AN ENEMY IN THE MIDST OF THE CAMP
(ARE YOU A FRIEND OR FOE?)
JOSHUA 7:1, 10-13
God already has a plan for us to follow so that we may be victorious. He has already designed and set various strategies in order that we may be able to have dominion over the enemy. Although God has set the course, we oftentimes abort God’s plan and God’s strategic design… Perhaps by acting too hasty, we get overconfident and don’t depend on the Lord…
Whatever the case, dependence on human wisdom and impatience are often causes of our defeat, even though Gad has given the victory. Likewise, sin and disobedience can also be the cause for our demise and destruction… Disobedience has been the downfall of mankind since the beginning of time (Satan, Adam, etc). And because God is Holy, He cannot and will not dwell or operate in the midst of sin and disobedience… The Word exhorts us “to come out and separate ourselves from sin…” The text presents to us a prime example of what happens when the actions of one (or a few) effects whole. (Tell the story)
God cannot dwell in the midst of sin… In fact, He will withdraw Himself from the presence of His people as long as they continue to operate in it…! The text informs us that Israel could not progress in the things of God (defeat the enemy) until they removed the accursed thing that was among them (v13).
The word accursed comes from the Greek word, cherem (khay’-rem) which denotes a dedicated thing; things which should have been utterly destroyed, that were appointed to utter destruction, devoted thing. The accursed thing was the sin that Achan committed. God had made it clear that the spoils of Jericho were to be dedicated to Him and placed in the treasury, (Joshua 6:24) but the actions of one caused the downfall of an entire nation.
Consequently, the actions of one or a few can cause the sorrow and failure of a family or an entire church.... I believe that we, the church of today, the modern day Israelites have reached that specific juncture in our quest for the Promise Land (Heaven) whereby we cannot move forward or progress in the things of God because (title)....
There’s an enemy in the midst of the camp that is staggering and stunting the growth of God’s people... Someone or something has been able to infiltrate the body of Christ and halt the forward progression of the church in Kingdom Business...! And because the enemy has been able to infiltrate, God has said, “I can’t dwell among you... I’m not going to fool with you while you’re in this mess..!” Consequently, because God has withdrawn Himself, we can’t operate effectively as a local body, and our testimony becomes null and void..! (v13) “You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.”
(Who is the enemy…?)
The enemy is one who is not in line with God’s program… One who is against the Spiritual Authority that has been placed over them… One who is against the Pastor…! You see, God has established an order in His house, just like you have order in your house (I hope?!), It’s God, then the Pastor, then the Ministers, the Deacons, the officers, etc. (You get the picture) God has established an order…!
The Office of the Pastor is the Spiritual Head that God has placed in the church (Eph 4:11-12)… So you obey him not because you like him, but because he’s your Pastor appointed by God, and entrusted with the care and watch over your soul. God said, “I will give you pastor’s after mine own heart…” And whom He calls or sends, He qualifies…” (I think I need to stress that…! Ain’t nobody making you sit up under this ministry, if you don’t like it, there’s the door, but be sure God’s telling you to go…)
When we buck the Spiritual Leadership, we are in actuality bucking God…! And by bucking God, you hurt yourself… No matter what you think, how you feel, or what your motives are… You don’t hurt God, you hurt YOU! God will have His way (repeat) Why...? Because (1) God rules and (2) where he does not rule, He overrules…!
You ain’t hurting God. Because when you jump out of a window, you don’t break gravity, you break your neck…!
And when you buck the will of God, you don’t hurt God, you hurt yourself! Furthermore, by bucking the will of God, you take a chance on bringing ultimate destruction and defeat to the camp (the church)…!
That’s what Achan did, in fact he was referred to as Achar, which means ‘the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing… (v1)’ Look at somebody right now and tell them, “There’s An Enemy In The Camp…. Achan is in the house tonight… Are you a friend or foe…?”
That’s an important question that must be answered, for the Word tells us that a house divided cannot stand…As long as we allow the enemy to reside in the camp, God is not going to dwell with us, or allow us to defeat the Ai’s in our life… Ai is anything that you have not been able to overcome; although God has ordained it so…The enemy must be found and be dealt with…!
(Why Must The Enemy Be Found…?
Several Reasons)
I. An Enemy In The Midst will cause you to become overconfident in your judgement, which brings about error in your ways, thus causing your defeat…! The actions of one caused the defeat of an entire nation.
