Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. You're covering up sin, and you're thinking you've got it covered, but it's just a matter of time. Because what we cover, God uncovers. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can protect yourself from missing out on God's blessings.
Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message: Don't lose your victory. Take God's word and turn to Joshua chapter seven. The story of Joshua is a story of victory. It describes our victory in Christ.
Is not just what happened so long ago, way back when in the Bible, but the story of the Bible is your story and mine as well. And Joshua's journal, what happened in. Joshua was day when the children of Israel left the wilderness, crossed over the Jordan miraculously by the hand of God, and then marched around the walls of Jericho. They shouted, the trumpet blew, the walls came tumbling down, and Israel experienced an incredible victory at Jericho. And it is descriptive of our victory in Jesus—not at Jericho, but in.
Jesus, and because we are Christians, the Bible tells us that we are caused always to triumph in Jesus Christ. Always to triumph, we are to live in the victory that God has given us. It is your blessing.
So, after this startling and supernatural epic win for Israel at Jericho, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down. The scripture says, and Joshua is now a winning general. He is famed throughout the land. He's a celebrity. In fact, the last verse of Joshua chapter six tells us about Joshua's fame and renown.
And just as God had promised, God was with him. And they're all celebrating. It seemed like. Israel is now an unstoppable force, but in Joshua chapter seven, verse one, a conjunction appears—a change. But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things.
For Achan, the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; those things that had been devoted to God and God alone. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel. God had said, "When the walls of Jericho fall, and you take this city." All of the bounty, you are not to take it, because the bounty belongs to me.
Now, in chapter seven, on the heels of that, but what happened when they came to Jericho the next day or so? They were looking out over the next city to capture, and it was a place called Ai. Joshua, seeing it, sends out spies. Verse two: Spies were sent out to this enemy encampment called Ai, just a a little place out there in the wilderness. But then something happened.
They returned these spies after the reconnaissance mission, and they returned according to verse three. And here's what they said: Joshua. We checked it out. Not a problem.
Now they're reeking with confidence and overconfidence at this point, as you can tell. But Joshua listened to his leaders and he sent two to three thousand people over there. Just two to three thousand, a small army. And so, what happened?
Well, according to verses three through five, they got over there and they were routed by the enemy.
So now they come back with their tails between their legs, and they all melt down, including Joshua. God, what happened? Joshua got on his face, and he began to cry and whine and complain to God. God, you said you would do this, and now this—what in the world has happened? What is this terrible defeat?
And you know what God said to Joshua? Joshua, get up, because you've got sin in the camp. This is what happened. A man by the name of Aken. He deliberately, defiantly disobeyed God.
He sinned flagrantly and foolishly. Against the direct command of God, and as a result, he introduced sin and the impact and the influence of sin on the entire camp of Israel. They were defeated by one man's sin. There is a verse in Scripture that you should know, and I'm speaking to Christians. Who should be living in victory, the victory that God has promised, and living in obedience and alignment with the will and the purposes of God?
So, to all of us who name the name of Christ, there's a verse of Scripture which we should know, given to us in the book of Galatians. Do not be deceived; God will not be mocked. For whatever a person sows They will also reap. You can't fool God. You can't hide from God.
You can't hide your sin from God. Sin is damaging and defeating at every level. Here's another verse you ought to note: Numbers thirty-two, verse twenty-three. Be sure your sin will find you out. Not only will God's spirit find us out, God Himself will find us out, but sin itself will chase us down.
Sin will find you out. Sin will trail you the rest of your days. Flagrant, unconfessed, unrepented of sin, and the skeletons always come out of the closet and dance on the ceiling, dance on your head.
So be sure your sin will find you out. It is a costly thing, an expensive thing, to hide our sin.
Now, a couple of thoughts at the top of this message. Number one: Did you know we are most vulnerable after great victories in our lives spiritually? Jericho happened. It was a great victory. But clearly, they were not on guard.
