Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we have just sung pleading and asking that you speak. Lord, in that song, as we all sang in unison, our cry is that we may hear you speak, not man, but you speak. Lord, we pray that as you speak to us, that you cause our attitudes to be brought under the umbrella of your word and that we may live for your glory. We thank you, O Lord, for allowing us to be found in your presence, in your house this morning. We are mindful that we are coming from a week of prayer and fasting, but also a week that was dotted with various trials and challenges. Lord, we ask that you cause us not to be distracted by the cares of the world and that to allow those cares of the world to rob us of the joy of experiencing you minister to us this morning. We ask, dear God, that you use your instrument to bring your word to your people, that they will be sanctified, but also that you use your word to bring about salvation to the hearers. Our Father, we plead with you that you bless the preaching of your word for the sake and honor of your holy name. For we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's turn our Bibles to the book of Joshua and chapter seven. We begin a new series in the morning service and we'll be looking at this particular portion of the scripture and draw some lessons for ourselves. Joshua chapter 7, I'll just read verse 1, and as we continue in the course of our message and the messages to come, we will make reference to the rest of the passage. And I believe it's a familiar passage, one that all of us, or most of us, will be able to recall. Joshua chapter 7 and verse 1. But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things. For Ekan, the son of Kami, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things, and the anger of the Lord bend against the people of Israel. As I've already said and indicated that this morning we begin a short series through the seventh chapter of the book of Joshua. And as we go through this series is for us to understand the doctrine of sin as revealed to us in the life of Achan. We want to understand and learn on the doctrine of sin as revealed to us in this historical narrative on the life of Achan. This historical narrative gives us information on a man who was thrust onto the scene of history by his negative example. If it was not for this episode in the life of Ekan, most likely he would not have been known to us. This narrative makes him famous for one particular thing for his sin. And he stands as a beacon to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ or to the community of faith of the bad example, not to emulate, to learn from his life and to avoid the sin he committed. Another bit of context of the book of Joshua. When you read the book of Joshua, spiritual victory is what is seen throughout the book. As God fulfills his covenant promise to Abraham, and as he leads Abraham's descendants into possession of the promised land, Despite tremendous obstacles and powerful enemies, you see spiritual victory at the hands of God. The book of Joshua teaches us that if we are going to conquer any lands in as far as the spiritual life is concerned, We must trust in God and God's methods and God's doing. The people under Joshua's leadership needed to engage the enemy by trusting fully in God and turning away from sin. and the divisions of the conquered lands reminds us of the spiritual rest that comes to God's people as they enjoy the blessings of victory. It teaches us to appreciate that God gives us victory through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as we step out in faith trusting Him rather than our own resources. The book of Joshua teaches us that the spiritual victory or the victory gained must still be maintained by an ongoing commitment of faith and obedience to God. And so when you read the history of the nation of Israel, We are coming to the history that is unique. The history of the nation of Israel is God demonstrating His mighty powers in the unfolding of His redemptive history. The history of Israel is unique in that we see God's redemptive powers And those redemptive powers point us to the ultimate power of God in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. And so when we read the historical narratives in relation to the history of Israel, they must be viewed in light of their over-echoing view which is the redemption of man in Christ Jesus. And every detail or every details in the unfolding of God's mighty acts in the nation of Israel is God unfolding his redemptive plans in history. It's God pointing us to that perfect sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we read those historical narratives, we must trace God's unchanging purpose or plan to redeem man from their sins. But also the historical narratives of the Bible As we are told in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11, these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. That's what the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11. And it is not enough to know historical facts. Not until these historical facts sinks their fangs into your heart and your mind and brings you to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in total submission to Him, then these historical facts have taught us nothing. Not until we learn from history the need to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Coming to Joshua chapter 7, the chapter is tucked in between two victories. The fall of Jericho and the fall of Ai, And between those two victories, you find the chapter that we'll be looking at during Sunday's to come and the chapter we began this morning. And in that chapter, we learn this, the lesson is for us to take our sins seriously in light of the holiness of God. for us to take our sins seriously in light of the holiness of God who cannot compromise with sin. We need to acknowledge God's sovereignty over all nations, over all the forces that would oppose his kingdom agenda. And this series that we are commencing this morning is a series I'm calling, or