JOSHUA 7:10-13 “SIN IN THE CAMP”
A) There is nothing so damaging, nothing so hurtful as when a person, especially a Christian,
is living in sin!
* This morning we’re going to see what happened to the nation of Israel as the result of one man’s
disobedience to the Lord.
* Moses has now died and Joshua has taken over ... And it is his task now to lead the nation of
Israel over Jordan into the land of Canaan.
B) After Israel had defeated Jericho, God gave them explicit instructions to not take any of the
city’s riches, but to leave everything behind!
* Not long after, Joshua, the Israelite leader, sent spies to scope out the next city of war, Ai.
* The spies returned and said that they would need very few men to beat such a weak city as Ai.
* So Joshua sent only a few thousand men to fight.
C) The men of Ai killed 36 of the Israelite men and chased the rest away!
* Joshua was heart broken ... He tore his clothes and fell to the earth in front of the Ark of the
Covenant (v.6).
* Joshua asked God why He would allow the Israelites to pass through the Jordan, defeat Jericho,
and then be beaten by a small and insignificant city like Ai!
D) God’s answer was simple ... There was sin in the camp – v.11!
* One of the Israelite men named Achan had ignored God’s command to leave everything behind
in Jericho and had taken of the “accursed thing” and put it among his own stuff.
* The name Achan comes from the Hebrew word that means “one who troubles.”
* And did he ever bring trouble to Joshua and all of Israel!
E) The blessing of God had left the camp because of the harboring of sin!
* Subsequently the army failed in its mission because it lacked the power of God it held when it
had defeated Jericho.
* Achan was forced to confess his sin, and was then taken along with his family and all of his
flocks and herds, and stoned to death. * An amazing story, to say the least!
F) One might even go as far as to say that the story shows that God is unfair!
* They might say that Achan’s punishment did not really fit his crime.
* But I want you to consider this today ... Because of Achan’s sin, thirty-six men died.
* Thirty-six sets of children lost their fathers…Thirty-six mothers lost their sons…
* Thirty-six wives became widows.
G) The story of Achan truly points out the destructive power of sin!
* It also uncovers some of the myths that surround sin.
* I am going to share those with you this morning .......
(1) MYTH # 1: ONE SIN WON’T HURT!
A) Achan probably thought his sin was so small and insignificant, that it wouldn’t be that
important or that bad!
* How often do we justify the sin in our life by passing it off as just a “little sin.”
* We tend to believe that God judges sin in amounts.
* As long as it is only once, it won’t bother God. * The truth is, one sin does hurt!
B) Just ask Adam and Eve ... Caused eternal separation from God with a single sin!
* Moses forfeited entering the Promised Land on account of a single sin.
* Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron ... Died by fire because of a single sin.
* Uzzah ... Died instantly for improperly touching the Ark.
* Ananias and Sapphira ... Died instantly for lying to the Holy Ghost.
C) Let me ask you a question ... Would it be OK for you to cheat on you spouse one time?
* Could you imagine trying to justify yourself to him or her by saying it was only “one time.”
* When we choose to allow continual sin in our lives, we are cheating on God!
* We often forget that, when we transgress the law, we are sinning against God.
D) David, who broke all of the laws of God, didn’t say, “Oh, I have sinned against my friends,
against Bathsheba, against Uriah.” * David said, “I have sinned against God!”
* Psalm 51:4 “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight:”
* Joseph, when tempted sexually by Potiphar’s wife, didn’t say, “I couldn’t sin against Potiphar,”
but he said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)
E) We need to see sin how God sees sin! * Not as a little thing at all .......
* But as a transgression against him – Cheating on Him!
* If we see it that way, we will feel the same way He does – He hates it, and so will we!
F) There are outward sins and inward sins ... Let me explain .......
* Outward sins are those that people see ... Inward sins are those only you and God can see!
* Outward sins are those that we commit that are the same as the unsaved are doing .......
* Inward sins are pride, anger, bitterness, unfaithfulness, unforgiving spirit, etc.
* Whether inward or outward, these sins will kill us physically and spiritually!
(2) MYTH # 2: ONE PERSON’S SIN DOESN’T AFFECT ANYONE ELSE!
A) Achan’s sin affected the entire nation! * All Israel suffered rebuke from God (v.1).
* All Israel suffered defeat (v.2-5).
* There are too many people that believe what they do has no affect on anyone else.
* Tell that to the thousands of people who die in alcohol related traffic crashes.
* Tell that to parents of children ages 0-14 who died because they were riding with someone who
was under the influence of alcohol.
B) Tell that to thousands of children who die in the womb everyday at the hands of doctors who
care more about money than they do about morals!
* Many of us refuse to see that there are others who often suffer consequences for our sins!
* I want us to realize that if there is one individual in this church today who is living in sin, all the
rest of the church will suffer as a result!
C) Now listen, I/we have all been praying for some great things to happen in our church!
* We have been praying for our land ... My goal in attendance of 100, consistently.
* New building ... A pianist ... More workers to come .......
* But I am here to tell you this morning, that if there is unconfessed sin in the church, God will not
answer our prayers ... And God will withdraw His hand from among us (v.12)
* Oh, how those words ought to send a chill down our spine and strike conviction in our hearts, and
disturb us on the inside .......
* To know that if sin remains in our hearts, the presence of God will not be with us anymore, and
nothing will happen in our church!
D) My friend, you and I can pray till we are blue in the face ... Knees are calloused .......
