Joshua - The Impact of Sin

Pray

Well, this past week, I was admiring the beautiful fall weather outside and thinking about the game of golf. Does anyone play golf this morning? Well in case you don’t I came across an article this week that explains:

Have you ever watched professional golfers and been awed by their ability to land a shot from two hundred yards away just a few yards from the hole? You wonder how they can judge the distance to the hole with such precision. Do they have an internal GPS system that enables them to guess the distances on the course with Great accuracy?

Not really. What they have is a yardage book. A yardage book is a map of each hole on the course that gives distances from various landmarks on the hole to the green. Decades ago, Arnold Palmer and his caddy began drawing rough yardage charts with little pictures of trees, fairways, greens, sand traps and such of the various holes on all the courses they played. Jack Nicklaus was the pro who really made yardage books popular. Today along with the maps many pro golfers will keep what essentially is a personal journal of how they have played each hole of the course, what clubs they have used from various distances, what the wind was doing, what happened to their shots, and so on.

You see, Golfers swear by their yardage books. Zach Johnson, winner of the 2010 Colonial, says, "I feel naked without it out there. It's my golf bible."

Steve Marino says, "You see what you did in the past, you make sure you have the right number and then trust all of it, because the room for error is nil."

Scott Vail, caddie for Brandt Snedeker, says, "There are huge ramifications if you are just even 1 yard off."

You see I realize that many of you don’t play golf, but the implications for us this morning are the same. When we talk about the bible, we learn from what they did in the past, you see that there are ramifications for your actions, both good and bad. And ultimately, you live your life as Paul tells us, so as to win the prize.

You see, I don’t know how your week was… maybe you had less than ideal circumstances… maybe you were hoping to land on the green, but you actually landed on the rough. Maybe Conditions in life right now aren’t so great after all.

You see last week, we discussed this idea of the presence of God in our lives, as we looked at the book of Joshua. This morning, we’re going to continue with the same idea, being close to Christ, with the focus of how sin gets in the way. If you have your bibles with you, turn with me to Joshua 7. And as your turning there, we have just 2 points (there are more… but this is where I felt lead to focus). 1. Sin leads affects your confidence (or mindset) .2. Sin affects your circumstances.

Want to make the distinction of suffering for doing right as we see with Elijah 1 kings 18 or job… suffering for doing wrong / righteous suffering…

1. Sin affects your mindset. (or confidence). Sin leads to fear, obedience leads to faith.

It’s interesting, as we begin this morning’s message, you may recall from last week that Joshua and the nation of Israel has recently come off a massive victory. After crossing the Jordan river and then conquering Jericho, as the walls come tumbling down. Joshua and the nation of Israel is at an all-time high. They’re up on top of the mountain top. It would be like if you were a baseball team, perhaps not even the best or most qualified from the outside… but that year, your team went on to win the world series, how great of a feeling would that be? What sort of excitement would be in this experience?

You see, that’s where Joshua and the people of Israel are in Joshua chapter 6. But then we flip forward one page, one chapter… and everything, everything has changed! The people of Israel have gone from a standpoint of victory… to defeat, from total excitement and joy… to total confusion and heartbreak… from confidence and standing tall… to melting with fear and falling to their faces…. And we ask ourselves this morning: “what changed?” How can we literally change the just one page and everything has changed?

Have you ever felt that way before? Have you ever been in a season in life, where things felt like they were going great? I mean you’re on top of the world, you’re on cloud 9. Your marriage is good, work is going great, you’re actually getting along with your in laws, you just got a promotion and if the icing on the cake, you’re going on vacation next week? To then, your dog dies, your in laws don’t like you after all, your promotion fell through and your vacation that was supposed to be glorious was cancelled due to a cockroach outbreak.

Yeah, it’s kind of like country music, you lost your wife, your truck, your dog, your house… which by the way, do you know what happens when you play country music backwards? You get all your stuff back!

But church, here’s the point, Israel was riding on cloud 9. Life was good, it seems like things couldn’t get much better… and then, everything comes crashing to a screeching halt. All the momentum, all the success, all the victory, it seemingly went right out the window.