They were not prepared for what was about to happen. And it happens to us when we have a mountaintop experience. Then we often find ourselves face to face with the enemy. It happened to Jesus when Jesus was baptized, and the heavenly dove came, signifying the Holy Spirit upon him and the anointing and the appointing of the Father. The Father's voice.
It was a divine. Dramatic moment, and from there we're told Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
So from the dove came the devil, and the great temptation.
So be reminded and be prepared. If you're riding high right now, if you're feeling like you know nobody's got it better than me. But they had forgotten something. They had forgotten that they were still vulnerable. They still had to be on guard and be in the battle.
And I tell you another thing: they had forgotten. They forgot who gave them the victory. They're thinking by now. Apparently, you know, hey, we can go. I know it took God to take Jericho, but we can go get AI ourselves.
We can do this on our own. And so they had forgotten to trust God in this, and so then came this terrible defeat. Why is sin such a problem? Let's talk about the power of sin, the power of secret sin, and specifically why is unconfessed, unrepented of, flagrant, foolish sin like this so damaging? What is sin?
There are several words that I'm bringing you today that describe what sin is. One sin is disobedience. Is a transgression. When God says, "Keep out! Don't go there," we transgress the law.
We transgress the commands of God. We step over the line. That's a big word for sin in the Bible. Is disobedience to God. It is refusing to do God's word, will, and obey His word.
Second, sin is a defilement. It's described in the Bible as a defilement. It's dirty. It soils the soul, saturates the mind. It is a defilement, and then it's a disease.
Sin is like a cancer. It's like an infection in the body. It's toxic. To our relationship with God, it's a disease, and ultimately, it's a disease that leads to death. Because the payoff of sin, according to Romans three twenty three, is death.
Sin is also described in the Bible as a debt that it is a payment due that we are unable to pay. It's a debt that we owe to God, and then it's a deception. Sin is a lie, and Therefore, sin is to be avoided by the believer at all costs. We're to hate sin and love Jesus. Sin is a wicked thing, and that's why God put this terrible story in the Bible.
All this righteous anger of God and the execution ultimately of Achan and his family and the smoke of of burning bodies and it's just it's an ugly, terrible story. But God puts it here as a warning. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: Don't lose your victory. Did you know that you can join Doctor Graham for his daily devotion? It's a study of God's Word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life.
To sign up, text DEVO D E V O to five nine seven eight nine and begin receiving Doctor Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO D E V O to five nine seven eight nine. Every day, people around the world are hearing the truth of Jesus Christ through PowerPoints, broadcast, podcast, television ministry, and digital outreach. Often during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and friends like you help make that ministry possible. That's why this month we want to say thank you for your gift of ten dollars or more by sending you Dr.
Jack Graham's book, Destiny. In this encouraging resource, Dr. Graham walks through the life of Joseph to show how God is always working even through painful and confusing circumstances to accomplish His greater purpose. To give your gift and request your copy, text OCT O C T to 59789. That's OCT O C T, as in October, to 59789.
Now let's get back to today's message. Don't lose your victory.
Now there are several ways in which you we can deal with the power of sin, and particular secret sin, in our lives. One, we can celebrate it, and some people celebrate sin, boasting about their sin. Have you ever been around people who boast of their sin? I have. Sure, you have.
And therefore, to celebrate it, I'm free, man. I do what I want to do. There's no God controlling me. I'm not going to do what the Bible says. I'm going to do what I want to do.
So, some people celebrate sin. Others cherish it, cherish sin. Psalm 66 in verse 18: If I had cherished or regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. The word "regard" or "to cherish" there means to keep as a pet, to to hold close to yourself. Nice little sin, good little sin, and we feed it, and we take care of the sin.
That's what it means to cherish it. And and what God says, if I cherish siniquity in my heart, God will not hear me. You want to cut off the power of God and the power of prayer in your life? Then keep holding on to your sin. Keep snuggling up to sin in your life.
Cherish it. That's what some people do with sin. Others cancel it or try to cancel it. You know what it means to try to cancel sin? That's not really sin.
