Sermon Title: The Cost of Jericho Junk

Sermon Series: Joshua: Finding Courage through the Challenges of Life

Sermon Text: Joshua 7

April 6, 2008

Introduction: What do you think of when you think of histories biggest upsets? Maybe...

The Miracle on Ice
"Do you believe in miracles?" The U.S beat the Soviet Union 4-3 in the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Soviets, who had won eight of the previous nine Olympic gold medals, had blown away the American college kids 10-3 in a pre-tournament exhibition just days before.

Buster Douglas KOs Mike Tyson in a boxing upset
The weight-challenged journeyman was a 42-to-1 underdog against the undefeated Tyson. But when the smoke had cleared on Feb. 10, 1990, in Tokyo Japan, the "baddest man on the planet" was lying on his back, and his heavyweight championship belt was missing.

New York Giants upsetting the Patriots

One of the biggest underdogs in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants made some history of their own in Super Bowl 42, upsetting the previously undefeated New England Patriots with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the clincher with 35 seconds left in the game.

Dewey defeats Truman

When Truman went to bed November 2, he was losing the election. Upon arising the next morning he, of course, learned he had won. he traveled to Washington, D.C. that day by train. On a short stop in St. Louis, Truman was presented with one of the "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" papers while on the back platform of the train. It was at this moment that the now famous photo of Truman holding up the paper was taken.

There are, no doubt, many circumstances that make a team or a competitor vulnerable to an upset. It’s often a convergence of factors and so hard to know what really causes it. Today, our story from Joshua is a story of a big upset. What’s different about the upset in Joshua 7 is that God explains exactly why the upset happens. I want you to see what led to it and learn how you and I can avoid similar upsets in our lives. Let’s begin by looking at verses 1-9.

Unacknowledged sin makes us vulnerable to defeat and discouragement in our lives (7:1-9)

Right out of the shoot get a heads up as to what caused this surprising defeat of the Israelites. This defeat freaked everyone out. The hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They all expected Jericho part two. But the opposite happened and Joshua experienced great distress and dismay, tearing his clothes, falling on his face in front of the Ark, the symbol of the presence of God, and didn’t move until evening. The Elders did the same, in addition sprinkling dust on their heads; all a demonstration of great distress and heartache and desperation.

Joshua is in total disarray. He second guesses God’s motives. He accuses God of bringing them across the Jordan only to back them against it for execution. Shocked he cries out, “Israel has been defeated by her enemy?” “What could this mean?” God had promised...he couldn’t make sense of it. He pleads with God, reminding him that if they get wiped out by the nations of Canaan it’s going to be a huge embarrassment for God. “Joshua the courageous” is tragically reduced to “Joshua the dismayed,” “Joshua the distressed.” All of this because of one man’s choice to ignore God’s directions and keep for himself what was to be devoted to God.

Do you think Achan thought through how his sin would impact his life? Do you think Achan thought through how his sin would impact those around him? Probably not! Here’s a sobering truth: There really is no such thing as victimless sin. The reality is: your sin often impacts those closest to you in ways that you might never imagine or expect. Achan severely miscalculated the casualties that would be caused by his sin.

In the moment of temptation or opportunity for sin, we’re usually not thinking about consequences. We’re usually obsessed with self-gratification. Folks, we must never underestimate the serious, serious consequences of sin. I fear we have become somewhat tolerant of sin as a rule. We disregard it, rationalize it, excuse it, overlook it, work overtime to hide it...and seriously under estimate its deadly effects...all to our own peril and to the wounding of the relationships around us. And far too often, we don’t think about the impact of our choices until it’s too late and we’re forced to stare into the eyes of the consequences and the wounded around us.

And the most deadly sin is the sin that we try to hide and keep covered up. Unacknowledged sin or sin that you try to keep under wraps only intensifies its toxic level. The more you try to hide it, the longer you try to cover it up the more powerful it gets.

The big fib story where a little fib turns into a huge destructive lie.

I read a story about a construction worker who thought he had a toothache. For almost a week, he tried painkillers and ice packs to reduce the swelling and cover the pain. When nothing he did brought relief, he finally went to the dental office where his wife works. Only after the dentist took an x-ray did Patrick learn the true source of the toothache.

He had a four-inch nail in his head.

The incident occurred six days earlier. Patrick was working with a nail gun that backfired. One of the nails shot through the roof of his mouth, just missing Patrick's right eye.

Patrick didn't realize it. He merely complained of a toothache and blurry vision, and even tried ice cream to soothe and cover over the pain.

Surgeons at a Denver hospital successfully removed it through four hours of surgery. Although it is a "pretty rare injury," one neurosurgeon admitted, "This is the second one we've seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn't actually realize the nail had been embedded in their skull."

A wrong diagnosis only leads to a wrong remedy. In our spiritual lives, unless we recognize the deadly presence of sin, and deal with it, it will only get worse. Terry Horvath, Winter Springs, Florida; source: "It's a Pretty Rare Injury," Sydney Morning Herald (1-17-05)

[Transition] – Sin has many tiny tentacles that penetrate and work to poison you and those around you. Like a cancer, sin’s impact is often unseen and undetected until it’s too late. One of the unseen, yet troubling symptoms of unacknowledged sin is that it chokes out God’s presence and hinders his power in our lives. Look at verses 10-15.

