Setting

Introduction: The Principle of Leaven and the Purpose of Old Testament Narratives

0:06 Now, the Lord willing, in all probability, we shall resume our studies in Ephesians, Lord's Day mornings, in a couple of weeks' time. But as Pastor Blaise and I have been seeking the mind of God for the word that he would speak to us as his people, I feel particularly constrained for this Lord's Day morning and possibly one or two subsequent mornings to direct your attention to a portion of the word of God, which I believe has very peculiar and pointed application to us as a congregation at this strategic point in God's dealings with us as a church. We shall be studying together that familiar Old Testament narrative concerning the sin of a man named Achan. And we will be studying this portion under the general heading of a phrase, extracted from the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7, the Apostle says, A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. And that great principle is so clearly illustrated for us in the Old Testament that I want to direct your attention to that passage found in Joshua chapter 7.

1:27 Joshua chapter 7. And let me encourage you sometime today to read through this chapter in its entirety. I shall be reading sections of it as we begin our exposition. I will not weary you with the reading of that lengthy chapter or moderately sized chapter in our worship service this morning.

1:50 Now what I propose to do is to say several things by way of introduction as a general background to the historical record of the nation of Israel. Since we are going to be expounding and applying a portion of the Old Testament which is a narrative of a historical event in the life of the children of Israel, it is essential for us to look at such a narrative in the clear light of the teaching of the New Testament. Then we shall begin our exposition by considering the setting of the story of Achan's sin. We shall begin to consider in the second place the substance of the story of Achan's sin and then God willing next week the sequel to the story of Achan's sin. The setting of this history, the substance of the history and the sequel to that history. But now by way of introduction, when we come to the history of the nation of Israel, we are coming to a history that is actual. Absolutely unique.

3:03 For in the history of the nation of Israel, God is describing His own mighty activity of grace and of power in preparing the way for the promised Savior of the world. Therefore in a very real sense we may call the history of the nation of Israel the history of redemption. God's purpose is to redeem a people, focus in upon that nation, that is not only the nation out of which He is calling His elect at that time, almost exclusively, but the nation through whom He will bring His true elect, the Lord Jesus, and will save all those whom the Father has chosen in Him. Therefore when we come to the Old Testament to read the history of the nation of Israel, it is our responsibility to read it in the light of its overarching purpose, in other words, the Old Testament history of Israel is not a kind of reader's digest from heaven. A story to amuse you, a story to put you on the edge of your seat, like the real life drama stories, some life in these United States to make you chuckle, and a few other snippets to help you with the running of your home. I am afraid many of us read the Old Testament that way.

4:25 But we are not to read it that way. It is an unfolding of the history of redemption. And therefore we should seek to catch the continuous thread of God's dealings with His people in that history. But the purpose of the Old Testament is not exhausted when we read it as the history of redemption.

4:47 Stand back in wonder and amazement as we behold God moving in grace and power to save mankind. But according to 1 Corinthians 10, 11, there is a very distinct purpose not already mentioned as to why God has given us this history. In 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11, Paul, having made an allusion to a historical event in the life of the children of Israel, says these words, 1 Corinthians 10, 11, Now these things happened unto them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the age are come. They are not only written to elicit worship and praise. They are not only written to instruct and to inform us concerning the history of redemption. They are written for our admonition.

5:53 That is, what God has written is to form the substance of exhortation and application to the consciences and lives of the people of God where they live here and now. This same thing is brought out in 2 Timothy 3, 16, that very familiar passage. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching. Yes, we should be taught the significance of what God is doing in the history of redemption, that we may behold with wonder His purposes of grace.

6:27 But Paul does not stop there. He says these things are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in the way of righteousness. In other words, it is not enough to know the historical facts, to see them in their historical context, to see them in their larger context of the history of redemption, until that history has turned around with talons and sunk its talons into the flesh of your heart. You haven't read it aright.

7:00 Until you feel its talons within the flesh of your own heart, you have not read it aright. And therefore, as we come to this historical account of the sin of Achan, we are going to view it in its strategic place in the history of redemption and in its pointed application to us as the people of God. All right? So much then for that general background.