I've entitled, Akan's Sin, Lessons Not to be Forgotten. Akan's Sin, Lessons Not to be Forgotten. And this morning, The title of the message is, The Seriousness of Sin. The Seriousness of Sin. And we'll be opening up verse 1 of chapter 7 and make reference to the rest of the passage. And the first thing we see is that sin defies God's clear commands. Sin defies God's clear commands or God's clear instructions. Verse 1, But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things. For Achan, the son of Kami, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah took some of the devoted things. God had instructed the Israelites on what to do when they destroy Jericho. Israel has just been involved in the greatest military conquest in their history. They have just witnessed the tremendous defeat of this fortified city, the city of Jericho. And they are still basking in the glory of that great event. Verse 1 gives us a summary statement of what is going to happen in chapter 7. It gives an introductory statement. It gives us a contrast between chapter 6 and chapter 7. But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things. This one tells us that God was upset with the people of Israel. Israel thought all was well. They thought that they were standing on the edge of another great victory over that small city. They thought they were standing on the edge of a great stream of victories that they would see them conquering the entire land of promise. Although Israel obeyed God and His instruction regarding the procession around Jericho, They disobeyed him concerning the devoted things. God had strictly forbidden them to take any spire of Jericho. God had given them clear instructions. And what were these instructions? Chapter 6, verse 15 to verse 18. On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawn of day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priest had blown the trumpet, Joshua said to the people, shout for the Lord, shout for the Lord has given you the city, the 17, and the city and all that is within it should be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab, the prostitute, and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction. Lest, when you have devoted them, you take any of the things devoted. Rather, let me read verse 18 again. But you keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction. Lest, when you have devoted them, you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold and every vessel of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord. They shall go into the treasury of the Lord. Those were God's clear instructions. And you can imagine the children of Israel. They come to this big city with walls around it and gates. And God employs methods to conquer that land that were out of the ordinary military methods. God told them to march around the city once a day for six days, and then on the seventh day to march around the city seven times, bringing the total in the week to 13 going around the city. We don't know how big Jericho was, but you could imagine The first day, you probably would say, well, let's listen to what Joshua is saying. Let's go around the city. But the second day, you begin to, if you are part of the children of Israel, probably begin to wonder, but what kind of a method is this? Why go around the city? And then on the seventh day, you are taught to go around the city seven times. And Joshua clearly gave the instructions of what God had said. And the instructions were clear, only Rahab and those who are going to be in our house at that time will be spared. The rest was to be devoted to destruction. The gods. All those precious metals were to be brought into the house of the Lord. Israel sinned with regard to the devoted things. The offender is mentioned with a complete long list of the ancestors of the offender. And the word used to describe the offense, broke faith, literally means to act undercover. It indicates a breach of trust in the Lord. And this was also against the Lord's instructions through Moses as recorded in Leviticus 5 verse 14 and 15. So Israel breached trust of the Lord. And then we're told that they broke faith in regard to the devoted things. And again, the other word, devoted things, literally means shutting in, as in shutting in a nest. And so the Lord told the nation of Israel, don't breach the trust, the trust that you have with me. And don't take anything, destroy everything. These are my instructions. And the devoted things, those who must shut in and destroy, except the precious things that you bring to the treasury. The livestock, the people of Jericho, everything was to be devoted to destruction. by the children of Israel, sinned against God by stealing or withholding what was sanctified to the Lord. And the offense committed with respect to the devoted thing is recorded for us when we read chapter 7 and verse 20. And what do we read there? Chapter 7 and verse 20, And Achan answered Joshua, Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. And this is what I did. Verse 21, When I saw among the spoil a beautiful clock from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted. I coveted them and took them and see they are hidden in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath." God's instruction to the nation was very clear. There was no vagueness in God's instruction. Achan knew what the Lord had said. He knew what God had instructed. He knew that what God said will surely come to pass. He had just witnessed the fall of Jericho. God had told Joshua what they needed to do. He heard what the Lord had said. He knew what the Lord had said. Yet he went and clearly defied God's instruction and sinned against the Lord. The seriousness of sin is sin in how man disregards God's clear commandments. This is the seriousness of sin. God has clearly stated what sin is. God has clearly instructed from his word. He's given us His commands, yet man holds the truth of God in unrighteousness. Man knows the truth and yet suppresses the truth of God and clings to the sins