Good morning, welcome to the house of the Lord. And as others are joining us, we're going to sing that little chorus, let the Lord have his way in your life every day. We'll sing this through twice, just remaining seated. Let's make it a real sincere prayer, even as we sing it, that the Lord will have his way in our lives, even this day. Let's sing this through twice. every day there's no there's no Let the Lord, let the Lord have His way. until the lord has his way in your life every day there's no rest there's no peace until the lord has his way place your life in his hand Amen. May that be the reality today. 270 is our opening hymn. 270 down at the cross where my savior died. Down where for cleansing from sin I cried. There to my heart was the blood applied. Glory to his name. Let's stand and sing this lovely testimony hymn please. The sound is there. ♪ Glory to his name ♪ ♪ Glory to his name ♪ ♪ Love to my heart is the love of mine ♪ ♪ Glory to his name ♪ ♪ I am so one with his Savior of sins ♪ Jesus so sweetly abides within There at the cross where he took me in Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name God to my heart is a cloud Glory to His name! O precious fountain that saves from sin, I am so glad I have entered in. There Jesus saves me and keeps me clean. Glory to His name! Glory to His name! Glory to His name! God who filled my heart is the blood of mine. Glory to His name! Come to this fount, it's so rich and sweet. Oh ♪ Glory to his name ♪ Down to my heart is the blood applied ♪ Glory to his name Amen. Let's unite our hearts together in prayer. We want this morning to give glory to the name of the Lord for all that he has done for us. those who are saved that the blood has been applied to our hearts and that this morning the promises of God are still true and that those who are not saved can still come to know Christ this moment as Savior if they will repent of their sin and call upon the name of the Lord. So we're going to pray that the Lord will come and work among us that we will not leave the same way that we come in but the Lord will take a dealing with each of our hearts and draw us closer to himself. Our gracious Lord and our loving eternal Father in heaven, we are so thankful to be found here this morning in the house of the Lord. We have been singing about letting the Lord have his way and we are reminded in scripture that the ways of God are higher than our ways. So, Lord, save us and spare us from our own intelligence that is so lacking in comparison to thine. And we pray, Lord, that we will be found in the ways of God. Teach us thy way, O Lord. Teach us thy will, O Lord. And for everyone in this gathering, may we hear the voice of the Lord saying, this is the way, walk ye in it. Thank you for every blood-bought child of God. For those who have repented of their sin and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, thank you for those who are thine and are on their way to glory. We pray, Lord, that you'll bless each life, bless each testimony, make it a shining and bright witness for the Savior. May there be much done in our lives that will count for eternity. And may our hearts, even this day, be drawn out after our God. Pray for any Lord who are cold at heart or backslidden. Pray, Lord, you'll deal with their hearts today. Take away that love of sinning. Take away, Lord, that backsliding and restore unto them the joy of thy salvation as they will confess that coldness unto thee. We pray, Lord, for any who are not saved. Oh, Lord, our hearts desire prayer to God for our land and for this congregation is that they would be saved, that they would know Christ as Redeemer, that they would know Him as their personal Savior, not just about Him, not just have some respect for Him, that they would even come out to church, but Lord, they would repent of their sin and call on this Christ to have mercy upon them, to Save them and wash them and make them clean through his precious blood. Thank you Lord There's hand cleansing and healing for all he would wash in the life-giving flood and we pray Lord that today Sinners will say Lord. I need to be saved Lord our the only Savior in come and wash me and make me clean. Thank you, Lord, there's still power in the blood today. Thank you, Lord, that's the only answer to man's need. And while many around this world are searching for peace and contentment, happiness and joy, and everywhere, we thank you, Lord, we find it in the Savior. None but Christ can satisfy. And we pray that today we will know souls turning to Christ. Lord, this is the work of the Spirit of God. And therefore, help us to be faithful in the preaching Help God's people to be faithful in the praying. But Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit will do the work that we cannot do. Oh Lord, come, we pray, and stir the sinner out of the deadness of their sin. Give them the desire to call, give them the gifts of faith and repentance, and may this day they be drawn lovingly and tenderly to Christ. We pray for those who are away today. We know that this time of the year there are a number of people on holiday. We pray you'll bless them, give them safety, bring them back to their home congregation. Again, rejoicing in the Lord, we pray that wherever they are today, they'll remember the Lord's day to keep it holy. And Lord, that even this day in our own congregation, that real move of the Lord, that real encouraging, of the saints of God, the building up of the church. We thank you for every head bowed in your presence. Lord, whatever our needs would be, minister to us. Some are mourning today. Some are weary. Some are sick. Some are lonely. Some are discouraged. Some are seeking guidance. Lord, we pray whatever the need, that thou knowest better than we do, we pray you'll meet us at the point of our need. We pray for joy in the Lord's presence. Lord, we pray that you will fill us with joy. We pray, Lord, that you will give us hearts that are overflowing as we think of what Christ did for us in Calvary. And Lord, give us that help to live lives that bring glory to the name of our Savior. So bless us in this service today. May everything that's said and done bring glory and honor to the name of Christ. And may we be richly blessed, for we ask it in Jesus precious. worthy name. Amen and amen. Hymn 692. 692. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so little ones to him belong. They are weak but he is strong. We're going to sing the first two verses of this particular song and then we're going to ask Andrew and Sarah and Jonah to come forward at this time as we sing this song for this dedication. So let's stand and sing the first two verses and then we will take our seats. Let's stand and sing. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me, He could die, Heaven's gates to open wide. He will wash away my sin, Let His little child go away. You may be seated. We're just going to turn in God's Word to the book of 1 Samuel. chapter one, and we're just going to read the final few verses from verse number 24. 1 Samuel chapter one and verse number 24. Of course, this is speaking about Hannah and the child that God gave her, Samuel. So 1 Samuel chapter one, verse 24. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him on to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. And they slew a bullock and brought the child to Eli. And she said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord. and he worshipped the Lord there. Amen. We are delighted this morning that Andrew and Sarah have been led of the Lord to bring their little one, the little gift that God has given to them, Jonah, here to the house of the Lord to be dedicated onto the Lord. Now what happens here this morning does not save this child. But it does mean that the parents are making promises before God that they will raise this child with a view to him being saved. That's our heart's desire. And they've come to say to the Lord, you've given to us and we want to give him back to you. I want you to save him. I want you to use him for your glory. As I was thinking about this service this morning and this act of dedication, I was thinking just about those lines in verse number 27, and it's five small words, and yet what a big, big difference they make whenever they are taken and acted upon. It says, for this child, I prayed, for this child, I prayed. And how precious those words are. And Andrew and Sarah, you've a great responsibility before the Lord. You know that. The Bible tells us that. Because God has given you this little one. And not only has he given you this child, he's given you the responsibility to raise him. And you're accountable for that. And will all his parents give an answer someday for how we have raised our children. But I want to give you some advice from scripture that I trust and pray will help you and that as you seek to raise this little one, that it will be done for God's glory. And I want to do it in this way, by giving you seven things that every parent ought to pray for. Seven things, very simply, that every child ought to pray for as they're raising their children. The first thing is we want to pray for the heart of the little one. In Matthew chapter 22, verse 37, the Lord Jesus Christ said, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And yet as we come here this morning, the Bible tells us that naturally the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And maybe some people are shocked that I would even bring that up this morning or say that at a dedication service of this little one who's just a few weeks old. But the parents here today are saved and they know this truth. And therefore knowing this truth will help them to raise the child in a certain way, to bring this child to knowledge of this truth, to bring them to the Lord and in the will of the Lord to salvation. You see, it's important that your child is raised onto the teachings of the Bible, that he's in church, that he's exposed to truth from you and from the preaching of the Word of God. And therefore, as we think about the heart of this little one, we're praying that this will be a heart that's given to God early in life. He asks the Lord to save him, to come in, to dwell within, and to be his Lord and saviour. Not only the heart, but the mind. And in the word of God in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 it says, be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. And as this little one grows our prayer is he'll be saved and that the Lord will help his mind and protect his mind and cause him to realize early in life that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And we might have great ambitions for ourselves or whatever, but God's ways are best. God has a plan for this little one and our prayer is that Jonah will know that plan and follow God's way. Not only that, but as he reads scripture, as he learns the catechisms and the things he learned in Sunday school, that the Lord will take his mind and give him awareness of what is being taught and an awareness of the preciousness of this little book. So pray for the heart, pray for the mind, pray for the lips. There's a lovely verse, Psalm 63, verse three. And the psalmist declares, my lips shall praise thee. And we want to pray today that Jonah's lips will be used for God's glory. That they'll be used to call upon the Lord for salvation. They'll be used to pray for grace every day to live for him. They'll be used to sing of the Savior and to speak for the Lord. Then we think of his ears, Psalm 85, verse eight. It says, I will hear what the Lord will speak unto me. We want these ears to be used wisely, that they'll be close to that which is against God, that they'll be open to the voice of God, and will delight in that which is true and honest and just and pure and lovely and of good report. Think of his eyes. Psalm has said, mine eyes are onto thee, O God the Lord, in thee is my trust. And our prayer is that his eyes will be used for God's glory. That as he looks at you as parents, he will see parents who are walking with the Lord. As he looks to the Lord for guidance, he will see the ways of the Lord. As he reads the word of God, his eyes will see and perceive and understand the truths that the Lord would speak to him. And that he will have wisdom and discipline to close his eyes to that which is impure and sinful. We think of his wee hands. In Ecclesiastes 9, verse 10, says, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. That this young boy will have hands that will learn to work, that will learn to write, that will learn to give, that will show kindness to others, be an encouragement to others, but that he will be actively engaged in the work of the Lord, in some measure, as he grows in Christ. And then we think of his feet. Psalm 88, verse 11, Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth. And we pray that Jonah will learn to walk physically and also that he will learn to walk spiritually. pray that you walk in the footsteps of the Savior. There's a lovely hymn that says, sweetly, Lord, we have heard thee calling. Come, follow me. And we see where thy footprints falling lead us to thee. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus wherever they go. And therefore, we're praying that this little one, his footsteps will lead him to the house of the Lord, in the ways of the Lord, and in the will of the Lord. So what are we praying for? We pray for the heart and the mind, the lips, the ears, the eyes, the hands and the feet. We're praying that the Lord will take this little one, body and soul, save him for God's grace and use him for God's glory. And whenever John was writing in his epistles, he wrote these words in 3 John verse 4, I have no greater joy. than to hear that my children walk in truth. That's what we're praying. Lord, save this little one. Allow him to walk in truth. It really doesn't matter how many letters he has after his name, what position he gains in life, any of those things. All that matters is he's saved and he knows the Lord. And that's our prayer for Jonah. Our prayer for Andrew and Sarah is that God will give them grace to raise their child under the sound of the gospel and have the joy of seeing the family united in Christ. We pray to that end. I'm gonna ask the congregation to stand and we want to ask some questions to you. Andrew and Sarah, do you profess faith in Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Saviour? Do you promise to read your child the Scriptures of the Holy Truth, the Old and the New Testament of the King James Version of the Word of God? We do. And is it your desire that while young in life, that this little boy will come to know the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Savior? It is. Therefore, I dedicate you, Jonah Andrew Watterson, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Andrew, Sarah, and Jonah, the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are filled with joy as we stand in this church today to see the gift of this little one given into the home of Andrew and Sarah. And we know that before this little one was born, they were able to say for this child, I prayed. And we thank the Lord that's heard and answered prayer already. And our prayer is that as they continue to pray for their little child, for every aspect of his physical and spiritual being, we pray, Lord, that thou wilt hear an early answer prayer. Pray this little one will come to know Christ as Lord and Savior, that they will grow to be a strong young man for God, being able to serve the Lord with all their might. I thank you, Lord, for the love of God for children. Thank thee, Lord, for that day when Christ took the little one upon his knee and he blessed them. So, Lord, we pray you'll take up this little one. Bless Jonah, we pray. Lord, give him a long life, give him a happy life, but above all, give him a life where he walks with God. Oh, Lord, we pray that you will bless Andrew and Sarah, give them wisdom every day, and help them to see the joy of their family being united in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, help us as a congregation, as this little one grows up among us, to be an encouragement to him and to this family. And may the Lord be pleased to hear and answer prayer. Save the children, save boys and girls, Lord, even in this gathering today. bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask these things in Jesus' name and for his eternal glory. Amen and amen. We're going to sing the final two verses, you were in standing, of Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me, loves me still when I am very weak. And Ellen will sing these words together. He loves me still When I prairie, mead, and hill From His shining throne of high Watches with me where I die have a Just beside me all the way. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Amen. Well, we do want to welcome all to the service this morning. It's good to see you gathered in, to the visitors with us, and the family of Andrew and Sarah together. It's good to have you with us, and we pray the Lord will bless us as we meet around the word of the Lord. Just a few announcements for the rest of today and the week ahead and the will of the Lord. Do you remember the open air this afternoon in the Diamond in Muckerfeld? Do you remember the time of prayer? At 6.15 we ask God's people to come and to pray before the service and then at 7pm the gospel evening service. 8pm is our Bible study and prayer meeting and at 10.30 on Wednesday morning, outreach team going around the doors of the homes in the area with the gospel. Next Lord's Day, in the will of the Lord, 11.30, time of prayer in the prayer room, 12 noon family worship and 7 p.m. the gospel evening service. There is a new season of the Whitfield College of the Bible Christian Workers Training Academy commencing on the 16th of October and it's in Randallstown Free Presbyterian Church and it's over the latter months of 2025 and into the early months of 2026. It's seven consecutive Thursday evenings and the classes commence at 8pm. If you're interested in that, there's an information leaflet on the stand in the hallway and information on how you can enrol for that. We do pray that the Lord will bless on Thursday as our sister Grace Stewart and brother Chris Orr get married and we're looking forward to that. We pray the Lord to give you a good day together and bless you as you set up home together as man and wife. We want to remember those who've been buried in