The Setting of Achan's Sin: Jericho and God's Two Principles of Conquest

7:28 Now let us come to the setting of the story of Achan's sin. Turn please to at least the area of Joshua 7 as we'll be making references to that which precedes and follows the setting of the story of Achan's sin. And isn't it strange that here is a story, an entire chapter of the Word of God, making a man famous for one thing alone. For the tragedy of his sin.

8:03 A man who apart from his sin would have been an unknown commodity in the history of the world. David was famous for his sin with Uriah and Bathsheba. But had he never sinned with Uriah and Bathsheba, he still would have been famous for his grace. Abraham is famous for his sin of lying and his fearfulness and his unbelief in the case of Sarah.

8:31 But he would have been famous apart from that sin for the graces which marked his life. Peter is famous for his denial of the Lord. But had he never denied Him, he would have been famous for his Christian courage and strategic place in the purpose of God. But here is a man famous for only one thing.

8:50 For the tragedy of his sin. And oh my friend, may the warning come home to us. It's perfectly possible that some of you will leave but one mark in history. The terrible blot of an act of sin that brings great tragedy to your own heart and life and family.

9:13 And great crippling to the people of God. That's the history of this man Achan. And as we approach the narrative and seek to see it in its strategic setting, may we approach it in that sober realization. In the outworking now of God's sovereign purpose to save men by grace, He has promised a land to Abraham and to his seed.

9:37 He is about at this point to bring the people of God into the possession of that land. And having brought them through the Red Sea and then into the wilderness, having preserved them through the forty years until the unbelieving generation died off and now having brought them over the river Jordan, and on the borders of the conquest of Canaan, the first city to meet them, is the mightiest, the most powerful, the most formidable of all the cities in the land of Canaan. It is the city of Jericho. And therefore God is concerned at the very outset of the conquest of Canaan to underscore in red ink and to write in flashing neon signs two great principles for His people and the principles are these. He is going to teach them through the experience of the conquest of Jericho that everything that happens in giving them the land of Canaan will happen on the basis of two principles. Principle one, it will happen by the putting forth of the might and power of God on the one hand, and secondly, it will happen by the putting forth of faith and obedience

Principle 1: Conquest by God's Sovereign Power (Joshua 5-6)

11:04 on the part of the people of God. And those two fundamental lessons God was so concerned to teach with clarity and to underscore so that none could miss it that He devises a way to conquer Jericho that will have no other explanation but those two principles being operative in the people of God. Now let's look at them for a moment. Principle number one, God is concerned to teach them that if they are to conquer the land of Canaan they are to conquer it solely by the exercise of the sovereign power of God.

11:44 If they conquer it is only because He is conquering. Now how does He teach it? Well He teaches it by giving this revelation of Himself to Joshua recorded in chapter 5, in verse 13. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand.

12:09 Joshua is now about to lead his people into the conquest of Jericho. And as he was perhaps even reconnoitering he was doing some reconnaissance work to size up the situation there appears before him not in a vision but this was an actual appearance. He sees a man with a sword drawn. And Joshua used a little good horse sense.

12:33 Before he drew his own and started to whack away he wants to know are you with us or against us? And so he asked the question art thou for us or for our adversaries? Are you one of the soldiers whose broken ranks and going out and doing a little reconnoitering? Are you on our side?

12:50 If so I'll sheath my sword. If you're on the other side watch out buster I'm coming. In the name of Jehovah I'm coming. If you're one of the enemies because we have a mandate to slay and to conquer the Canaanites.

13:03 The answer comes back well Joshua there's another alternative and you haven't even mentioned that and this is what the alternative is. And he said no. That is I am neither for you as a compatriot a soldier standing alongside of you nor am I one of the adversaries who's come out against you but as prince of the host of Jehovah am I now come. The host of Jehovah is not the armies of Israel it is the armies of God the angels of God and all the company of heavenly powers and he says Joshua I do not come as a soldier to fight with you or a soldier to fight against you I come as the Lord God himself who with all of his army will go before you and conquer on your behalf. And Joshua realizing that this was no mere earthly person fell upon his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the prince of the Lord's host said unto Joshua Put off thy shoes from off thy foot for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so and his mind could not but reflect upon the vision given to Moses recorded in Exodus chapter 3 when Moses saw that vision

14:31 or had that experience of the burning bush and the voice of Jehovah spoke and God said put off the shoes from off thy feet. The same God who appeared to commission Moses in the burning bush now appears to commission Joshua in this vision of the Lord Jesus as the captain of all the host of heaven and he is saying to Joshua Joshua Jericho may be too much for you but it is not for me all that is before you is too much for you and for your armies but as I captain of the Lord's host am here to fight your battles for you I can conquer and none can withstand my conquering advance. What is God telling Joshua? What is God showing to Joshua? He is saying Joshua between you and Jericho and in essence between you and all that Jericho symbolizes the might, the strength, the imposing military genius of Canaan Joshua between you and your armies and all that must be conquered I the captain of the Lord's host stand ready to fight and to conquer on your behalf.