Unacknowledged sin chokes out God’s presence and power in our lives (7:10-15)

God makes it clear that the defeat and dismay occurred because Achan’s sin hindered God’s presence and power. It impacted the “with factor” and so instead of being strong and courageous and watching God bring the victory they underestimated their enemy, turned and ran, experienced casualties and their hearts melted. Unacknowledged sin hinders God’s presence and chokes out God’s power, leaving us vulnerable, anxious and insecure.

In Proverbs 1:24-33 Godly Wisdom calls out and says, “If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you- when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."

Now, we know that we all are sinners and so, we have sin in our lives. So how do we keep our sin from sabotaging us and making us vulnerable to defeat and discouragement? Look at verses 16-26.

Acknowledging sin and walking in obedience frees God to accomplish all he desires for us (7:16-26)

Achan’s sin had to be acknowledged and dealt with. Like all sin and unfaithfulness to God, Achan’s disobedience of God required the death penalty. And the extreme seriousness of sin and rebellion from God’s holy instruction is highlighted by the corporate nature of Achan’s punishment. God calls his sin, “a disgraceful thing in Israel,” an outrage of utter folly for a follower of God. God was teaching the nation of Israel some important lessons about what it meant to be the people of God, the people of the holy covenant. He wanted them to understand in no uncertain terms how absolutely serious he was about sin and its trickle down effect.

It’s shocking to us but Achan’s whole family pays the price for Achan’s foolish choice. That doesn’t seem right does it? It doesn’t seem fair. Thank God that he doesn’t work this way with us in these days. But, the reality is, the people around us still do pay the price of our sin...the people around us get burned by our foolish choices. Again, we have to sit up and take note of the incredibly sober way God deals with sin. It’s not to be played with...it’s not to be taken lightly because it wounds and injures and kills.

This story ought to cause us all to do a gut check. What’s our posture toward God’s holiness and his call for obedience and purity in our lives? What’s our posture toward sin in our lives? Do you understand how serious God is about sin? Do you understand why?

Sin has serious effects in our life:

Sin alienates us from God.

Psalm 66:18 – “If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;...”
Deuteronomy 31: 16 And the LORD said to Moses: "... these people ... will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. ... Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?’ And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
Micah 3:4, “Then they will cry out to the LORD,
       but he will not answer them.
       At that time he will hide his face from them
       because of the evil they have done.”

Sin alienates us from God

Sin brings distress to you and those around you.

Proverbs 5:22 – “The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.”
Galatians 6:7-8, “7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Sin makes you vulnerable to defeat and discouragement

Sin brings death.

The wages of sin is death... Romans 6:23
Acts 5 - Ananias and Sapphira ...interesting they two dropped dead in their tracks for coveting and holding for themselves what was to be devoted to God and lying about it...has a ton to say about the importance of stewardship and how serious God is about honoring God with your wealth, doesn’t it?

So, with sin being so serious and having such serious consequences; how can you keep it from sabotaging your life? How can you acknowledge it and walk in obedience so that God is free to accomplish all he desires for you?

What this looks like for us:

Ask God to help you recognize sin when it’s present in your life.

The prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

When sin is identified, acknowledge and confess it. The word confession means, speaking the same thing God knows. Own it and speak it because God already knows it. Bring it into the light.

Trust in Christ’s death as your atonement for sin.

Atonement is perhaps best described as a qualified price/payment to cover or remove an offense. Sin must be atoned for. And there is only two ways for you to do it. Atone for it yourself and become a rock pile. Or, trust in the atonement Jesus offered for you by laying his life down on the cross as a substitute for you. Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Romans 3:21-25, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[i] and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood....”

Let me put it to you this way: Without Christ the stones piled on Achan will be piled on you. And the question each of us must answer is: Do I want to atone for my own sin for eternity or do I want to trust Jesus as my atonement for sin once for all?

Yield to the Holy Spirit, repent and walk in obedience.

When you place your faith in Jesus as your atonement, your covering for sin, God places his seal of ownership in you by giving you his Spirit. The Holy Spirit then goes to work inside you helping you identify sin, helping you understand and apply the Bible to your life. In short, the Holy Spirit goes to work empowering you for holy living and for service to God. But, he won’t strong arm you are force you into obedience. You must learn to yield to him and make choices that cooperate with his transformational efforts in you.

2 Timothy 1:14 – “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”

As you acknowledge sin when it is present, confess it and trust Jesus forgiveness of it, then yield to the Holy Spirit who empowers you to walk in obedience, the power and presence of God will be freed in your life to accomplish all God desires for you.

Prayer – invitation!

OUR RESPONSE...

Communion is a ceremony that gives us the chance to remember Jesus as our atonement. The bread is his body that he laid down for us as our atonement. The cup is his blood that cleanses us and covers us with his righteousness. When we personally trust what Jesus did in his death and resurrection it allows us to live so that sin can’t defeat us and upset us.