Scripture: Joshua 7:1 –
Title: “Above The Law”
Introduction: Joshua and the people of God were experiencing victory. They had come out of the wilderness, crossed the flooded Jordan River on dry ground. They had seen the walls of Jericho fall down after they had walked around them for seven days. WOW! These people are walking in the land of victory. You know it’s wonderful to see what God can do with His people when they are surrendered to Him.
But all of a sudden in the midst of victory comes a smashing defeat.
God’s people lose 36 of their finest young fighting men and on top of this they lose ground they had already gained as they were driven back. WHAT’S GONE WRONG?
God’s people are a people of VICTORY. When defeat comes there has to be a reason for it. Sin is the reason for defeat.
WHAT CAUSED THIS TERRIBLE LOSS IN ISRAEL’S CAMP?
Sin is the very culprit in this HORRIBLE story of DEFEAT and DEATH!
The Bible Defines Sin as:
‘Foolish Thoughts’ “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9)
‘Neglect of Opportunity’ “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17)
‘Breaking God’s Law’ “For sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4)
‘Vain Talk’ “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin” (Proverbs 10:19)
‘Contempt For Others’ “He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth” (Proverbs 14:21)
‘Unbelief’ “Whatsoever is not of FAITH is sin” (Romans 14:23)
“All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:7)
Mahatma Gandhi said there are seven sins in the world:
1. Wealth without work.
2. Pleasure without conscience.
3. Commerce without morality.
4. Science without humanity.
5. Worship without sacrifice.
6. Politics without principle.
7. Knowledge without character.
I. ABOVE THE LAW
a. We live in a time when too many people are trying to “Beat the System.” This has been carried over into the church.
b. Radar Detectors attached to the windshield of many cars attest to the FACT that we want to drive above the LAW.
c. There are people who tend to think because lightening doesn’t strike them when they sin that they have gotten away with it. This gives them the idea that they are evincible or “above the law.”
d. Pushing the limits has become the order of the day. Both in church and in the world.
e. How much can I do and still be saved?
f. This attitude has caused people to say, “I don’t feel bad about doing this the way I used to.”
g. Hearts have become hardened and callused to sin. “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (Eph. 4:19)
h. There is a price to be paid for sin! (Achan paid and awful price!)
II. DEFEATED BY SMALL ENEMIES.
a. When the men returned from spying out Ai they said there was no use of sending all the people to Ai to fight because there wasn’t that many of them.
b. Just send about two or three thousand to the battle there’s no need of making all the people labor in the battle. (v.30)
c. This was Israel’s ONLY military defeat in Joshua’s day.
d. Are we enjoying the victories that we use to enjoy?
Are we seeing people saved and delivered from sin the way we used to?
Are we seeing our Church grow the way it needs to grow?
Are our families solid and secure?
Are our young people growing?
Are we as in love with God as we used to be?
Do we feel the Holy Spirit’s presence like we used to?
e. Israel was defeated by a SMALL enemy because there was SIN in the CAMP.
f. Little things are defeating churches today because there are things COVERED up within the BODY of Christ.
g. The Loss of Victory:
Ai defeated the great army of Israel and killed 36 of Israel’s finest.
When stores lose too many times they go out of business.
When ball teams lose too often coaches get replaced.
When companies lose too many times, jobs are lost.
When CHURCHES lose too often people go to hell.
When the world loses it starts looking for the cause of the problem and they find it and they fix it.
When the church loses we too have to find the problem and deal with it.
We, the Church, have lost prayer out of the schools, we’ve lost the Bible out of our schools, we’ve lost the high moral standards of our past that made us the great nation we are, and the list is too long to continue.
h. The reason sin is raging within the church is because we’ve treated sin like a creampuff instead of like a rattlesnake.
III. ONE MAN’S SIN
a. I want you to notice something with me. “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.”
b. ONE MAN committed the TRANSGRESSION but ALL of the children of Israel carried the BLAME!
c. ONE MAN was the CAUSE of 36 men losing their lives!
d. The CHURCH is a BODY and when one of its members suffer the whole body SUFFERS. (1 Cor. 12:27)
e. Right now our nation is being made to suffer because of a small number of evil doers. – (Have you ever heard the saying, “One bad apple spoils the whole barrel?”)
f. God’s people had become DISCOURAGED and their HEARTS had MELTED and become as WATER. (Their COURAGE had melted away)
IV. SIN EXPOSED
a. Joshua had even told God He and the children of Israel would have been better off back on the other side of Jordan than to come into Canaan and suffer this DEFEAT and DEATH.
b. As Joshua PRAYED on his face before God concerning the terrible DEFEAT God SPOKE to him and told him there was SIN among the people.
c. The Bible teaches us, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Num. 32:23)
d. Some people live as though they believe they are “Above the Law” – This must have been Achan’s problem. (By the way, “Achan” means ‘trouble’)
e. Achan took the SILVER, the GOLD, and the Babylonian garment from the battle of Jericho and went home and hid the forbidden spoils in his tent.
f. These things didn’t look so sinful except for one thing, God said to LEAVE them ALONE and that made them SIN.
g. Not all sin is easily seen, but the effects are just as DAMAGING as VISIBLE sin. (ANYTHING that has to be HIDDEN most of the time is SIN!)
CONCLUSION: I believe PRIDE contributed to Achan’s sin. “I can get away with this, who will ever KNOW?
Hidden sin will always reveal itself. -- Sin will infect the whole body.
Sin will affect the whole body. – Sin will either master us or we will master it.
The PBOBLEM could be us! – WHAT HAVE YOU GOT COVERED UP?
When DEFEAT comes it must be DEALT WITH! “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither his, that shall not be known.”
(Luke 12:2)