Church how could so much change… in such a short time?....

You see, after defeating Jericho. And marching around the walls for 7 days and then letting out this massive shout as the walls come crashing down, God give the people just one command… Just on thing to do…

Joshua 6:17-18 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[a] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.

Alright, so God has set the stage, God has set the conditions for the Israelites to follow. He delivers, Jericho into their hands, I’m sure they let out an excited, joyful, victorious shout as the walls come crashing down… but here’s where things get ugly. A few verses later in Joshua 7, we read how the Israelites respond.

Joshua 7: 1-5 tells us:

7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So, the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. (melted, dissolved, snowman.)

You see church, the first point this morning is that obedience leads to faith, disobedience leads to fear. If you recall from last week. How can a nation, who is God’s chosen people be doing so good, one moment, and so bad the next? It all starts with sin.

You recall from Adam and eve; they’re walking faithfully with God. They’re obedient to him. And yet, in a moment, in a laps of judgement, they sin… and sin ultimately affects their mind first.

Genesis 3:6-10 tells us: 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.” (move to point 2

You see church, when we look at this scripture this morning, we see that they’re eyes or in the Hebrew ʿayin was suddenly open. Now this word pertains to their sight physically, but what it’s referring to here is their mindthat is open.

You see as we’re told, sin leads to the knowledge that Adam is naked. Which does, what, causes fear. It causes Adam to be afraid. And in his fear, he hides.

Later on in this scripture, we’ll see that Achan, the start of the show this morning, also is afraid. So, he hides his treasure… and ultimately, his sin leads to death.

But church I want us to see this morning that ultimately, when we sin… it affects the mind first. The nation Of Israel goes from victory, to defeat, from faith fear, and listen, it all starts with sin. The bible tells us that this how Joshua responded, we’re told:

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

If we look here at verse 9, do we see a lot of confidence? I mean this is God’s chosen agent, God’s chosen man who is supposed to lead Israel on to defeat city after city, and remember, the bible tells us that the army on lost around 36 of the fighting men. Not thousands, not a half or a quarter of the army, but 36 men.

Now notice, was it Joshua that sinned? No. But the issues is that one person’s sin affects the whole bunch… One little bit of sin can spoil the whole bunch.

You see I think of my small group this morning Just by a show of hands, who here is part of a small group? Now, if you’re like me you enjoy eating at small group. By the way, Our study is called don’t give the enemy a seat your table, so it’s only fitting to have food... So, my small group this past Wednesday we had Smoked pork Loin, and cornbread stuffing, and homemade rolls, potato salad, green bean casserole, a delicious cake… and even veggies to eat after the cake so you didn’t feel so guilty.

But think about this this morning, your favorite food. Say smoked pork loin, imagine that it was cooked all day on the smoker, it was brushed with just the right amount of honey, and brown sugar and barbeque sauce and it was cooked to perfection… Now let me ask you something, would you eat that food it had just a small amount of dog poop? Now listen not a lot… not like a whole bunch of dog poop, but who here would eat that pork loin if it had just a small amount of dog poop? Anybody?

You see sin works in the same way. By the way, if you’re part of my small group, no worries about the dog poop, after all I don’t have a dog. Right?!... But I do have a cat.

All kidding aside. The point is this, a little bit of sin gets in the whole way. You see, when we look at the nation of Israel, they had thousands and thousands of men that could have potentially stolen from what was dedicated to the Lord. And yet, it wasn’t all of them, instead it was just one man.

Church here’s the point this morning, sin like poison, like dog poop, has a way of coming in and spoiling God’s best. And while sin kills us… obedience leads to life… it leads to confidence. You see Our small group has focused on the idea that you don’t have to give the enemy a seat at your table. And church, I don’t want a small amount of dog poop to spoil the meal that God has planned for my life. I don’t want a small area of sin to come affect my mindset.

Church, sin leads to fear… obedience leads to faith. is there an area of sin this morning, that is affecting your confidence? That is affecting your outlook? God wants to set you free from that today.