Because of Achan’s sin, the Lord withdrew Himself from them… Consequently, Israel lost focus on their objective, and could not defeat Ai (v1-5)… Likewise, because of sin; the church today has lost focus on her objectives…
A. We’ve lost our focus in the area of Prayer.
- We turned from praying to complaining…
- Our prayers have become selfish…
- We get mad at God
- When He doesn’t answer right away…
- When He doesn’t give us what we want…
B. We’ve lost our focus in the area of Evangelism.
- We’ve turned from Evangelism to Gossip and
Back-biting
- We don’t witness effectively…
- Our testimony becomes void…
- Gone form testify to testilying
- We become unable to draw others to the
Kingdom…
C. We’ve lost our focus in the area of Worship.
- There’s no substance in our worship…
- We’re not able to usher in the presence of the Lord…
- God is not glorified…
- Blessings and Deliverance cannot take place…
- Our worship becomes “plastic…”
II. An Enemy In The Midst will bring about discouragement to the entire body…Because of their defeat at Ai, the hearts of the people melted. Joshua fell on his face before the Lord, and even considered settling for the land where they were (v6-9)…
A. We contemplate on settling for mediocrity…
B. We lose our will to go on…
C. We begin to fight among each other…
D. We cry out in despair, “God why have you left us…?”
Because of our discouraging state, others will see our weaknesses, and begin to attack… You’ll lose your credibility in the community… Your name is all that you have…!
III. An Enemy In The Midst must be exposed and dealt with… because when you don’t deal with sin, is has a way of festering and growing… (Sin produces death Js 1:15…) and before you know it… you’ll have an epidemic on your hands!
It wasn’t until Joshua prayed that the Lord gave him instruction as to what to do. God commanded Joshua to bring to people forth in tribes one by one. The Lord showed them who the enemy was (v10-16)…
A. It’s time to seek the face of the Lord in order that we may expose the enemy…
B. The enemy must be eliminated so that God can return to His people…
C. The infiltrator must be eliminated so that we can concentrate on defeating Ai…( The devil will constantly distract you form your real purpose)
It wasn’t until the sin was removed, that Israel was able to defeat Ai… The Bible says that they were able to defeat them in an ambush ordained by God…
Joshua sent 30,00 men to Bethel at night, and placed another 5,000 between Bethel and Ai. Some of the soldiers attacked Ai and drew the men out of the city. When Joshua signaled the ambush, his men entered the city and captured it…! Not until the enemy in our camp is destroyed, can we move forward in the things of God and possess Ai…
Beloved, it’s time to wipe the enemy out of our camp… and set the ambush for those who are not willing to follow God’s program! It’s time to undergird our Spiritual Leadership and get with the program…! For a house divided cannot stand…
Those who buck the system will be removed, says the Lord of Hosts… It’s time to set the ambush… It’s time to send some real warriors and surround the opposition on one side… with Fasting… And when he comes running out in fear… Hit him straight up the middle with the Sword of the Lord…
That’s the Word of God… For I heard somebody say that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and id profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness… (2 Tim 3:16)”
Well, what do you mean preacher…?
-Profitable: Means that it’s useful, and for you benefit
-Reproof: Means that it is proof of what God has said
-Correction: Means it’s for you restoration; to help return you to an upright state; for the improvement of your life and character
-Instruction in Righteousness: Means it is to help guide you to righteousness
Are you ready…? Are you ready to set the ambush for the enemy...? Do you have on your fighting gear.…? The Bible says to “Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Foe we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places…” We’re not trying to put anybody out…
But if people are not in line with God’s Word, and God’s program, all you’ve got to do is pray… and God will expose the enemy…! In fact He’ll either shape ‘em up… Or ship ‘em out…!
God wants us to conquer the Ai’s in our life… but we’ve got to remove the enemy from our camp first…! The text says, “Thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you…(v13)”
“I want you to be victorious, but you’ve got to remove some things…!” We’ve got to remove the enemy before we can conquer the Ai’s in our life… God says, “I want to bless you, but first, you’ve got to get rid of that junk in your life… That junk that’s in your midst…”
-Hatred for others
-Envy of others
-Jealousy of others
-The spirit of Separation (tower of Babel)
We need to ask the Lord to, “Create in us a clean heart, O God; and renew the right spirit within me…(Ps 51:10).”
For Psalms 1:1-2 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night…”
God is doing a New Thing in this place and He’s looking for folks who are going to hold up the Blood Stained Banner, and not stand in the way of progress… Look at somebody and tell them, “I’m going with Jesus all the way… I don’t care what you say… Because of all that He’s done for me… I’ve got to give Him my all…!”