this past week and quite a number of people have been called out into God's eternity. Remember the Nicol family on the passing of May, the Black family in the passing of Dorothy, the Wolsey family in the passing of Nora, the Forsyth family in the passing of Gary, the Crossett family in the passing of Kennedy, the Crooks family in the passing of Mina, the Atkinson family and Conlon family in the passing of Jim, remembering June and Kyle in our own congregation, and Raymond and Linda. And then we do remember the family of the Reverend James McClelland, who passed into the presence of the Lord this past week. Do remember that family circle and all who've been mentioned that the Lord will comfort and sustain at this time. These are all our announcements. We want to make them subject to the will of God. The Free Presbyterian Vision magazine is available in the hallway and there's one per family, so please feel free to take that. and that is free to each one. We're going to sing one more hymn before we come to God's word and that is hymn 335. Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain. We'll stand and sing this together and then come to the word of the Lord. Let's stand and sing. In the cross, in the cross, in my glory ever my ransomed soul shall find rest beyond the river. Near the cross, that trembling soul, love and mercy find me. and morning star shed its beams around me. In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever till my ♪ Help me walk from day to day ♪ ♪ With His shadow over me ♪ ♪ In the cross, in the cross ♪ ♪ Be my glory ever ♪ ♪ Till my ransomed soul shall find ♪ ♪ Rest beyond the grave ♪ And then we're turning to Joshua chapter 7. We, in the last study, we're in chapter six, and we read how the Lord gave very specific instructions for the children of Israel regarding the defeat of Jericho. They had to march around a specific number of times, shout at a specific time, and the Lord gave the victory. Of course, Rahab was rescued and her family, as had been promised way back in Joshua chapter two, but the rest of the people were destroyed. So having had this wonderful victory and having had this tremendous success, we come to Joshua chapter seven and verse number one. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing. For Achan, the son of Kamri, 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. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-Avon, on the east side of Bethel. But spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said unto him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai. And make not all the people to labour thither, for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smoked them about thirty and six men. for they chased them from before the gate onto Shibarim and smoked them in the going down. Wherefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the reading of thy precious and thy holy word. We thank you for this account of those things that happened so many years ago and yet have great truths that we can glean from today, great principles that we can implement today. And we ask you, Lord, that you will come and write thy word upon our hearts and give us understanding. Don't allow us to go out the same way we come in, but today may our hearts be challenged and changed by the Holy Spirit. We pray, Lord, for an understanding of thy word. Lord, who is sufficient for these things, but we thank thee that our sufficiency is of the Lord. So, Lord, empty me of self and sin. Fill me with thy Holy Spirit and give me help to be faithful to this congregation, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. There are five lessons that I believe we can learn from this chapter. As the children of Israel had enjoyed much success, they decided that they were going to go and take the little town of Ai. But they went on their own terms and they didn't go at God's command. And therefore, as a result, they were defeated and 36 men died. So what can we learn from these words? Well, the first thing we can learn is this. We must always depend upon the Lord in all circumstances. We must depend upon the Lord in all circumstances. Israel are full of confidence. They're full of pride. Look what we've accomplished. They're full of complacency. We can go on and do this again and again and again. However, we do read in verse number one that the Holy Spirit records Achan's trespass or Achan's sin. And because of that, the Lord was not with Israel. The Lord was not with them. Now, if they could only have seen their weakness and their vulnerability, oh, how they would have fled to the Lord and prayed for help and strength to defeat the next city that had to be defeated. And as I thought about that, there's a great danger of complacency after victory and after blessing. We can forget the one who has blessed us. We can forget the one who has given the victory and start to think pride in who we are and what we have done. We can become careless regarding scripture and prayer, regarding church attendance, regarding living without seeking first the kingdom of God. And here the children of Israel, buoyed by their success, looked at AI with human eyes. and thought to themselves, Jericho is a strong city. Ai is a much smaller hill town. Jericho has multitudes. Ai had a smaller population. Jericho was a difficult, impossible task. Ai will be easy. And in these reasonings, they left God out. They didn't ask for God's wisdom. They didn't pray for his strength. In complacency, they decided, we are able to defeat little Ai. However, this presumption in self resulted in defeat. Notice verse number four. It says there at the end of the verse, they fled before the men of Ai. Oh, this great army that was going to come up and defeat this little hill town were now fleeing from what they thought was just a small number of people whom they could easily overcome. Why? Because they'd taken their eyes off the Lord. Why was their success in Jericho a few days ago? Because the Lord had told them how to march. The Lord had told them when to march. The Lord had told them how often to march. The Lord had told them when to shout. But now their attitude is, don't make all the people labor. Just send a few. Don't make all the people labor. Not only did the presumption result in defeat, it resulted in death. Their foolish, carnal, humanistic reasoning resulted in death. 