2. Sin Changes your circumstances. (Blessing one way, cursing the other.)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

14 “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’” 16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

You see in modern times 5 lbs of silver in todays market worth $1,500, 1 ¼ lbs of Gold worth $33,500 and a gold garment worth perhaps a few thousand dollars. All things total right around $40,000 in goods… but you know what it cost him his life. On a side note The 30 pieces of silver Judas traded for our savior, would be worth $197.40 today. Sad… you see there’s a bait and switch. A trade off…

And Where did it start? It starts with his eyes, you see our senses, primarily are our eyes and our ears are gateways through which sin looks to slide into our lives. As we stop and look at this scripture for a moment, it’s important to once again, see that Israel’s circumstances change, Joshua finds his face on the ground, his confidence interrupted, his courage affected… but also, one man, named Achan would greatly have his circumstances change.

You church, the very idea of that this robe was beautiful, that it was lovely, and desirable… where do you suppose it came from? Where does the idea of beauty come from? God gave us that. Church, the tragedy here is that If Achan had just held out a little longer… God was going to bless him immensely.

And yet Achan opened his eyes, he opened his mind… and he wasn’t willing to wait on the Lord. Crazy enough too, the bible says that he took the items… and he hid them… like a dog that buries its bone outside, just for a rainy day when it’s sad and tired and lonely. So we see this man is here with his treasure. With his bone, that he hides… he doesn’t bring it to the Light he hides it, to have for a rainy day. But before he had the possessions, he had nothing to worry about. Now not only does he have something worry about, God his circumstances will change greatly.

You see the real tragedy for Achan and his family was that God wanted to bless each of these Israelite families immensely.so much so, that Not only would they be victorious in battle, but God would also allow them to plunder and carry off livestock and possessions and special items. But listen… The people had to receive word from God.

Joshua 8:1-2 tells us: 8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

God was wanting to give to the people, but he wanted to make sure the people would give to him first. You see, God wasn’t trying to hold out on Achan … but yet his own sin lead to death.

You see I think this morning, of achan, taking his sin… taking his possessions… and what does he do? He goes and hides them… like a dog with his bone, hiding it in the dirt to comeback for on a rainy day…

For us this morning, oftentimes, our sin doesn’t lead to physical death. Although, certainly it can. But sometimes, this death that we experience is simply in what God has planned for our lives.You see sin, has a way of destroying what God has in store for you. Sin has a way of leading to death in God’s plan and purpose for your life.

Church the tragedy this morning is this. We don’t know how old Achan is, whether he is 20, 40 or 50 years old. But my heart goes out for him. Vs 19 tells us Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” for me in my eyes, when I hear the words, my son… and understand the bible doesn’t specifically say this, but I think of someone who perhaps is younger in their marriage. Someone who is perhaps starting out with their family in life… someone with a wife and children… who looks, takes one look, and then commits their sin, because they weren’t guarding their heart… and ultimately, it would lead to his physical death and the death of his family.

You see you can do the right thing, at the wrong time… and it’s the wrong thing.

How do we know what is right and what is wrong? Well next week we’re going to talk about this concept as we continue to look at Joshua and see that we have to ask God. We have to inquire. But we also see this in the bible this morning. Achan this morning opened his eyes. He desired in his heart, and he sinned. Church, we have to be careful what we allow into our eyes.

You see, in Joshua 7:25-26 we’re told: 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[f] ever since.

You see, I’m sure God would have preferred if Chapter 7 never happened. Like let’s just erase it from the text… it wasn’t God design for this man and his family to end their lives this way…

Church this morning, God’s desire is for us to have life abundantly John 10:10 tells us that: 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. And yet on our end, both with our mind, and our circumstances. Walking in faith, or trembling with Fear… Life or death, destruction, and prosperity…

I’m going to call Lisa back at this time.

And she comes forward his is ultimately what’s best. You see, when you sin, God doesn’t hate you. But God hastes the sin, because sin kills you, and he loves you. So, he doesn’t want the sin which leads to death, to the kill the one he loves so much.

Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Church we were built to serve and worship someone or something. Deep down, that is our nature…

Pray