* Eyes are red, tears flow like rivers, but all of that is vain if there is unconfessed sin in our lives.
* 2 Chron. 7:14 is still in the Book and applies today ... “If my people .......”
E) Listen, if there is sin in my life, I will pull the rest of the church down!
* If there is sin in your life, you will pull the rest of the church down.
* If there is sin in our lives, we will not see 100 in attendance ... We’ll not see a new building ...
* We’ll not see souls come to Christ ... There’ll not be a filling of the Holy Spirit!
* If we as a church allow sin to remain, we’ll not go farther than where we are right now.
* We will continue to dwindle down ... Altars will be barren ... Eyes will be dry .......
* Hearts will be hardened ... Lives will remain unchanged ... God will not prosper us anymore!
(3) MYTH #3: ONE CAN KEEP THEIR SIN HIDDEN!
A) Achan really thought that the darkness of his tent would hide his transgression!
* The Bible declares in Numbers 32:23 that our “sins will find us out.”
* Sin is never hidden from God! * You may think that you are pulling one over on God if you
have sin in your life, or that He doesn’t care ... But you’re not and He does!
B) Sin is not often hidden from others either!
* Remember when Moses killed the Egyptian? * He didn’t think anyone knew.
* But the next day, he found out that he was known for being a murderer.
* Just remember, your sins will find you out!
* Luke 12:2-3 “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not
be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that
which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
C) I wonder how many of God’s people are still committing this same sin today and taking of
“the accursed thing?”
* I wonder how many more of God’s people will be destroyed ... How many more defeats the
church will have to suffer .......
* Or how many more people will destroy their own brothers and sisters in Christ by partaking of
“the accursed thing?”
D) Don’t be fooled or blinded my friends ... There are still a lot of Christians who fall into the
same trap that Achan fell into!
* They are partaking of “the accursed thing,” and they’re bringing a reproach, a defeat and God’s
wrath upon the church!
E) Sometimes I ask the Lord, “Lord, why do we see so much defeat in the church?”
* You have promised that the “gates of hell shall never prevail against us,” and yet we see the
church hurting and struggling. * I see ministry that doesn’t seem to be working like it should.
* Souls are not being saved in the altars ... Revival in the hearts of God’s people just isn’t
happening ... We seem to be fighting demons every time we come together to worship God.
F) The children are really being rebellious ... The teenagers aren’t living the way they should!
* The adults aren’t being as faithful as they could be.
* I have to struggle against the powers of darkness just to get a message.
* Lord, what’s going on here? What’s wrong?
G) Then I hear what God is saying to Joshua, “It’s because there is sin in the church!”
* It’s because someone in the church has taken of “the accursed thing,” and made it a part of their
life ... And until you get “the accursed thing” out of the church, you will live a defeated life!
* The church can’t win the battle against sin if sin is in the church.
* God’s Spirit will not bless a church, or a people, or a person that tolerates “the accursed thing” in
the church.
H) Then I hear the Lord saying to Joshua, and to me, “Get up, preach the Word!”
* Don’t compromise what I have to say to the people.
* Tell them what I want them to hear and I’m going to hold you accountable for every word
because you are supposed to be their shepherd, so speak the truth.
I) Tell them to get sanctified, and tell them to do it now!
* There is “the accursed thing” in the church, somewhere among the members of the church .......
* And until “the accursed thing” is dealt with, you will not stand when the battles come against
you, and the church will live in defeat!
J) People of God, I have to stand here today and say that this is exactly what the Lord has told
me to tell you this morning!
* Either we get “the accursed thing” out of the church or the church will live in defeat and never
really see the victory that God wants us to have!
* I believe that God is giving us a message today, a warning if you will, to get “the accursed thing”
out of the camp before His wrath is poured out.
K) Since I do not believe that the church will be defeated because God said that the gates of Hell
would never prevail against it .......
* Then that leads me to only one conclusion, and it’s the frightening realization that God is getting
tired of the sin in the church and the sin in the life of individual Christians .......
* And He is going to force “the accursed thing” out of the camp, no matter what it takes.
L) I’m no prophet, but I believe that I have been given a prophetic word to those whom God is
speaking to this morning!
* You know who you are, or you will in just a moment as the Holy Ghost begins to speak to your
heart! * This is God’s Word to you personally!
* Hear what the Spirit is saying to you right now, and I speak these words to you under the
direction and anointing of the Holy Ghost, with all the love that God can give to me for you ....... * Either get the sin out of your heart or God is going to leave you to go your own way.
M) He is going to give you over to a reprobate heart and mind and you will no longer have a
desire for the things of God!
* God is going to let you have what you want until you don’t want anymore of it.
* Whatever it is that is coming between you and serving the Lord the way you should, is going to
become the absolute focus for your life.
* God is going to let you serve the devil if that’s what you want to do, but it’s going to cost you
dearly ... You mark my word on that!
N) Today for invitation time, I want to ask all of us to do some soul searching all the way down
from the pastor to the smallest one sitting in here this morning!
* Let’s get our hearts right with God, and get sin out of the camp and then we’ll be blessed!
* So I ask you this morning ... Is there sin in your camp today?
* Are you transgressing the law of God at home? At work? At play?
* Or maybe it is not you who are living in sin, but you are allowing sin in your home.
* Whatever the situation, God’s prescription is not that we cover up this transgression in our life,
but that we get rid of it! * Heads bowed, eyes closed .......