36 men died because God was not being followed. Up until this point, there was only one other occasion in the history of the children of Israel when people out of their army were killed by the enemy. And that's found in Numbers chapter 14. And Moses had warned the people not to go forward for the Lord wasn't with them. But of course they went in their own strength and their own bravado. And as a result, there were a number of people who were killed at that time. And here's the second time it happened at Ai. The Lord hadn't given the command to go to Ai. The Lord hadn't been sought for his blessing. And 36 out of 3,000 men were killed. Now, I know on paper, statistically, that's not a great number, but 36 families were torn apart. 36 people were taken into eternity and 36 deaths could have been prevented if the people had gone through with God. And not only did it result in defeat and in death, it resulted in despair throughout the camp. Look at the end of verse number five, wherefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water. And you see, that was the testimony of the people of Jericho when they heard about God bringing the children of Israel across the Red Sea. What did they say? Well, Rahab testified, as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt. Neither remained there any more courage in any man. And here they are, struggling, fearful, pathetic, just like the enemies of God. As long as they had the ark and the presence of God in the midst, they could face anyone. Friend, the moment they thought they could do better, the moment they thought they didn't need to seek God, then there's weakness. Friend, we need the Lord. You need the Lord. You need the Lord to worship. You need the Lord to live. You need the Lord to serve. You need the Lord to testify. You need the Lord to sing. You need the Lord for every single thing that you do to raise your family. To do your job unto His glory. To know victory over the world and the flesh and the devil. To know a deliverance from those sins that do so easily beset. We need the Lord. And you see the moment you think, I can do this and there's no prayer. Then you're in danger. Then there's weakness. But not only that, we learn something else in this passage, and that is that we should always go to the Lord in times of confusion and defeat, and we find that in verses six through nine. Joshua ran to his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the even tide. He and the elders of Israel put dust upon their heads, and Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan? to deliver us onto the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we have been content, and dwelt on the other side of Jordan. O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth her backs before the enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us around and cut off our name from the earth. What wilt thou do unto thy great name? So in their time of need, Joshua and the leaders sought the Lord. We see a humble heart. We see a heart that is very humble here. They come and they fall on their face before the Lord. They rent their clothes. They realize that something terrible has happened and they don't actually understand yet what has happened. But there's a simple lesson here, a powerful lesson here. When you feel or when there's failure or when there's confusion, take it to the Lord. How often we try to think about something, how often we try to fix something, how often we linger in our suffering and in our fear when the Lord is a prayer away. When there are promises that we might have the peace of God that passeth understanding, even though we don't know what's going on, even though we don't fully understand. So they came before the Lord and they brought their confusion before the Lord. Lord, we don't know why this has happened. Lord, why have you brought us here? Lord, if this continues, our people are going to turn their back. If this continues, then the Canaanites are going to get roused up and they're going to defeat us, Lord. I don't understand what's happening. And then he asks this question at the end of verse nine, what will thou do unto thy great name? Lord, if this continues, the people are going to mock you. The name of the Lord, the mighty God who protects his people is going to be dishonored. Friend, that ought to be a motivation for you and I to live faithfully before the Lord and honorably before the Lord that people won't have cause to mock the Lord or the name of the Lord because of our foolishness or our feelings. May God give us grace to live well for him. Then we learn another lesson in this passage. And this lesson is one that you and I need to daily remember, that God's people cannot know victory when they sin against him. God's people cannot know victory when they sin against him. Let's read verses 10 to 15. And the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up, wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned. They've also transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them, for they have taken, even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen and dissembled also, and have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies because they were accursed. Neither will I be with you anymore, except you destroy the accursed thing from among you. Up, sanctify the people and say, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel, thou canst not stand before thine enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning, therefore, ye shall be brought according to your tribes, and it shall be that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to their families thereof. And the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households, and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. God revealed the problem. God revealed the weakness of his people. God revealed the reason for their defeat. and the failure to experience the victory that God had previously given was because of