15:48 That is why he uses the little phrase when he then gives direction about the conquest of Jericho he uses this little phrase in chapter 6 and verse 16 the last part of the phrase For the Lord hath given you the city What Lord? The Lord who appeared with the drawn sword this pre-incarnate manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ who is called the captain of our salvation. So then the first principle that Joshua must learn the first principle that the people of God must learn is everything will be given by the sovereign power of God and he teaches it by this manifestation of the Lord Jesus and he teaches it secondly by the kind of directives he gives for the conquering of Jericho and when you read them they are enough to make you laugh when you read those directions that are given in chapter 6 verses 1 to 7 they are the most foolish stupid directions for the conquering of a mighty walled city that anyone ever heard he tells them in essence I have given Jericho and to make it evident that I have given it I want you to do this verse 3 Ye shall compass the city all the men of war going about the city once

17:15 thus shalt thou do six days and seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams horn before the ark and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times so seven times plus the six thirteen times around that city and the priests tooting their horns blowing their trumpets and it shall be that when they make a long blast with the rams horn and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet all the people shall shout with a great shout and the wall of the city shall fall down flat and the people shall go up every man straight before him and Joshua then takes his orders from the Lord and gives them to the people now will you just try to project yourself backwards and relive this situation here with the memory of your fathers telling you about the mighty army of Egypt that tracked you down to a red sea and God opened that sea and brought your forefathers through on dry land knowing something of the history of God's dealings with your people now you have the promise of God I'm going to bring you to possess this land your armies have been prepared with what equipment they had they've been fitted for battle Joshua your captain has been duly recognized and appointed and now the day comes when he gathers all of the nation together and he says God has revealed himself to you the Lord has given directions for the conquest of Jericho and you're one of the captains and one of the leaders

18:42 and your ears are all perked up and you're just waiting now for some unusual directives to come about some cunning way that God will enable you to penetrate those thick walls and put the people to rout and Joshua opens his mouth and he says this is how we shall conquer Jericho front and center all the and all the captains are all ready to run forward and he says the word priest the captains look at one another priest? we've got to conquer Jericho there's no tile of worship has its place but the walls of Jericho and the bearers of the ark and then the horn tutors? isn't this what happened? I mean were those people less human than we? can you imagine what must have gone through their minds? and now Joshua says not just as a token of obedience go around the city once the priests going before the horn tutors blowing the armies following but do it once twice three times four times can you imagine morning after morning when you get up and Joshua summons you and says God hasn't changed his orders line up around the walls we go again no speaking no taunting those who were no doubt watching from the walls of Jericho

20:07 making a fool of yourself before the very people you're to conquer God says alright make fools of yourself but that's my directions and to add insult to injury you get up the seventh day and say well maybe God will change his orders and God says alright now boys put on your best walking boots because it's seven times today seven times and at the end of the seven times you're not to put your hand to your sword yet you're just to shout now you get the message unless your head was as thick as the walls of Jericho you'd get the message and the message is this all my people Israel upon whom I set my love through whom I will bring the Messiah the Savior of men as you enter the land of Canaan conquest will be your portion by my mighty sovereign power I can work with or without means march around that city blow your ram's horns carry your ark and shout and I'll blow the walls flat and he says go up every man straight before him now it's time for you to grab your sword and your torch and slay and conquer and burn but before they did anything that was what we would call the normal means to conquer a city God wanted to underscore this fundamental principle

Principle 2: Conquest by Faith and Obedience (Joshua 6)