instead of to the Lord. This is the seriousness of sin. And when you sin against God, You are challenging God. You are insulting God. You defy everything that God has said and you tell yourself and you convince yourself, I will not do it. I won't. You convince yourself, what I want to do is what is right. It resonates with my mind. It resonates with my passions. It resonates with my delights. I don't care what God has said. Though you may not utter this word, but that's exactly what you say to God. Every sin is against God's clear commands. Adam and Eve sinned against God. God had clearly stated, do not eat from this tree. You have the freedom, the liberty to eat from all these other trees, but not this one. But what happened? Clearly, violating God's clear commandments. Isn't it true for all of us, Christians or non-Christians, when you sin, you are doing it against clear instructions from the Lord. You know what needs to be done. You know what God has said, but you convince yourself in that moment, because you are just thinking of the delights of the sin before you. When God says, thou shalt not commit adultery, what do you do? You go out of the instructions of the Lord, and you find yourself what you deem as a secured location, and you commit sin before God. Even this old talk of homosexuality, it's against God's clear commandments. You've been here, a man referred to as the father of religion, the Pope, endorsing homosexuality, clearly going against God's clear instructions. And you see, brethren, as you listen to me this morning, you know yourself. In a multitude like this, there are one or two individuals in the course of the week who clearly defied what God had said in His Word. and went ahead and sinned against this God, challenging God, insulting God, and telling God, I will not listen to you. This shows the seriousness of sin. You defy God's clear instruction. But in the second place we see, that individual sin brings about corporate guilt before God. One man's sin brings about corporate guilt before God. Verse one of chapter seven, but the people of Israel broke faith in regards to the devoted things. For Achan, the son of Kami, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. Individual sin brings about corporate guilt before God. The sin of Achan is based on the healthy principle of solidarity, that healthy principle of unity. And the Bible is telling us there, Israel, plural, has sinned against God. Yet it was Achan, singular, who sinned against God. It was Achan who took the devoted things from the Lord. It is Achan who stole from God. And yet the Bible is telling us there that God looked at the nation of Israel as a unit. And he says, Israel has sinned. Ekan's sin was a clear and willful violation of a direct order and this brought about trouble on the entire camp. One man's sin brought about trouble into the entire community of the nation of Israel. One man's sin was viewed as the sin of the entire nation, and the Lord's anger was blazing over the nation of Israel. Achan robbed the entire nation of the purity and the holiness which it ought to possess before God because of his sin. And we see there that corporate guilt and individual sin go hand in hand. God could have easily recorded for us and revealed to us in his Word that Achan sinned and therefore Achan was dealt with. We will look at that later where Achan was dealt with. But here, the summary statement in verse 1 is that the individual sin brought about corporate guilt before God. The individual, Ekan, was functioning within a larger context of the community of which he was a part of. And his genealogy is traced back four generations. indicating the author's concern to expose the sin and point out to us the seriousness of this sin. We are told Achan was a son of Kami, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah. Achan was an immediate descendant of Zerah. And Zerah was the son of Judah, Judah's prostitution. If you read Genesis 38, verse 15 through to verse 30, Judah had sexual relationship, sexual relation with his daughter-in-law, Tamar. And Zerah was born. And the author is trying to show us that maybe this sin could have been a bad example from the ancestors or the forefathers. Even though it could have been a bad example, but he was an individual. But he still shows us that this man was a man who came from the tribe of Judah, and Judah was that special tribe in the history of the nation of Israel where the Lord Jesus Christ actually descends from. And you'll see that in the messages to come. But at least we see here that Zerah was the immediate descendant Rather, Achan was the immediate descendant of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah. Here is a man who knew what he had done. Let's use a bit of holy imagination here. Imagine him walking among the nation of Israel. and rejoicing, jumping and dancing in celebration of what the Lord has just done for the people of Israel. And they're able to see the rubbles of Jericho, everything destroyed. And as he's walking into the community of the nation of Israel, there is just talk about what God had done. And now that the nation of the city of Jericho has been destroyed, yet he is a man who knew what he had done. Maybe he could have been joined in to the celebration, and yet deep down his heart, he knew what he had done. Maybe he convinced himself that of all the silver in this city, surely 200 shekels and 50 shekels of gold is nothing compared to all these things that you take into the treasury of the Lord. And here is a man who stole from God, covered it in his tent. And this narrative shows us the deceitfulness of sin. In the midst of a miraculous victory, Achan was enticed by a cloak, a robe, a piece of cloth, and some precious metal which who could not be compared to the powers that God had just displayed before the entire nation. He was deceived and got this piece of cloth and tucked it into his tent, teaching us that Individual sin brings about corporate guilt before God. Brethren, there is no such a thing as absolute independence. Absolute