the kitchen and I started to cry out from the very depths of my gut and I said oh Jesus oh Jesus you see it didn't matter anymore I didn't care I didn't care that my defenses were coming down I didn't care if it was thrown back in my face I was just tired of being in a place that I knew the Word of God was telling me I should be living far beyond where I was and I just cried out and I remember in my words I said oh Jesus if you'll set me free from all of these things that I have become if you'll give me the life that I know you promised me I will live for you all the days of my life and when that cry came I've only shared this a few times because many people wouldn't understand it but a light a physical light came into the kitchen touched me scared me to the point where I screamed I was terrified when I saw it I I tried to pull away and I couldn't touch me in my eyes and went right through my body it set me on my face on the floor trembling and sweating it was a Daniel moment in my life then I felt the voice of God telling me stand up I want to speak to you as I stood on my feet now my wife is in the kitchen she can bear witness to everything I'm telling you she saw it all and she said to me you started quoting a psalm that I know you didn't know who am I Oh God that you should consider me worthy to touch when I consider the stars the heavens the work of your hands what is man that you are mindful of him but I tell you folks I was free my God met me when I turned and looked at my wife she backed away from me and I said why did you back away she said because there was something in your eyes she said it's as if you could see every sin in my life and everything that was wrong in my heart she said but it was eyes of love incredible love God had touched me God had touched my life and so the question is do we sit blind by the side of the road or do we humble ourselves and move forward and take our inheritance in Christ I know that was a turning point in my life there have been several milestones along the way that was a principle one it's where my heart truly began to change and the Jericho in my life came crashing down and this blind man took the city so I want to challenge you this morning as I going to give you an opportunity to respond if you have a Jericho in your life a stronghold it's been there your whole life is something people told you maybe you are it's an experience you had that you simply can't escape it's something that consistently tells you you will not go any farther than where you are today this is where you will always be but if you are willing to believe if you are willing to receive what God wants to give you if you're willing to humble yourself to the point where you just don't care who hears your prayer you just want to be free you just need to move beyond these things that have governed most of your life if not all of it God I need to get beyond this wall Jesus son of David have mercy on me and if you do cry that out from an honest heart I believe that God will move in miraculous power in your life like he's done in mine he will give you the victory it won't always be the same the victory will be the same the methodology won't always be the same but the victory will be yours we're gonna stand in just a moment and at home North Jersey campus in the annex here in the main sanctuary for those God is speaking to your heart and in your heart you're saying I need and want to move into the fullness of God for my life I need to win this victory to go forward and you know exactly what it is because the Lord's brought that right back to your mind right now I'm gonna ask you to get out of your seat and just come join with me we're gonna pray then we're gonna shout we're gonna believe God with all of our hearts let's stand together please and just come as the Lord speaks to your heart the balcony go to either exit main sanctuary to slip out unashamedly just join these that are coming and we're going to pray we are going to be a church that knows the victory by God's grace we're not going to be startled when people start crying out in this assembly because we will know that Jesus is passing by we're gonna take about three minutes or so and I just want you to exercise your faith you know for for an awakening to happen in in our hearts there has to be an absence of pride lest we find ourselves resisted by God that we just call out and say have mercy on me Jesus and pray about what you need everyone around you has needs so you don't have to worry about nobody's come here to listen to you everybody is everybody is taken with their own situation and remember there's no temptation that you have come under that is not common to everybody around you you're not unique in that regard if you have a problem in your life is probably 500 more people have the same problem but it's really that the person that cries out to God with a sincere heart of faith is the one who will get the miracle will get the freedom whatever that situation is I'm going to ask you to lift your hands and lift your voice right now and let's talk to God for the next three four minutes just go ahead lift your voice to God don't be afraid to cry out to him don't be afraid to tell him what you need he's passing by don't be afraid of what the crowd is going to think have the courage of the blind man to just say Jesus son of David have mercy on me no matter what voice is telling you to be quiet don't listen to it you call out to God for your freedom your strength the hope that you need for the future lift your voice to God now unashamedly unreservedly thank you Lord thank you mighty God thank you for courage for those who need courage just to pray thank you for faith God to believe that you won't turn away from us after dying for us that we might be forgiven and know your life in your power thank you God for breaking chains this very moment thank you Lord for walls coming down thank you God for strongholds being broken thank you God for prisoners being set free thank you Lord for blinded I see it thank you God for wounded hearts being healed thank you that the treasure of the cross and the victory of that cross is being revealed to us thank you God with all of our hearts today we say thank you Lord thank you God thank you that you will not turn away from us everywhere Lord there was a cry you came everywhere where people cried out you didn't disappoint them so we thank you Lord for not only this moment but for the multitudes that will cry out to you inside of this house in the next season we thank you God for men and women who will come into this church and cry out son of David have mercy on me God Almighty praise you we bless you Lord for hearing us hallelujah to the Lamb of God