Part I: I’ve Got to Deal with This 

Synopsis of Sermon 2/4/24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Joshua 7:1-13 NKJV
But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?” 10 So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

I.          INTRODUCTION 

1. There are times we have to confront the elephant in the room. While you are on your journey, there will be obstacles and challenges in your way for no apparent reason.
2. You might question, why isn’t this happening for me. There are numerous reasons. Everything has an origin. You have to be willing to deal with certain things.
3. Sometimes God calls you to be a disrupter. You will have to deal with things that cause you limited capacity to deal with the things of God. You will either come up short or do what is necessary to remove all that hinders you from doing God’s promise.
4. In this season, you’re not tolerating dysfunction in your life. You will have to deal with it now, if you’re going to deal with it.
5. Recognize that there is a promise out there from God that you must occupy.
6. Joshua is a powerful book. Joshua succeeds Moses. For 40yrs the children of Israel were on a journey in the wilderness. Moses dies before they get to the Promised Land. Moses gets them out of Egypt, but Joshua must take them into the Promised Land.
   1. One amazing thing they did was conquer Jericho. They didn’t have the weapons that Jericho had, but they had the Favor of God. On one occasion, God told them march around the walls of Jericho, and on the 7^th time, they were to shout, and the walls would come falling down.
   2. Joshua and the Children of Israel conquered Jericho.
7. Now there was a city called Ai. Joshua realized that he needed to send spies over first, before entering it. He sends just 2000 or 3000 men there, because the spies had reported that they were small. They were much smaller than Jericho. These 2000 to 3000 men came back defeated. 36 men were struck down. They were in shock and awe, because they had been defeated by little Ai. How did they defeat a big country like Jericho yet be defeated by a small country like Ai.
8. Joshua falls on his face and asks God what the problem was. God tells Joshua that he has one person in the camp that has taken something that he wasn’t supposed to. They were told not to take anything when they invaded Jericho. Achan had taken some stuff anyway. Because he did this, he brought a curse into the whole camp. Because of what Achan had done, God had taken his hand (his favor) off of them.
9. God told Jericho that he would have to deal with Achan and what he had done, before they would be victorious again.
10. What is your Achan?

II.          CRIPPLED CAPACITY 

• The Children of Israel defeated Jericho, but failed to conquer Ai. We all have something we need to deal with that keeps us from being victorious.

A.    Don’t Just Assess the Enemy Without Assessing the Enemy Within

1. Often, it is difficult to deal with the enemies from within. While rebuking devils in the world, realize that the problem could be right under your nose.
2. It is hard to see the bad in people close to you. Their attachment to you, makes you feel that they are incapable of crossing you.

B.     You Are Taking Losses You Shouldn’t Have to Take 

1. Joshua is confused. He has taken a loss he shouldn’t have had to take.
   1. Interview: One time, an Interviewer asked Bishop what his biggest fear was. Bishop’s response was, “Being able to navigate big waters, but in the the end, drowning in a small pool”. It is always the little stuff that gets you.
   2. When you don’t deal with dysfunctions among you, you will take loses that you don’t have to take. It is the sin that so easily besets us.
2. You have to declare this is the last time you will take a loss like this.
3. Joshua shows us that there can be a curse within your camp.

III.          CURSE IN THE CAMP 

• When you see ripping of clothes in the Old Testament, it was a sign of being in deep grief. Remember when Job did this and sat in ashes?
• Joshua and the priest started praying, trying to figure out why they lost.

A.    Prayer Will Always Reveal the Problem 

1. God will give you a revelation concerning your situation. Faith without works, is dead.
2. God tells Joshua to get up off his knees. Prayer wasn’t going to fix it this time. There has to be work with your faith. Joshua needed to deal with Achan.

B.     Everybody In Your Crowd Is Not in Your Corner 

1. Crowd doesn’t mean anything other than we’re all in all in close proximity.
2. Corners on the other hand, reference a specific location. Everyone in your crowed can’t fit in your corner. Stop trying to make people in your crowd fit in your corner!
3. Because people pat us on the back or brag on us while we are there, we think they are in our corner.

IV.          COURAGE TO CONFRONT 

• Joshua has to confront his Achan. If you are going to advance, you have to confront the problem head on. You can’t listen to God tell you what the problem is, and you not address it.
• There is no Devine intervention without acknowledging the problem and dealing with it. Remember Jonah, he told them the problem was him and that they should throw him overboard. Instead of throwing him overboard, they rowed even harder.

A.    What You Tolerate Determines How You Elevate 

1. If you don’t deal with your Achan, it will determine your ceiling.
2. If you tolerate disobedience or foolishness, then that’s as far as you will go.

B.     Deal with ALL of It 

1. You can’t deal with some of it. You got to deal with all it.
2. Joshua teaches us:
   1. Corporate Personality – This means, whenever a transgression happened in a family, the whole family had to deal with the consequences.
   2. In the Old Testament, they believed curses were contagious.
   3. They moved Achan and his whole family from the camp. Example: When Cancer is removed, they remove the tissue around it too in efforts to try and get it all. They don’t want to just get rid of the cancer. They want to get rid of all that was connected to it.

• How can you get rid Achan and not get rid of his crew.

V.          CELEBRATE THE CONQUEST 

• The Bible says when they dealt with Achan and his family, God gave them a redo (or a do-over).
• This Is what happens when the curse is gone. God will give you a do-over.

A.    Go Forward Without Fear 

1. Achan was the problem. Now that you’ve gotten rid of your Achan, don’t dwell on it! Now ill be the greatest season of your life!

B.     His Promise Is Greater Than Your Past

1. Tomorrow is a shifting of a season. You wondered why you couldn’t achieve and now you know. It was about relationship.
2. Some of you are on the greatest spiritual journey of your life. Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
3. Joshua and the Children of Israel defeated Jericho, but they got tripped up by Ai. God said they had to deal with Achan. God took his hand off of them, because of what Achan did. Once they dealt with it, they get a do over.
   1. Joshua 8:1-2 NKJV says ”Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”“ – God told them that this time they will defeat Ai, and this time, they will get to take and keep their stuff!
4. This means:
   1. Right perspective – I see things right.
   2. Right posture – I’m not going to walk around defeated.
   3. Right people – I move forward, because I got the right people around me.
   4. Right promise– As you did to Jericho, you will do to Ai.
   5. Right to possess – Your blessing might not find your in the big place. It might find you in a small place.
5. After all of this, we have to be willing to Praise! One thing is for sure. You can’t Praise without putting Ai in the middle of it!! (Pr-ai–se). Deal with your Achan.