What I'm doing is not really that that wrong. I don't know what the Bible says about that, but I know, you know, if it feels good, do it. After all, God made me the way I am. People try to cancel it, and you become yes, a victim rather than a victor over your sin and its consequence.
Some people try to cancel it.
Some people try to cherish it. Others celebrate it, and then other people try to control sin. That's like trying to control a wild animal, but people try it. By saying things like, "Well, what I'm doing is not that big a deal. I can stop anytime." Now, you can't control this.
You can't control the Bible teaches self-discipline and self-control, but you can't control sin, and it is a big deal. And I can't handle it, and neither can you. It's too hot to handle. Don't try to control your sin, and just kind of contain it. You know, just contain it.
And then, as in the case of Achan, there are people who cover their sin. In fact, the natural thing to do, from childhood on up, is to cover our sin. To do something, and then. Think that nobody else will know about it. I can do this, and nobody else will know.
It was aching. It's aching sin that gets repeated again and again and again and again. And you may think you're going to be the first guy not to get caught. You're going to be the first one never get called out on this. It's never going to get exposed.
Oh, there's just been millenniums of history to the contrary, but you're thinking you're the one and only person that's going to get away with what you're doing by covering your sin. You're covering up sin, and you're thinking you, you've got it covered. Nobody knows. Nobody will knows. But it's just a matter of time.
Because what we cover. God uncovers. Jesus said, "What was done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops." And there's coming a day. There's coming a time. Your secret sin will be a secret no more.
And then the defeat is going to come. The defeat of your character, your reputation, your family, your marriage—it's all going to come down on your head because you think you can hide your sin by hiding from God, covering your sin. And how does it happen? What's the pathway of this sin? The the principle of sin, the peril of sin, but the path of sin.
Look in verses twenty and twenty-one. Joshua finds Achan. They search the camp, and Achan does get exposed. What he did, and of course, now that he got caught, he's willing to confess it. But notice what he said: "Truly, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did." Now, what Achan did is repeated.
We see it in the Garden of Eden with Eve and Adam. How they sin. We see it in David's life when he sinned with the great adultery. We see this pattern over and over. He said, "Here's what I did.
When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from the Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels." Then I coveted them and took them, and see they are hidden in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath. Four things that happens all the time. I saw.
Now this could have been the moment when Achan turned around, went back into his tent, and said, "Oh God, what is what was I thinking?" What is wrong with me? God always makes a way of escape. To see something doesn't mean it's sin. Unless you're lusting and leeching and that sort of thing, and longing over over what you're seeing, it starts with the sight. But it's like I think Billy Graham said it, quoting Martin Luther.
He said, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building nest in your hair." So some things swirl around us, and you see things, and that's not the sin. I mean, he saw it on the ground, the bounty on the ground. Everybody else saw it and didn't sin, but he said, "I saw it," and I'm telling you right now, some of you are seeing some things, you're thinking some things. It's not too late for you to just turn around and say, "No, not me!" In the power of Christ, and then he said, "I coveted." That's a word for desire.
Now he's moving into sin. The desire of the heart, and the desire was was not. This wasn't a moral sin. This wasn't about David's adultery or anybody else's adultery. In this case, it was about money.
It was about possessions. He wanted more. I suppose what God had promised in giving them the land of abundance, all these things wasn't enough for old Aken, and so he said, "I." Desired it, and then he said, "I took it, and then I hid it." Same sad story we hear again and again and again. I saw, I coveted, I wanted, I took. And I hid.
And so, the peril of this sin and the pathway of this sin leads to the punishment of secret sin, because he is publicly executed, and his whole family is taken with him. It's a terrible story, and this is a solemn warning to everyone. God is serious about sin. And you can't sin and win. And so now there's graves in the garden of the promised land.
So what do we do with sin? Therefore, we don't cover it. We don't cherish it. We don't celebrate it. We don't cancel it.
