I will comply with the rules of this battle

From: December 12-18, 2006 Study: # 473

TOPIC: “I will comply with the rules of this battle” Joshua 7: 18-26 When one has not totally surrendered to God, each one lives and does as they please according to their feelings. As the years pass in the ministry of shepherding the believers it is known how difficult it is to work with people because we have to struggle with what each one thinks is best. Sometimes it becomes difficult to bring out an erroneous conviction within their system. Many seek for advice but they don't do what they’re told and end up doing what they want. This happens to people who don't want to surrender to God entirely. When there are too many emotions in one’s life, one starts to cry and to suffer so violently. It is so strong that it takes away the truth of the heart not allowing justice to be made but rather it is acted according to those feelings. We have to break those feelings that blind us. These make us dull and they don't allow God’s justice to be established. Jehovah will always work according to His fair judgments. He is love, but He is not moved by any emotion, but by His truth and fair judgments. Above all feelings God continues to be God. We cannot stay in the light things, in the earthly things. God is elevated and we are on earth. In the case of Achan who sinned voluntarily, he brought serious consequences for himself and for the people of Israel. When one sins confusion is brought among the people. To lie, for example, is to go against the truth, it is sin. We must not live by our feelings to hide what should be brought to the light so that it is healed; let us understand what God wants. When there is confusion among the people, there is a tense atmosphere. When there is sin there is a lot of hypocrisy, there is falsehood. We should understand that we have to live with the truth. Proverbs 23:23 We must watch our acts, and our way of living. When there is much evil many questions arise, but when we surrender to God we have to know that this is the most sacred path in this world. For that reason we have to understand that it is not what suits us best, but rather what is right, truthful, the ideal thing is what God wants. Many times in conversations what is spoken or made to believe in the minds of others is not what God wants, but rather what is spoken is according to the feeling. Mistaken feelings that go against the truth and justice of God, brings sin and begins to contaminate the Church. We have to be clear of what is right and what is wrong. In the case of the sin of Achan, the people of Israel were in full battle. Every battle and war is very serious and decisive. We cannot be careless in any battle, much less allow the enemy to take advantage. We are the ones who fight and struggle with courage and stability; we cannot be the thieves and traitors in the battle. In this war each one has to be clear of the rules that were established. Achan knew that he could not take anything in the booty from the pagan enemies, because he would become contaminated before Jehovah and would contaminate the people. In our life there also has to be rules and we have to comply with them. We cannot give in to our flesh and break the rules that we know because we will bring confusion to the people and terrible results.

As long as we are in this world there is sin everywhere waiting for us to grab it, we are all inclined to sin, for that reason we have to watch not to fall. Who is the Lord for us? How capable are we of loving Him? You hear of sin and there is sin everywhere. Our eyes are the lamp of our soul and what is in us is shown thru our eyes. Mathew 6:22 We should be very conscious of how much we love the Lord not to sin. We are called for this spiritual war against sin every day. We battle for ourselves and for our own. God’s people have to rise in victory to possess what God has given us. Sin hides deep inside. Sometimes sin is kept in silence, but the best thing is for sin to come forth. Sin is what condemns us, what takes us away from God. Nothing can take us away from God, the problems or the circumstances. Everything that leads us to lose the battle is what makes the Holy Spirit sad. Then you begin to hear cries of pain because the sin begins to grow. When sin possesses someone, then no enemy is small and will bring much harm. We need to cast away evilness. If we see the enemy small he will become bigger and there our defeat will come. That people of Israel suffered the defeat because of something small. We sometimes feel strong and we don't fight against our flesh. Let us be capable of fighting our own battle without being strong with ourselves. Sin weakened the people of Israel. They were going to conquer the land of Canaan. Sin is not stronger than us so we can defeat it, but if we yield to sin, we will become weakened and we will cease to pray. There are sins of hatred, of wickedness, disobedience and for this there is damnation and death. Disobedience is bad. When sin enters the Church it becomes weakened. Verse 5 One single man caused 36 men to die. The blame was on Achan. Joshua discovered the sin, this it was not hidden and Achan received trials. There wasn’t joy and happiness in Joshua but sadness. Sin enters thru our eyes. The best thing is to close our eyes. Achan saw, desired and he took. Let us escape from what can condemn us. James 1:14 Sin causes death. Because of Achan 36 men with clean hands died, without sinning. Each one is tempted and seduced by what there is inside. When one is attracted by it is because of our own concupiscence, the evilness that is inside that seduces us. To take what is forbidden brings terrible consequences. Deuteronomy 7:26 Let us not be a curse but rather hate what is abominable to the house of Jehovah. Let us know the rules of our God and let us live for them and we will conquer. Amen.