21:35 I give the victory or there is no victory given now hang on to that will you because this is just the fact we haven't done any application yet second great principle is this not only will they conquer by the putting forth of the power of God on his part but they will conquer by the putting forth of faith and obedience on their part and how do we know this well just the directions given you talk about a test of faith and consequently of obedience these directives were just that they were foolishness as we reason things out and God added then to this general directive a further directive in chapter 6 and verse 18 and 19 verses 18 and 19 but as for you only keep yourselves from the devoted or accursed thing lest when ye have devoted it ye take of the devoted thing and would make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it but all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron are holy unto the Lord they shall come unto the treasury of the Lord God not only gave the general directions as to how the city was to be conquered

23:02 to test their faith and obedience but he gave this added directive that everything in that city with the exception of Rahab the harlot and her house was utterly devoted to destruction and this concept of something devoted is rooted in a directive found in the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus and it has the concept of something that is unredeemable Leviticus 27, 28 and 29 the only way God is pleased with it is with its destruction it is given over to destruction and to death and God said as far as the city of Jericho is concerned everything is to be destroyed no matter how beautiful to the eye no matter how much you think it may help you to glorify me or to fight my battles in the next cities even when you see military goods and military spoils destroy the whole shebang except the gold the silver and the precious metals they are to be brought into the treasury of God they are mine to be used in the ultimate advancement of the worship of Israel when it would come time to erect her house of worship now why did God give these directives because he wanted to teach that second great lesson

24:29 the conquest of Canaan will be the conquest of the power of God but the power of operative through a believing and an obedient people humanism is not to dictate the conquest of Canaan human scheming is not to dictate and listen carefully all the scheming and all the ingenuity and all the resources of Israel will be utterly futile if God turns against them in anger because of disobedience and of unbelief and you have those two principles now let me apply and if this is all we get this morning I'm not concerned to rush through this exposition because I'm convinced as much as I am of my own name that God has a word for us as a church at this strategic time you and I as a body of God's people in the history of redemption we stand at a point where God also has purposes for us and God's present purpose is to enlarge the kingdom of his own dear son to use the words of Isaiah to give to him the fruit of his suffering so that he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied this is God's purpose this is God's design

Application to Trinity Baptist Church: God's Purpose and Provision for Expansion

25:55 and for this purpose he has raised up this congregation and many other faithful congregations across the face of the earth bearing many different denominational tags and labels but he's raised up churches to what end that he might give to his son the conquest for which he died now how does God accomplish this how does God give his church per Canaan how does he give to the Lord Jesus through his church that which he died to purchase he does it on the basis of the same two principles that he's going to give Israel the land of Canaan he will do it first of all by the sovereign almighty power by the power of his own arm Jesus said I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against he was talking to a weak vacillating Peter who was about to deny him talking to men of very limited means but he says I will build my church and regardless of the materials I use that may be shabby and may be very incompetent in the eyes of the world my church will be built because I am who I am to use the Old Testament language Psalm 2 the father says to the son ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance

27:23 and the uttermost part of the earth for thy possession as we think of the purposes of Christ in our day the purposes of God to give to his son a people what is our confidence our confidence is that God has given and will give all that is necessary that his son may be a satisfied savior and so when you turn to the book of Acts it's a New Testament parallel to the book of Joshua there in a city is a woman who has a walled heart for the truth of God is every man and woman has a walled heart by nature but King Jesus died to win her and he draws the sword of his grace to conquer her and the scripture says of Lydia whose heart the Lord opened so that she attended to the things that were spoken of the Apostle Paul what are the Jericho walls of a sinner's hard heart when King Jesus draws his sword he goes forth conquering and to conquer and he brings a Saul of Tarsus in his train and he brings a Lydia and he brings in his train all whom he purposes to bring what is the unstopping of a deaf ear to him the giving of sight to blind eyes oh dear ones we need to have brought home with fresh power to our hearts everything necessary

28:50 for the accomplishment of the purposes of the church of Jesus Christ rest firmly down upon the sovereign almighty power of God but not only in terms of what we would call exclusively spiritual activity such as the opening of a heart the unstopping of a deaf ear the opening of a blind eye but listen everything that is necessary in terms of material provision and activity that fits in with that purpose God is also committed to do it read the book of Acts again God has purposes of grace through Peter there is a household of Cornelius through whom King Jesus desires or that he is going to reach through Peter but now there are some Roman chains that bind him and God says alright we will just get rid of those so we will send a little angel visitation down and knock Peter on the side to wake him up take his chains off throw open the prison door get him out those are material objects very substantial things chains, prison doors, guards those are not very quote spiritual items those are very concrete material items God will move them because his purposes of redemption must advance and so it is for us as a church now you begin to see how all this fits some of you are sitting there saying what in the world is the pastor driving us

