Sermon Tone Analysis

*Remove the Hidden Things*

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*1st Sermon for Licensing*

*Given at:  New Hope Baptist Church*

*San Bernardino**, CA*

*November 17, 2002*

*11:30 a.m.** *

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*Joshua 7: 10-13*

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I read an article and confirmed with my son who is in an area of law enforcement, a practice called the “Downed Duck Syndrome”.

Let me explain it to you:

 

            *A duck is an employee who is easily manipulated or fooled.

“Downing a duck” is a gradual process that usually takes 8 to 16 months.

The objective is to slowly draw an employee into your friendship and cause him to commit small rule violations to help you out.

After a period of time the rule violations become more and more serious.

At some point the prisoner will ask the employee to do something illegal, such as bring in some drugs.

If the employee resists, the prisoner will bring up past violations and threaten to expose the employee unless he cooperates.*

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This story arrested my interest because it reminded me of something that has caught me up like this before.

Something that has misrepresented itself as user friendly and beneficial.

Something that lured me, seduced me, captivated me.

It reminded me of times when I was in what I thought a strong position and was presented with what seemed like winning opportunities.

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Sin is defined by many words in the world.

One of the most eloquent words to describe sin is peccadillo, which is just another way of saying offense.

Sin is an indulgence, a failing, a transgression of pleasure, tolerance and lenience.

The Bible, on the other hand, says in Rom 14:23b:  and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

The area of sin that we will deal with today is un-confessed sin.

Un-confessed sin is like a green light to Satan, as if he needed one.

It tells him to proceed with his process against the believer.

You see, a non-believer has his green light in a stuck position.

Satan is not concerned with them.

But a believer has to yield as it were to the propositions that Satan puts before him or her.

We all fail, but when we fail to confess our sins, and allow sin to remain unchecked in our lives, Satan thinks that he has the green light and he goes full speed ahead.

Sometimes, Satan tries to make a “Downed Duck” out of a believer.

Sometimes, a believer becomes a “Downed Duck” all by themselves.

You buy into something that seems good and not too grievous at the moment.

Something that has all the earmarks of working out for your good, with a little luck.

By the time you realize that you’ve been sucker-punched, you feel you’re in too deep or too long.

You could deal with a little insurrection, so you ask God for forgiveness but before you know it, that situation presents itself again and again.

After a while, you just get tired of asking forgiveness because you have transgressed so many times before that you convince yourself that God is just tired of hearing from you.

So the sin is allowed to remain to fester within you.

You bury it from your consciousness.

This is where it begins.

Sin that is not dealt with, sin that goes un-confessed, sin that is hidden and forgotten, sin in a believers life can have severe consequences, the worst of which is death.

1st Corinthians 11 says that if we fail to judge ourselves God will judge us and for that reason, many are sick and sleep.

*Background on Text*

*            *Joshua 6-7

 

Today, I want to share three other consequences of un-confessed sin:

 

*Points:*

 

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– *Devastation:*

 

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Loss – It begins with overwhelming defeat.

(v.

4)   3000 men went to fight, but they left the battle running.

You take on a project or a task that you have been very successful at in the past.

But now, you just can’t get it done.

Your best efforts seem useless.*

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Over Confidence – You begin to trust in your own ideals and make decisions on you own thoughts.

*(LET THE OTHERS REST, WE CAN HANDLE IT)  Robs God of His due glory.*

c.

Distortions – (PRIDE) you think “it worked before, so it will work again”.

You discount the enemy and think that you can win cheap victory bought with cheap faith.

*(ONLY 3000 MEN SENT)  David said:  “I will not offer anything to my God that costs me nothing.”*

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–*Discouragement:*  

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*Deficiency* – God will just let you go ahead with your own thing and withdraw His power in your life.

The tragedy is you won’t know when it’s gone until it’s too late.

(*v.

5*) all of a sudden your enemies have one up on you.

They not only win, but it’s a shameful defeat.

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*Numbness* – When you move away from Him through loss fellowship, His power will move away from you and you might not know it.

Joshua did not know why they were being defeated.

Non-cognizant, lack of sensitivity.

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*Unforgiveness *– Bitterness.

It may be someone’s sin against you that you have not forgiven.

This has become a hardened stone in your heart that is keeping you from full fellowship with God.

*Where un-forgiveness reigns, Satan rules*.

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–*Depression:*  

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*Hopelessness* – your countenance will dissipate and your shoulders will droop.

Dampened spirit – You just can’t get your praise on.

You just go through the motions.

You lips move but your heart is frozen.

*(JOSUAH TORE CLOTHES AND FELL TO GROUND)*

 

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*Loss of vision* – you feel like giving up.

You see no light at the end of the tunnel.

You believe that you are defenseless against the pull into sins den.

Whining and crying – Woe is me.

You just don’t understand.

I don’t know any other way.

What will people say?  *(WHAT CAN I DO?, IT’S OVER) (v.

7) Joshua forgot why they were come to the land in the first place.

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All the while, sin is lurking in the background.

Joshua did not know what was wrong, but sin (Achan) was at rest in the camp.

It had been hidden out of sight of even the sinner.

Look at the trouble sin causes:  Achan saw something that he thought he had to have; he coveted what God had forbidden; this ate at him until he finally took the spoils of the battle; then he had to hid what he’d done from the rest of the tribe; he had to work hard at hiding his sin by digging a hole deep under ground and then he set his whole family upon that sin; because he left the sin buried and un-confessed, his whole tribe suffered defeat and his entire family was destroyed.

\\ Just as God offered recovery to Joshua and the people, He offers recovery to you today.

You need to seek not the pardon from an angry judge, but, mercy from a grieved father.

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*God says – Get up!*

You need to get rid of some stuff.

If you are ready to rid yourself of:

·         The devastation

·         The discouragement

·         The depression

 

If you are ready, *get up*, *stop your belly aching,(rise, Sally, rise, wipe your weeping eyes, put your hands on you hip and let your backbone slip)*, then you will confess your sins, seek the aid of the Holy Spirit in bringing up old, comfortable and forgotten sins.

Sins committed for so long that they seem spiritual.