independence and isolation of individuals are impossible. We belong to a community. Think of it in a family setup. We suffer loss. for another man's fault, for another member's fault in the family. We may say and talk and challenge this individual, but when they've done something wrong, all of us suffer loss, because somehow, by God's providence, we are linked to this person. Or we benefit by another's virtues. As a family, someone works hard, puts the name of the family somewhere, and we want to associate with them. No, that's my brother. No, that's my sister. Why? We are part of the unity. As a nation, yesterday we are celebrating 56 years of independence. As pastor was telling us, probably a few were there, maybe even in the younger years. Yet as a nation, we are benefiting from that victory. We are part of the unity. If the leaders of the nation are deemed corrupt, we are all deemed corrupt as a nation. We read of reports that Zambians are corrupt. Why? We are part of the unity. It can be one member of the community who is dirty, and will be generalized, these people are dirty, or they are lazy, or they fail to keep time, yet it's just one individual. And we are looked at in a corporate way. because we are part of the unity. But even in the divine plan of God, Adam's disobedience was deemed as a disobedience of mankind. He, Adam, was a representative of all of us and we are part of that community. In our salvation, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us the benefit of salvation. It was Christ, as in an individual, the Son of God, dying for the sins of the world, and all of us benefit from that, who've come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. As a church, we are told we are members of one body, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and 27. We are a body, and if there's something wrong in the body of Christ, the entire body is deemed before God as guilty until the sin is purged from its midst. Brethren, don't deceive yourselves that this was an Old Testament concept. No. 1 Corinthians teaches us we are part of a unity, a body of Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 6, we are told, a little lovin' lovineth the whole lamb. Your spiritual temperature has a deep effect on the entire body of Christ. You are not an island unto yourself. What you do affects the church of God, the body of Christ, the sin of an individual in covenant relationship with God and His people radically affects the whole body of which is a part of. The sin of an individual in covenant relationship with God and his people radically affects the whole body of which is a part of. Look at your life this past week. Your sin or your spiritual temperature has a deep effect upon God's people here at Kawata Baptist Church. The sin that you are entertaining in your life. Yes, it is you as an individual. You may even convince yourself that it's just me, it has nothing to do with everyone else. No! Your sin has an effect upon God's people. So what is it that you are withholding from God? What sin are you committing and therefore breaching the trust of the Lord? And this is why we are admonished to watch over each other's lives, to be the brother's keepers, because the sins of others have a way of affecting us as a body of Christ. This is why sin is serious, because your sin He's deemed as the sin of the rest of God's people. But thirdly, we see that sin steers the anger of God. Sin arouses the anger of God. And this is what we see the last part of verse one. and the anger of the Lord bend against the people of Israel. God looked at the sin of Achan very seriously. He could not have made it any clearer than this. He had instructed the people of Israel. Everyone heard through Joshua. And to seal it, he destroyed Jericho. Again, to show the people of Israel that what God says will stand. And Achan's sin caused God's anger to blaze over the nation of Israel. The conquest of Jericho brought about excitement in the people of Israel, thinking this next island, this small town, Ai, would just be a walkover. Yet the Lord who sees all things, who is sovereign, knew that there was sin in the midst of Israel. While everyone was excited, trying to push the frontiers of enemy lines by the promise of God, someone in their midst was withholding that which belonged to God. He deliberately disobeyed God. That's why he had to hide the stuff in his tent. And Achan's sin caused God's anger to blaze. It just shows how God is serious with sin. He had commanded them. they willfully disobeyed. And God was saying to them and saying to us, you will not conquer enemy lines until you purge sin from your midst. I have made it clear to Joshua and to everyone in Israel that I will conquer the lands By my means, you must trust and obey. And they sinned against God. And God was blazing in anger over the nation of Israel. And these are recorded for us to realize just how God is serious with sin. He will not compromise sin. Sin needed to be purged in the nation of Israel before they could conquer any cities. Now, the problem is when we think of God's wrath or God's anger, we always think of the experience we've had at other people or at human level. Human wrath or anger is often unpredictable. It's petty. It's inconsistent. Not with God. So when we think of God's anger, we must not think of it at the human level. Like just because they were sinning and then God all of a sudden lost control and was upset. No. God's anger or God's wrath is his just and measured response of his holiness towards evil. It is his just and measured response of his holiness towards evil. God's wrath is His settled opposition against sin. It is His settled opposition against sin, against man's disobedience in resisting the gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He manifests His wrath in punishing sin and the sinner. And so God, who is infinite holy, who is unchangeable, has infinitely said to Himself, those who believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, He will forgive. And those who do not believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, He will not forgive. They will perish. He does not change. And within Him, there's this settled opposition against sin. It doesn't matter how you think of sin. In God's eyes, He's opposed to sin. His holiness is opposed to sin. And the wrath of God is a proven fact throughout the scriptures. When you read Romans chapter 1, Verse 18 to 32, we are told why the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. In Romans chapter 2 verse 5, again we are told about God's wrath. In Deuteronomy chapter 9 and verse 7, again we are told about God's wrath. What hope do we have in this world, this world that is shadowed by terror and sin, if it was not God's settled opposition against sin? What hope would we have in this world if God merely looked at evil? with a weak smile and just simply winking at evil. What hope will there be for us in this world that is spotted with violence and the history of sin? The hope that we have is in God's relentless opposition against evil, that a time is coming when God will punish evil That's the hope that we have in this world. And the whole Bible shows us the wrath of God. But all that is showing us and pointing us to that final day when God will destroy sin once and for all. The Bible shows us. that even these pockets of calamities and even what we see as evil in this world will not be compared to the punishment that God has reserved for that day. And all these things that we see are for us to see and realize that the hope of this world is in God himself. And we must see to it that we are in a right relationship with this God. Because this God will do everything in perfect justice, in punishing sin. On that day, every knee, every mouth will be shut. When God shows His righteous justice, no one will accuse God of being unjust, no one will accuse God of being wrong, because on that day you will see that He knew what He was doing and He is a just God. The outpouring of the wrath of God on the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, his God's greatest act of love for the world. You will never see such love anywhere. God's anger was poured on his beloved son and his son in unity with the elect are deemed before the Father as righteous. That's the greatest act of love. And seated you here this morning, God is saying to you, your sin have aroused my anger over you. Yet I've given you my Son, Believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sin. He's calling you this morning to look at your sin and make things right with this God by coming to Him in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has offered us peace with the Father. everlasting peace. And he's saying, you who are still wallowing in your sin, look at what I've done for you. Come to me. Biblical narratives are recorded for instructions. for our rebuking, for our correction, and for our training in righteousness. It is not enough for us to simply know these historical facts. Until this sinks their fangs into your heart, into your mind, you have not learned anything. You may know the story of the sin of Ekan. You may even recite it, tell it to your children, tell it to others. But until this truth sinks into your heart and causes you to see that you are a sinner before God, and they bring you before this God, and you cry out from the depth of your heart, Lord, I have sinned against you. My sin has brought shame to my parents, to my friends, to everyone around me. Lord, only the merits of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, can make me have peace with you. And God, I come before you. Thank you for these historical accounts. They've taught me that you are a God who will not compromise sin. You are a God who will deal with sin. You are a God who will punish sin for eternity, because sin challenges you. Sin insults you. Sin defies your commandment. And Lord, I come to you in your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Deal with me. Deal with my sin. Remove sin from my heart. And let your peace rule my heart. Let your love flood my soul. Let your love, O Lord, be real to me. I come to you in Christ. But if you are a Christian, your sin affects the body of Christ. You may convince yourself that it has nothing to do with the rest of God's people. Remember God sees, God knows all things. And your sin is causing God to say to the rest of us, Kawata Baptist Church has sinned. Until that sin is purged from their midst. Think about it. Think about it. The next time You try to go in the wilderness, in the deceptiveness of your heart, and close yourself from people who know you and say to yourself, it is just me. Remember, God is there. And God is saying, you are in covenant relationship with me and with the people of God at Kawata Baptist Church or any other church. Your sin will affect them. Your spiritual temperature will affect them. You cause the world to laugh at Christians because of you. You cause the world to look at you and say Christians are hypocrites. You cause the world to think that the power of God is not real. He doesn't bring salvation to the heart. Oh, child of God. Don't willfully defile God's commandment. Don't willfully steer the wrath of God. Come before God today and say, Lord, search me. I know my heart today. Lord, if there is any wickedness in me, please, Lord, deal with it. I don't want my sin to cause the people of God to stand guilty before you. But if you know nothing of the saving grace of God, think about the sin of Achan. God cannot be mocked. Your sin will destroy you for eternity away from God. It will not just destroy your family name, your family property, it will destroy your soul. Boys and girls, young men, young ladies, the sin you're toiling with in your heart, the sin you think you're enjoying, cannot be compared to the power of God in Christ. Turn away from sin. I plead with you, turn away from sin and put your hope and trust in Christ today. Sin is serious. God will not compromise. He will deal with that sin. You have the opportunity today. Turn away from your sin. Amen.