sin. Verse number 11, Israel hath sinned. Israel has sinned. And I know today people don't think that sin is a very, very serious thing. But sin is a serious thing. This man hadn't committed murder, he hadn't committed adultery, but he had sinned. And in the eyes of some, they would say, well, it's not a great sin that he did, it was a small sin, but all sin is abhorrent in the eyes of the Lord. And as long as the sin remained, there would be no victory in that camp. Sin hinders the work of God. Sin hinders the blessing of God. The devil can't stop God's blessing. The world can't stop God's blessing, but sin can. Friends, sin in your life will hinder. Sin in your home will hinder. Sin in our church will hinder. And we must view sin for what it really is. Because in chapter seven, verse number 11, there are six descriptions of the sin. It says, Israel hath sinned. That means to miss the mark, to trespass, to do wrong. Then it says, they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. And the word transgress means they've crossed over the line. God set a clear boundary and a clear standard of what he commands and expects, but they crossed over the line. They went too far. For they have taken of the accursed thing. Now this accursed thing means something has been removed that belonged to the Lord. It was something that was sanctified for the use of the Lord, something dedicated onto the Lord. It was to be His. And Achan decided that he was going to take it and therefore it became an accursed thing. In his hands it would not be what the Lord was going to use it for to be a blessing, but rather it was an accursed thing to him because it was going to bring suffering, it was going to bring punishment, it was going to bring judgment. But notice also what it says in verse number 11. And have also stolen. This was theft. And the idea behind that word, it was done secretly. He looked here and there, and there was nobody watching. Ah, but he forgot to look up. God was watching. And then it says, and dissembled also. The word dissembled means lies and deceptions. There have been lies and deceptions involved. We don't know exactly what they were. Maybe he brought the stuff into his house and his wife said, where did you get that? Maybe he lied. But he certainly deceived. And then it says, and have put it even among their own stuff. He took what was the Lord's for God's glory, for God's use, and he put it among his own stuff for his use. And friend, he went against every single thing that the Lord commanded him. And some may say, sure he just took a few things. Sure he just took that amount of clothing and that amount of gold and silver and whatever. But the reality was God says, thou shalt not and there's no defense when you go against God. But I want you to notice something, the sin of this individual affected more than himself. And that's a challenge to you and it's a challenge to me. His sin and the consequences of it did not stop with him. In Joshua chapter 22 verse 20 it says, Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing? And wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel. Friend, your sin, my sin, affects more than us. And I'm speaking to God's people here. Your sin, affects more than you. Your speech, your behavior, your thoughts, your testimony and mine affect the work of God. Dear Christian, you will either be a channel of blessing in God's work or you'll be a hindrance. Spiritual people will bring blessing to a church and we need to use the means of grace that God has given that we will continue to be spiritual people in our walk with God. Your heart must be right before God, first and foremost. Then your heart must be right to others, and a love must be shown to others, and your heart must be continually exercised before God, lest we allow any seed to take root that will result in a hardened heart that will bring sorrow to you and sorrow to others. Amen. Jealousy, impure thoughts, pride, malice, thinking, oh, I know a better way than God's way. I can do what I want and prosper. Friend, those things need to be brought before God and be dealt with then and there lest they grow. And as a result, you go out and do the thing that God has said you are not to do. If you're sitting in this meeting today and the thoughts going through your mind are, I know what God's word says, but you're in dangerous territory. If you say, I know what God's word says, but I can't, I won't, I think, friend, you're in very dangerous territory. Whatever you're struggling with this morning, take it to the Lord. Get it dealt with before him. Don't ever think you're gonna prosper when you go against God. And then we're called, or God calls the people to sanctify themselves. Set yourselves apart, prepare yourselves for tomorrow. Because this day of revelation is coming. And what we learn in verses 16 down to verse number 21 is this, God knows everything about every single individual. God knows everything about every single individual. Verse 16, Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought the family of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites, and he brought of the family of the Zarhites man by man. Zabdi was taken, and he brought of his household man by man. And Achan, the son of Kamri, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, the tribe of Judah was taken. Joshua said unto Achan, my son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel. and make confession unto him. Tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, 200 shekels of silver, a wage of gold, 50 shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent. and the silver under it." So Joshua sent messengers and they ran to the tent. And behold, it was hidden, the tent and the silver under it. This is a very interesting passage. In verse 16, it's like you're watching maybe a film and you see a big wide angle and then it zooms right down, right down, right down, right down, till it falls upon the face of one man, Achan. And God who knoweth all things knoweth each one. And God knew exactly where Achan was. And God searched him out. And God knew his transgression. And God brought him to the place where he