"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."
Joshua 7:1
Israel had had a great victory when they went against Jericho, so they thought they could easily take the city of Ai. But they were miserably defeated. Joshua was shocked. He went face down before the Lord, devastated by the defeat.
The Lord told Joshua to get up from the ground and listen to him! The Lord had told the Israelites plainly to NOT take any of the accursed things from the spoils of war, but at least one of the soldiers was overcome with greed when he saw the beauty and wealth before him, and he secretly took some of it and hid it. That act of rebellion, the presence of the accursed thing in the camp of Israel, cost Israel defeat, and the Lord clearly told Joshua that until that issue was settled God would not be with them.
vs 12:
"Neither will I be with you anymore,
unless you destroy the accursed from among you."
This is a great lesson to remember before one goes into spiritual battle against the enemy. Don't even think to do so if you have among your possessions anything "accursed." This is a very serious issue and can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
What are some of the "accursed" things?
Anything occult, anything "New Age," anything connected to Satan's kingdom. One of the most telling stories on this subject is found in the New Testament:
"And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together
and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them,
and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed."
Acts 19:18-20
Throughout the Bible we should take special notice of what God stresses and repeats often, and one of those things is on the subject of the occult. Any involvement in the occult is one of the most grievous sins one can commit.
Why is that so?
We see throughout the Bible that there are plainly two sources of supernatural power. We know about God, but there also is another source, and that is Satan. The whole area of the occult is where Satan operates through supernatural means to destroy men. When a person ventures into the area of the occult, God labels that "spiritual adultery." We know what adultery is, but there is also spiritual adultery. Our whole attention and love and faithfulness are to be unto our God alone, and that is stressed throughout his Word. When one attempts to gain information or guidance or knowledge from any occult source, he is committing spiritual adultery. Satan is the enemy of God and man. Delving into his kingdom is such a grievous sin that the judgment on it goes down to the third and fourth generation of anyone committing this kind of sin.
The first king of Israel, king Saul, was facing a battle that he was unsure he could win, so he went to a medium in the town of Endor, and sought to know from one of the prophets who had died, whether or not he should proceed. He knew this was sin but he was desperate. He changed his appearance and tried to keep his identity secret, but when the medium tried to make contact with the dead, she was shocked and she turned to Saul and told him who he was, and that he was going to die.
For his great sin Saul lost his life. And - his children died also.
In Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 10 to 12 God has recorded the many occult evils we are to stay far away from. He mentions visiting mediums, peering into astrology (horoscopes), necromancy, which is any attempt to communicate with the dead, channeling, magic, witchcraft, and more, read the passage for yourself. He ends that passage by saying that anyone practicing any of these things is an abomination to the Lord. Not that the practices are an abomination, but the PERSON who touches any of those things - is an abomination to him. The sin is so great before God that the judgments on it will not only affect the person thus sinning, but they will fall on his children as well, down to the third and fourth generation. To turn to God's enemy for knowledge or guidance, or information is a great slap in the face to the God of heaven.
"For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,
but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments."
Exodus 20:5-6
Brothers and sisters, if you have not been able to succeed in overcoming the enemy in your life, search your heart and search your house and rid yourself of anything "accursed." Confess the great sin of spiritual adultery and repent from all involvement with the occult. Do as they did in Acts quoted above and destroy them all, get rid of them regardless of the monetary value of them. Do NOT give them to someone else, they must be destroyed. The effects of the sin and the judgment on your life may or may not be lifted, but the Lord promises that there will be mercy in it, if you love him and keep his commands.
"Then Jesus said to his disciples,
'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Matthew 16:25-26
"Will find it…"
Many look at this passage with a groan. Taking up one's cross doesn't sound encouraging, does it? You imagine the Lord leading you through paths you don't want to go on. You entertain thoughts of having to give up everything you love. Even to the best of believers, this whole passage may elicit a reluctant compliance, accepted with a heavy heart.
The Lord is not going to change his Word to make it sound any different, there IS a cross to bear. Take the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what he must do. Jesus told this man to go and sell all he had and give it to the poor, then come follow him.
"But when the young man heard that saying,
he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."
Matthew 19:22
The most fearful part of that story is that Jesus didn't argue with him, he didn't try to explain about what following him is all about, he ...let him go.
We have free will and God will never deny us the right to choose. In fact, he insists on it. If a person is not willing to forsake all and follow him, then the Lord will let that person go, without an argument. The person won't lose his salvation - salvation is a free gift. But he will forfeit God's will and plan for his life and will stand in regret later when he sees "what could have been."