30:17 well hang in there I hope you will see it here we have come as a church in the providence of God God has brought us in his own sovereign grace to the place where with the addition and growth he has given this building is no longer adequate for us and we have been praying much and seeking the face of God about the purchase of land and the construction of a new building why? well I don't know why you have been praying but I know why I and the fellow elders have been praying we have been pleading oh God you have been pleased to give to your son some of the travail of his soul through this assembly and it would appear that you have much more to give him and we cannot function within the framework of biblically directed activity in our present facilities Lord we need land we need a building what? for what purpose? not to create a success image not to have something to point to as a symbol of status in the evangelical world but from the depths of our hearts the cry of your elders has been oh God for the sake of your beloved son who died to have not a handful but a multitude whom no man can number and who has many more sheep in this metropolitan area to be called to himself in a context of the pure preaching of the word and the simplicity of new testament worship and discipline

31:45 and congregational life what a tremendous thing it is to know that he stands between us and our Jericho the land needed the thousands into the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for the construction of a building he stands there with the sword drawn and he says to us look I'm not here alongside just to help you while you work and you scheme and you plan I'll be alongside to help no no I am before you to conquer trust me trust me oh how we need that vision my friend listen if there looms larger in our minds eye sixty seventy thousand dollars just to purchase a hunk of real estate with briars and nettles on it and God only knows how much to erect a building if all you see is dollar signs and Jesus standing somewhere in the shadows God have mercy on you if the dollar signs are bigger than the Lord with the drawn sword he should fill our vision Lord Jesus you said you would build your church you're the mighty conqueror you're the gracious provider

Application to Trinity Baptist Church: The Necessity of Faith and Obedience

33:12 Lord Jesus fill our vision with thyself I have given oh to hear him say that to us I have given then the second principle needs to be learned by us just as it's true on the one hand that God will give by his sovereign almighty power it is true that he shall give by the putting forth of faith and obedience on our part a faith marked by meek submission to the will of God oh what meek submission the directives for Jericho's conquest demanded Lord six times six days in a row Lord isn't that just carrying things a little bit too far Lord if I could see that somehow our walking around there was wearing some kind of a rut and upsetting the geological structure and would put a few cracks in the walls Lord I could see some practical reason but six times around the wall and it has no relationship whatsoever to the flattening of the walls and to the conquest of that mighty city oh how it demanded meek submission to the will of God that's always one of the essential ingredients of faith meek submission to the will of God revealed in his word

34:39 it demands confidence in the word of God now one of two things happened if you were part of that crowd going around that city the first day you probably looked around at your fellow Israelites and you chuckled at one another and said well Joshua said the Lord said this is what we got to do so let's get with it and around they go and maybe even joked a little bit I don't know human nature hasn't changed when they get up the second the third and the fourth day one of two things began to happen you begin to face that next march saying this is the stupidest thing I ever heard of I mean is God trying to make a bunch of jackasses out of us or you began to say you know the God that we know who's led our forefathers who called our father Abraham who led us by a way that we knew not in the wilderness who opened the Red Sea and opened the Jordan River he must have wise and good reasons and he must be as it were storing up the mighty display of his grace and faith would be strengthened skepticism would increase with each march or faith would be strengthened and at least in a goodly number the book of Hebrews tells us by faith the walls of Jericho fell down when they were encompassed seven days so we have reason to believe that for many of the Israelites there was this deepening confidence in the word of God what did they have to assure them that Jericho would fall

36:05 nothing but this word I have given the city they put the word of God between themselves and those mighty walls all the military might and genius of Jericho and my friend that's where God wants to bring us as a church what do we put between us and all that will need to be conquered the dispositions of the heart of town councils other contractors who may seek the piece of land that will go on public sale contractors who try to take advantage of a bunch of simps who don't know much about building and undercut what's between us and all of that? cunning and might and all that can come from unregenerate men the promise of the word of God I have given that's it the promise of the word of God I have given and so it demands not only a meek submission to the will of God but a confidence in the word of God and implicit dependence upon the power of God you see it's just the opposite of carnal will carnal wisdom and carnal confidence and my friends I've seen enough to make me want to vomit of evangelical churches turning pagan when it comes to building buildings