We don't choose it. That's the problem with this sin. He chose it. It was a deliberate, defiant act of sin against God. But what you do is confess it and crucify it by taking it to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
First John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The writer of Proverbs twenty eight thirteen of Proverbs. Whoever conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. God is a God of justice and righteousness and holiness, and He will judge sin, and He will discipline sinners.
But there is grace and mercy available. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, can cleanse from every sin, and it's not too late for you.
So, what we do when we have sin is pray. With the psalmist in Psalm one thirty nine, oh God, search my heart and see if there is any wickedness in me. If there's any wrong thing in me. If there's something in me secret that maybe I don't even know or forgotten about. You know, some people have buried their sins in the past, deep within.
Bitterness is an example. Anger turned inward, just so bitter that just buried that.
Some of you I am talking to today, you have buried your sin, and that's why there is so much shame going on in your life. You can't change something until you confront it, and if you bury it, if you bury it deep down in your soul, it just festers like an infection in you, and ultimately it will destroy you.
So, rather than Playing the victim card or the blame game, saying it's not me, or it's not my sin, or it's not my fault, or whatever excuse, rationale. We own it, and we say, "God, you said this is wrong, and I know it's wrong. I'm no longer hiding or holding on to this thing, but I'm giving it to you in confession." And repentance, and faith, and you know what will happen if you do that sincerely, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse you. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow. But you've got to be willing to stop the sinning and stop it now.
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: Don't lose your victory. We want to tell you about an encouraging resource available this month from PowerPoint Ministries. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, Destiny. Have you ever wondered if God really has a purpose for your life, or questioned what He might be doing through the seasons of disappointment, waiting, or uncertainty?
In Destiny, Dr. Graham explores the life of Joseph to reveal how God's sovereign hand is always at work, even when we can't see it. This powerful resource will help you trust God's plan. Find peace in a difficult season, and move forward with confidence and hope. And when you give a gift of ten dollars or more to help share the biblical truth around the world through PowerPoint, we'll send you Destiny as our thanks.
To give your gift and request your copy, text OCT O C T to five nine seven eight nine. That's OCT O C T as in October to five nine seven eight nine. Let me remind you that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotion. It's a study of God's word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life.
To sign up, text DEVO D E V O to five nine seven eight nine and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO D E V O to five nine seven eight nine. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? It is our birthright as believers in Christ that we experience victory, just like the people of Israel.
God has a life of promise for you—an abundant and beautiful life blessed by Him. Jesus Himself said, "I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." I'm praying that you are moved in faith to seize the promises of God, just like Joshua and the Israelites did at Jericho, and the way you do that. Is by faith. It is when you shout and declare your faith that you experience and express your faith personally that walls will come down. Breakthroughs will happen and victories will be won.
In the natural, it makes no sense for the Israelites to march around the city of Jericho and shout and blow trumpets. And for you and me, it doesn't always make sense to obey God, to do what God commands, to trust God for our daily needs, to turn the other cheek and forgive our enemies, or to sacrificially give to those in need when maybe we don't have enough ourselves. But when we obey God. When we trust in God and take steps of faith, that releases God to bless us with supernatural blessing and great victory in our lives. Thank you for joining us at PowerPoint.
Always, I want to encourage you to join us in our Facebook conversation or on Twitter. You can find me on Twitter at Jack N Graham. I would love to connect with you there, along with as a friend on Facebook. But if you want resources regarding the ministry. If you need prayer, contact us at jackgraham.org.
That's jackgraham.org. You can also support this ministry at jackgraham dot org, and we do need your support. We need your prayer support and your financial support, so that we can accomplish the goals that God has given us, as we fulfill the mission of Christ here and around the world. Thank you for your faithfulness, and thank you for being a part of PowerPoint's ongoing witness to the world. And that is today's PowerPoint.
Remember, when you give a gift of ten dollars or more, we will send you Dr. Graham's book Destiny as our thanks. Just text OCT to five nine seven eight nine, and join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about learning to trust in the faithfulness of God. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham.
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