What many do not understand is that Jesus is showing the way to the ultimate success that can be had by following him. We tend to stumble at the words, "take up your cross." Who wouldn't? But we don't finish the Scripture. Hidden in this command are the words, "whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Here, he isn't speaking of losing one's life in martyrdom. Some will be martyred, we know that, but that's not what he means here. What he means is that when a person totally humbles himself before God and surrenders his life to him, that "loss" leads to ..."will find it."
What does that mean?
God has created us uniquely distinct from each other. Each soul is a work of God, right down to the person's DNA. They say there are no two snowflakes alike, and likewise, there are no two human beings alike, our DNA makes each one unique. God has fashioned each one's personality, each one's gifts and talents, each one's types of interest, each one's individual potential, with a life-plan specifically drawn up for that individual. When a person surrenders all this to the Lord, the Lord begins a work of developing all that makes up the person, bringing every facet of his life to success. Happiness is discovering what his unique plan is, and following him to the fulfillment of it, accepting whatever might be the cost - because the powers of hell will try to discourage him to the point where he gives it up. But the one who follows Christ no matter what ...will find a life they never would have had otherwise, and not only here – the reward is eternal.
Why then does the Lord precede all this with such scary words? Cross. "Will lose it." "Deny oneself."
Because in order for someone to reach his potential, his total success, only God can lead the way. Otherwise, man is left to himself ...and especially under the influence of Satan the great enemy ...man will mess it up every time. There is no way a human being has the necessary "smarts" to walk through that minefield and reach that success on his own, Satan will see to that. But when a person is totally submitted to the Lord, then it will not be Satan taking over, it will the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ taking over, and under his lead each one will be brought to his highest potential according to the way God has made him. By surrendering his life, he "finds it!"
“But what do you think? A man had two sons,
and he came to the first and said,
‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
He answered and said, ‘I will not,’
but afterward he regretted it and went.
Then he came to the second and said likewise.
And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?”
Matthew 21:28-31
Doing the will of the Father can sometimes be difficult. The first son just didn't feel like going out into the vineyard and working. But he loved his father enough to change his mind and just do it. The second son wanted to APPEAR to be a good son and to be in his father's good graces, and he answered with nice words, "I'll go, sir." ...But he didn't go. One was about appearances, the other was about love.
The context of this passage is a discussion Jesus was having with the Pharisees. They were all show. They were steeped in pride and ostentatious in manner. They wanted everyone to be in awe of them. But their hearts were far from the Father. Their idea of "religion" was to perform rites and rituals, to dress in beautiful religious garments, and to be seen of all men how great they were. Should the Father ask anything of them that was out of character with their "religion" ...well, you see their treatment of Jesus, criticizing every move he made. Even with all the great things Jesus did, the hearts of the Pharisees only despised him. Jesus broke some of their rules, and for that, they rejected him.
There is a huge difference between religion and the born-again experience. Religion is the dead practice of "religious" doings, rites, rituals, candles, statues, beautiful cathedrals, and a host of trappings one follows in order to appear religious and to make oneself feel religious. It's also a stench in the nostrils of God.
vs 31:
"Jesus said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you
that tax collectors and harlots
enter the kingdom of God before you."
How's that for a put-down to the "experts," the religiously proud! To those steeped in pride!
The born-again experience on the other hand, is a conversion of the heart, a surrender of the will, a falling in love with the Lord, a desire to abide in his Word daily – not in the Talmud – nor in the Koran or in the Catechism – or in ANY book other than the Bible.
Religion can never produce this heart change. The born-again transformation is the result of an encounter one has with the living God, an encounter that changes EVERYTHING, an encounter that transforms the human heart. There is absolutely nothing a person can do to achieve it, it is the sovereign act of God carried out by the Spirit of God, a transformation no religion can offer.
Being born again begins with hunger. The person whom the Holy Spirit is drawing will experience a hunger that nothing else can fill. They may go awhile, sometimes a long while, trying to satisfy the hunger with various things, only to find it never satisfies. Finally, when they've been convinced there's no way to satisfy it, THEN they are ready to be brought into the Kingdom of God, and when the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus Christ to them, they will receive him with overwhelming joy and will follow him with zeal for the rest of their lives, from a transformed heart of all-encompassing love.
If you do not know the Lord but are aware of that hunger, ASK him to reveal himself to you. ASK him to show you the way, the truth, and the life. Be prepared to surrender your life to him, realizing that the crown will shift from your head to his. You will enter into the greatest adventure of your life and later you will upbraid yourself for not doing it sooner.
Oh the incomparable joy of walking with the Lord!
MORE:
How to be born again