Part 3: This Wall Is In My Way

Synopsis 7/20/25

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Joshua 6:1-5 (NKJV)

1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.

2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.

3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

5 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; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

I.            Introduction

1. On the 7th day, when they made a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when they heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout—and the wall of the city fell down flat. The people went up—every man straight before him.
2. Have you ever felt like you were standing right at the edge of your breakthrough—but the closer you got, the greater the opposition became?
   1. You’re in the right place today. Because this Word is going to help us understand what it looks like when God’s people are at the door of promise, but one thing is standing in the way.
3. For Israel, that “one thing” was the wall of Jericho.
   1. Jericho was a fortified city.
   1. The wall was built like a fortress—25 feet tall, 20 feet thick.
   1. They were proud of their wall.
   1. The wall was so massive, it had houses built into it. Biblical history suggests that Jezebel’s home may have even been built into the wall—she’d hang out her red rag from time to time (but that’s another sermon for another day).
4. The wall of Jericho was designed to intimidate.
   1. It gave the city a psychological advantage.
   1. Jericho had military strength.
   1. They could also, shut the city down where no one could come in and no one could go out. That’s where our text picks up today.
5. To understand this fully, you’ve got to go back to Genesis 12, where God made a covenant with Abraham.
   1. God promised to bless him and make his name great, and through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. He told Abraham his descendants would inherit the promised land.
   1. Before they possessed it, Abraham’s descendants—the Israelites—would spend 400 years in Egypt.
   1. They entered Egypt as welcomed guests because of Joseph. But when a Pharaoh arose who didn’t know Joseph, the favor turned into 400 years of slavery.
   1. They cried out, and God heard them. He raised up Moses to lead them out.
   1. Moses trusted God even in the face of Pharaoh’s resistance.
   1. God performed signs, brought them through the Red Sea, provided manna and water in the wilderness. Their clothes didn’t wear out and their feet didn’t swell—God sustained them.
   1. At the edge of the Promised Land, when spies were sent in, fear took over.
   1. That generation died in the wilderness. Only Joshua and Caleb remained.
6. Moses died on Mount Nebo. Now Joshua, Moses’ protégé, was called to take the people into the land.
   1. God told Joshua: “Be strong. Don’t be afraid. I got you. As I was with Moses, I’ll be with you.”
   1. Joshua did great exploits, including parting the Jordan and defeating Amalek.
7. But now—at this moment—they were standing at the threshold of promise, but there was  one thing in the way: a wall.
   1. That wall represents everything standing between you and your promise.
   1. For some of you—it’s a diagnosis.
   1. For others, it’s an invoice.
   1. For some—it’s a toxic relationship, a job situation, depression, or doubt.
   1. But I came to declare: whatever your wall is, this is your last day dealing with it, because the same God who brought you out—will bring you in.

II.             Walls Weigh On Our Worship

A.   Walls Create Barriers, But Worship Breaks Chains

1. Walls are heavy. They burden your mind.
2. They try to block your worship, because you’re so consumed with the problem—you forget your praise.
3. The enemy wants you to see an obstacle, but God wants you to see an opportunity. Let me help you:
4. When you mature in God, you stop panicking and start praising.
   1. Don’t say, “My life is falling apart. ”Say, “God, you must be setting me up for something major!”
5. Worship isn’t based on what you see—it’s based on what you believe.
6. What I see might look bad, but what I know is that:
   1. God shall supply all my needs.
   1. By His stripes, I am healed.
   1. He will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on Him.

B.   Walls Challenge Our Faith, But God Calls Us To Trust

1. Can you still trust God when the wall is still there?
2. Can you trust God when the promise is spoken—but the obstacle hasn’t moved yet?

III.            Worship Wields The Weapon

A.   Worship Is Our Warfare Against The Enemy

1. Israel wasn’t told to fight Jericho with swords. They were told to worship. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God…”
2. The shofar—the ram’s horn—wasn’t a military trumpet. It was a sacred, prophetic instrument.
3. It symbolized God’s presence, it warned of judgment, and proclaimed victory.
4. Blowing the shofar wasn’t about pageantry. It was a prophetic declaration “We are claiming territory. We are about to occupy what God promised.”

B.   There are territorial spirits.

1. Demons are assigned to regions—why do you think certain cities are known for certain spirits?
2. When the people of God blow the trumpet—when we raise our worship—we declare war.
3. We say to the enemy: “We’re taking back territory!”
   1. Mount Zion isn’t in four locations just for convenience. It’s a divine strategy.
4. God told us to take territory.
5. We bought the block at 1112 Jefferson Street—once the most incarcerated zip code in the nation.
6. We took over a nightclub in Antioch and made it a youth complex.
7. Now we’re in Brentwood—covering the city in every direction.
8. When you worship, you shift the battle from your hands, to God’s hands.

IV.            Waiting Works In Our Walk

A.   Here’s the strategy.

1. Joshua says: “Get in line. March around the wall—once a day—for six days. And don’t say a word.”
2. Why? Because sometimes silence is your strategy.
3. Some of y’all talk too much. You post your promise before it manifests, but this time—just march and say nothing, because on the 7th day, something is going to happen!
4. By the 7th time, you’ll be tired, but you’ll also be ready—because man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.

V.            We Are About To Witness Divine Wonders

A.   Final Lap

1. On that final lap, the priests blew the shofar, which is an ram’s horn.
2. The people shouted together—and the wall fell flat. It didn’t crumble. It didn’t crack. It fell flat.
3. And when the wall fell, every man went up straight before him.
4. This is how you know it was God, because your wall isn’t just falling—it’s clearing the way.
5. Don’t miss this: It only happened when everybody shouted together.
6. There were no spectators and no folded arms.
7. We need one sound, one shout, one unified faith, because there’s something on the other side of that wall.

Final Prophetic Push

1. Look at your neighbor and say, “Help me shout this wall down.”
2. When we open our mouths together, walls fall, strongholds break, and territory is taken!