had to confess it. And God knew his heart. Achan said, I have sinned against the Lord God. But that acknowledgement was not repentance from sin. That was an acknowledgement of truth, what he had done. But it wasn't repentance. How do we know? Because in repentance, there's mercy. He didn't repent of his sin. He held his hands up and been caught. And do you know what happened? God recovered. what had been stolen from him. And this man had robbed God. And sometimes God's people rob God of his glory. And sometimes people rob the Lord even of his testimony because of their lives, the way they're living carelessly and foolishly like the world. God always recovers what's been stolen. I pray God knows you. You're sitting in a gathering this morning, and not everybody knows everybody in this gathering. I don't know your heart today. I don't know what you're thinking. I don't know who you are, but God knows who you are. God knows where you are. And God is speaking specifically and personally to you. What else do we learn in this passage? We learn fifthly and finally, God always punishes sin. Look at verse number 22. They took them out of the midst of the tent and brought them on to Joshua. And all to all the children of Israel and laid them out before the Lord. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver and the garment, the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and his asses, and his sheep and his tent, and all that he had. And he brought them on to the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us? and the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned him with the stones. And there is over him a great heap of stones unto this day. And so the Lord turned from the fierceness of the anger whereof the name of that place was called the Valley of Echor unto this day. Achan wasn't the only person who sinned against God. Aga wasn't the only person who sought to present a devoted front and part of the army, part of the people of Israel, but was living in hypocrisy. We think of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament. And at that time there were lots of people selling land and property and they were giving the money to the church to establish new churches and get the gospel spread as far and as quickly as they could. And they sold part of their land and they got a price for it and they kept some of the money for themselves and they gave the rest to the church. There was absolutely no problem with that. There was nothing wrong with doing that. The problem was when they presented it to the church, They present it as if this is the total price that we got for the land. We're giving everything. But the reality was they were holding some back for themselves. And Peter spoke to them that day and he said, thou hast not laid on to men, but on to God. That's a reminder, men and women, that everything we say is measured by the Lord. And you may lie and you may get away with it, but God knows what happened to them. They fell down and were buried that day. They fell down dead. God punished their sin immediately. Maybe you're sitting here saying, well, I have lived in my sin without God and I've never been punished. Life, in fact, is very good for me. I have everything I really want. I'm content in the lifestyle that I am living. I want to say to you, that God is long-suffering. Slow to anger, plenteous in mercy, and don't you suppose that God's long-suffering over your sin is his approval of it, or that he is impartial towards it? God hates sin. God is angry with sin. It is abhorrent to him, and he will deal with it. Now, I want to speak for a few moments just to those who are saved in this gathering. as we come to a conclusion this morning. I want to make this statement. Christ has borne the punishment for our sin on the cross of Calvary. He did that perfectly. It's a perfect work. And payment will not be required a second time. All my sin was dealt with, past, present, and future. However, why I cannot lose my salvation, pray as God, Deliberate, unconfessed sin in the life of the Christian does have consequences. Christian, if you're going to walk deliberately in your sin, there'll be consequences. First of all, it will hinder your walk with God. You will not have that close fellowship. It will mar your testimony. People will say things like, I thought you were a Christian. I'm surprised you did that or said that. I didn't think a Christian would. It grieves the Holy Spirit. God is grieved with your sin. It affects the unity of the church because true unity is when our sins are dealt with, when we're walking with God, then we're united. It robs the Christian of the blessing of obedience. And as a result, it robs him of the joy that's rightfully theirs in Christ. Friend, there is joy in serving Jesus. There is joy in walking with the Lord. But these things are consequences of deliberate sin in the life of a Christian. And the devil sits back and laughs. He's nothing to do because the Christian is doing his will rather than the Lord's. And I say to you, if you are deliberately choosing to go against Scripture, if you're deliberately choosing to walk your way rather than God's way, if you're deliberately sinning in thought, word or deed, then you need to come to the Lord and come with a verse of Scripture in 1 John 1 verse 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Not to save us because we are saved already, but to give us clean hands and a pure heart that we may be in His presence. and walk with Him and be a blessing in the work. But for those who are not Christians today, if you've never called upon the Lord, if you've never been saved, then I want to tell you that what we read here in the final verses of Joshua chapter seven remind us of what will happen on the day of judgment. First of all, a punishment will be declared. Look what it says in verse 25. The Lord shall trouble thee this day. My friend, we've been troubled by many things, by news, by people, by circumstances, but I'll tell you, something to be troubled by the Lord. Now, that word trouble, it means to roil water, R-O-I-L, and I had to look up what roil water means. What does it mean to roil water? Well, it