37:30 and expanding their physical facilities getting in financial assessors to assess the income of the congregation and all this carnal wisdom our confidence is not in our resources it is we just put up a building about half this size our confidence is not in our foreseeable projected income our confidence is in him who says the earth is mine and the fullness thereof the world and all things that are therein isn't that just a pretty little bit of poetry? or does God mean that? I remind some of you who were here when we launched into this building and the elders and deacons felt we're unanimous we shouldn't strap ourselves with a big indebtedness and so we said we're going to trust God for at least thirty thousand dollars cash where's that going to come from? we didn't know and to this day there is in Mr. Nixon's records

38:41 a record of a seven thousand five hundred dollar check from some bank out of state and we don't know Tom, Dick, Harry, George, Pete who sent it? I don't know where it came from there's the record of another five thousand dollars close to five thousand dollars given by a seminary student of all the unlikely sources

39:03 usually they're freeloaders

39:08 and we thank God for the freeloaders the bible school students and the seminary students but who wants the financial assessors would go to a seminary student and say now what can we count on you to give? oh God loves to humble human wisdom and carnal thought the ways of God are not our ways the heavens are high above the earth so high are his thoughts above our thoughts and his ways above our ways ah but listen now and here comes the crunch of the whole message of this passage God was so concerned to teach them that the life of faith was inseparably joined to absolute obedience to the revealed will of God that he tacked on that little proviso there don't you touch anything in the city of Jericho it's all condemned to destruction everything of worth in the realm of precious metals is to be brought to the house of God how do we conquer? not by numerical strength my friends we conquer as we walk in unblemished holiness before our God and so the call that I would issue this morning at the very outset of our exposition of this passage

The Sobering Truth: Achan's Sin and Its Corporate Impact

40:31 is a call to plead with God that he will bear down upon our hearts and our consciousness with these two great principles all that we face as a congregation that is involved in the present history of redemption in the giving of conquest not over literal physical walls of a Jericho but in every obstacle that stands in the way of the Lord Jesus gaining his inheritance our confidence must be not in our resources not in the wisdom or grace given to the leaders of this assembly not in the town councils of Essex fells and of Roseland not in the banks and the contractors and architects but all that with one heart and one voice we may cry out O living God we know not what to do but our eyes are unto thee not in some kind of a saccharine pious sentimental way but as the deep confession of the inner ringing of our hearts Lord Jesus you're not with us or against us you're over us as captain of the Lord's host able to move men and things to the accomplishment of your sovereign purpose and secondly that God will burn into our hearts

41:59 this principle that he will work thus sovereignly and mightily as we are a people marked by the simplicity of faith and implicit obedience to the revealed will of God I said that our series would be entitled a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump I only got to the first page of my notes and I had four pages haven't preached on this so I didn't know how far we'd get but I want to close this morning with this very soulful sobering truth as I urge you to read through this seventh chapter of Joshua the sobering truth is this not only was Achan notorious for his sin and his sin alone but his sin willfully committed deliberately disguised and blatantly covered up crippled a whole nation and frustrated that nation from seeing the power of God in conquest you get it one man sin willfully committed deliberately and in a calculated way covered crippled a whole nation

43:27 and kept that nation from conquest for after Achan took of the Babylonish garments and the wedges of gold and the shekels of silver of the wedge of gold they go up to Ai and they turn heel until Joshua was prostrate before his God as we read in chapter 7 saying Lord what wilt thou do for thy name's sake beloved listen the name of Trinity Baptist Church isn't worth a plug nickel burn it destroy it rub it out for all I am concerned it is a necessary handle for legal matters and for Trenton and the tax office and all the rest and rub and blot out the name of Pastors Blaze and Martin and Elders Dixon and Dodgers and Deacons Spence and Argo and all the rest that we bear the name of the captain of the Lord's host and we confess as a congregation we believe he's a sovereign Christ we say we believe he sits on the throne of unshakable majesty and sovereignty and power he has the heart of kings in his hands he turns them as the water courses that's the confession we've made have we not what will it be if we turn from our enemies if we face our AIs