means to stir it up by swishing through it, making it cloudy or muddy because all the sediment has fallen to the bottom. There's no swishing around in it. It's when liquid is disturbed or agitated. And the idea here is that this is done continually. It's also used, this word trouble, to describe someone who is in a state of disturbance or agitation. And I want to say to you, you're not saved if you die in your sin. the Lord will trouble you. There will be no peace forever as you enter into the punishment that the Lord has pronounced upon you. Hell is a place of torment. Oh, the physical storms in life can be dangerous and fierce. They can give gusts of over 100 miles an hour and cause devastation, but they will calm down. And a wild, restless sea that claims the lives of so many is so dangerous can be caused to go up in a fierce storm. But eventually, it'll calm down. But in hell, not one minute, not five seconds of peace, calm or respite, because God's punishment is forever. You see, the word everlasting describes eternity. It describes the everlasting life in heaven, but it also describes the everlasting torment in hell. So not only was the punishment pronounced that the Lord would trouble thee, the punishment was carried out, and all Israel stoned him with stones, verse 25, and burned them with fire after they had stoned him with stones. There was no escape. There was no escape. My friend, if you stand before God in your sin, there will be no escape. There will be no self-appointed human rights commission arguing on your behalf. God has the final say. God spoke and it was done. And if God says when a person dies in their sin, they go to hell, you can be sure of it. My friend, if you're not saved, God's speaking about you. Many things are said in life that are not followed through, but God's word never fails. Finally, and with this we're through, this punishment was a testimony. God was declaring something here. If you look at verse number 26, it says, they raised over him a great heap of stones onto this day, and so the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. A friend, in our sin, the Lord's anger is towards us. The fearsome of his anger is towards us. But in this particular circumstance, the Lord's anger toward Achan was turned away. Why? Because that sin was dealt with. That sin was punished. God's justice was satisfied. Agan was punished for his sin and is still being punished today. That eternal punishment began there and is continuing and will continue through all eternity. But praise God, there's a way in which his fierce anger can be turned away from sinners today. That's because upon the cross of Calvary, Christ bore the anger of a holy God against our sin. Christ bore the wrath of a holy God against our sin. He paid the debt that we owed. He suffered for the sins that we have deserved. Christ is satisfied with the sufferings of Calvary. Therefore, the sinner can come and ask for their sins to be forgiven, repenting all of that sin, calling on Christ to save. His work will be put to my record. The sins that I have done, either by commission or omission, have been paid for. Christ bore the suffering for the sinner in the tree. My friend, one day you will meet the Lord. And you'll meet him in one of either two ways. You'll either meet him in the fierceness of his anger, as he cast you into a lost sinner's hell, or you'll meet him with that anger turned away. And the only one who can turn away the anger of a holy God against sinners is Christ. by bearing the wrath of God for us. And I ask you today as we close, how will you meet the Lord? Achan went out into eternity under the wrath of a holy God. If today you were called into eternity, would you face the wrath of God? Or would there be peace? Because you're trusting in the Christ who bore God's wrath for you, who shed his blood that cleanses from sin. Friend, this is a very important matter. Nothing else in life matters but that you know you're saved. We're closing with two verses of Hymn 644, Search me, O God, and know my heart today. I'm saying verse one and verse number three, let's make it the prayer of our heart. Then let's remain standing for prayer. If there's anyone you would like to speak to me about getting saved, if the Lord has been dealing with your heart, about the simpleness of your sin, about the need to be ready to meet him, then please do that. That would be known in the hallway, I'd love to Take you aside and show you from God's word how you can be saved. Don't leave without Christ today. This hymn really is for the Christian. It's asking the Lord to search me, to search you, that we might live lives that bring glory to his name. Verses one, verse number three, and we remain standing for prayer. Oh what fun today! of every sin and set me free. my great love divine. Take all my wealth, my passion, stealth, and pride. I now surrender, Lord, give me Let's pray. Our heavenly father, we don't want to live lives that are careless and we don't want to live lives that deliberately wander off and sin. We pray even the words of this hymn, Lord take my life and make it wholly thine. Fill my poor heart with thy great love divine. Lord we need thee to protect us from the fiery darts of the evil one, to give us grace, to make wise decisions that are in accordance with thy holy word, to turn away from that which is dishonoring, and to cleave to that which is good. Lord, we want our lives to count for eternity, and we know that in us there dwelleth no good thing, We pray, Lord, that thy Holy Spirit will have full control and that our lives will be used by the Lord. Keep us humble. Keep us faithful. Keep us serving. And may we not put our hand upon the accursed thing. May we not cross over the line in regards to thy word and to thy laws. Lord, help us to walk with thee, step by step with Jesus. Lord, save those who are not saved today. Give grace to those who need to repent of their sin today. Even God's people may have grown cold. Draw them back to their first love. And may we leave here in the center of the will of God, fully surrendered, bringing glory to thee. We ask these things for Christ's sake in his name alone. Amen.