44:56 of snags and problems financial and material and interpersonal and all the other things that can rise up in such a strategic time as this what will happen to his name if we turn here before our enemies and I ask you this morning do you want to be the Achan responsible for this whole congregation turning heel and have God's name brought into reproach and dishonor do you want to be held accountable for that as Achan was you say boy God dealt pretty sternly with Achan yes he did him, his family, his ox, his cattle everything he owned why because the little leaven leavened the whole lump and the scripture says him that destroys the temple of God which temple yet? ye are speaking of the church corporately he will God destroy some of you are dallying with sin deliberately committed willfully covered and resolutely hid in the tent flaps of your heart you, you, you, you may be the Achan

46:22 for whose sake God says no conquest and all the prayers of the elders as we shall see in the unfolding exposition all the entreaties of the leadership will mean nothing until the sin is discovered and judged and purged from our midst oh what a call to careful searching of heart is this strategic point of God's dealings with us as his people will you dare to pray oh God if I be the Achan discover me as you discovered him if I be the Achan oh God discover me do you find any reluctance to echo those words right now if so it's good indication that you are the Achan that you have a hidden controversy with conscience you're fearful to have the Holy Ghost pull back the tent flap of your heart and see if the Babylonish garment and the wedges of God the gold and the shackles of silver are there oh may God himself bring me as I've wrestled with this truth

A Call to Purity and Commitment to Christ's Honor

47:50 and my own heart has been ransacked oh God start with this one you see it's not a matter of whether or not the Trinity Baptist Church can build a church adequate for its needs that's not the issue at all the issue is will the man with the drawn sword manifest his glory in the advance of his cause through this assembly that's the issue and if you're a Christian there's no issue that touches a more sensitive nerve in your heart than the honor and the glory of Jesus Christ and if your Babylonish garment that of fleshly carnal desire is more precious than the honor of Christ how dare you name it in his name the indulgence of some secret sin the fondling of some darling lust the maintenance of a forbidden relationship if that Babylonish garment is more precious than the honor of Christ how dare you say you love him and if that which is rightfully his that wedge of gold that body redeemed to be presented as a living sacrifice your time your substance

49:17 the silver of your energies and talents if you would squander them for yourself instead of giving them for the service of the temple of God that his glory be seen and true worship advanced how dare you name the name of Christ I'll never come back to this place again my friend listen churches are a dime a dozen around here where your mind and heart and conscience can be titillated go to them but we're determined by God's grace that this shall be a body of people who take God seriously if you want to be entertained go ahead don't even need to come a second time because you won't be entertained here you say alright I will go go my friend but remember you'll stand before almighty God and when you do you tell him well God you know I tried to find a church where I felt good where everything was happy and sweet and lovely and where they sang night you tell God that in the day of judgment my friend no these are going to be searching days if they aren't then may almighty God frustrate every effort to take the Jericho and prostrate us until we see

50:45 all that he does he does by sovereign power he will do to an obedient and the believing people Achan where are you may God find you let us pray oh God holy eternal all seeing God we tremble before you who knoweth who knoweth Lord his own heart oh we ask that as you singled out the family of Achan and brought that man to face his sin until there was not one soul in Israel that he could mistake as the guilty one for himself we pray you will thus deal amongst us Lord Jesus we thank you that you come to us as the captain of the Lord's host with a drawn sword that you go forth to conquer and to conquer

52:11 and we thank you that to many of us has come the conviction of faith that the land and the construction of a building and the many hundreds and thousands of dollars needed and the moving of the hearts of councils and mayors and contractors are but little things before thy mighty arm and we praise you for that conviction we do not need to run in fear to seek carnal help to go down to Egypt for horses and chariots oh God we bless you that you brought many of us to that conviction of faith so that we literally long to see what you will do to manifest your glory as the sovereign Lord of the host of heaven but Father we do tremble before that second principle because we confess that the Babylonish garments are so attractive to us oh we pray search us out that there be no Achanism within our midst purge we pray and lead us on to triumph to the glory of him who loved us and gave himself for us even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ seal then this word to our hearts

53:36 help us to walk beneath the fear of its truth and accomplish all of your sovereign purpose we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen