The Valley of Trouble (Achor) — Keith Malcomson

The Valley of Achor in Joshua 7

I want you to turn in your Bibles here to Joshua chapter 7. We've got the books of Moses and then Joshua chapter 7. And I wanna go to our next message in this series on the valleys. We've been dealing with the valleys of the Bible.

Biblical Valleys as Spiritual Lessons

And we've seen that each valley in the Bible is symbolic. It's got a message for us, the church. And we've seen how diverse. We went to Psalm 23, and of course, it's the valley of the shadow of death.

And we see the comfort that was to be found there. Last Sunday, we looked at the Valley of Baka or the Valley of Weeping. And many commentators try to put the Valley of Baka that I dealt with last week together with the valley that I'm about to deal with here, which is the Valley of Achor.

And they try to say they're the same. They're not the same. And that's why I preached one last week and I'm preaching a different one. They're nothing related. You're gonna see they're two valleys filled with very different things.

Joshua 7 and the Valley of Trouble

My message here, part eight, the Valley of Trouble or the Valley of Achor, reading from Joshua chapter 7, verse 1. And the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing for Achan, the son of Garmi, the son of Sabbat, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven on the east side of Bethel and speak unto them saying, go up and view the country.

And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said unto him, let not all the people go up, but let about two or 3 ,000 men go up and smite Ai. And make not all the people to labor thither, for they are but few.

So then went up thither of the people about 3 ,000 men. And they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about 30 and six men, for they chased them from before the gate, even unto Shabarim and smote them in the going down.

Wherefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord, unto Eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

And Joshua said, alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan.

O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall environ us around and cut off our name from the earth.

And what will thou do unto thy great name? What a prayer, what a prayer. Now listen the response to that prayer. And the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up. Wherefore liest thou upon thy face? Israel has sinned and they have also transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them.

For they have even taken of the accursed thing and have also stolen and dissembled also. And they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but they turned their backs before their enemies because they were accursed.

Neither will I be with you anymore except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people and say, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel.

Thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning, therefore, ye shall be brought according to your tribes and it shall be that the tribe which the Lord taketh that according to the families thereof and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households and the households which the Lord shall take shall come by man.

And it shall be he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord and because he has brought folly in Israel.

And then just two last verses I wanna read. Just go down to verse 24 and 25. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the son of Zerah and the silver and the garment and the wedge of gold and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his asses and his sheep and his tent, everything.

And all that he had and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. You see it there, the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor unto this day. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for your words. We thank you how at times it encourages us and lifts us heavenward. Lord God, there's times that instructs us and leads us forth. There's other times that convicts us and deals with us and brings us to a place of repentance and brokenness.

And Father, only your Holy Spirit knows how to work in a meeting, in a gathering, in individual lives. I know there's someone here who'll need encouraged. There's someone else who needs convicted. And only your Holy Spirit can do that and apply the balm of Gilead to each soul that needs it.

Only you can make the word of God a sword or a hammer. Only you can make it a fire. Lord God, or a sweet smelling fragrance. And Lord God, we trust you in this day by day. We don't have the ability to do that.

But you're a sovereign God with perfect wisdom. And we yield to you even in this gathering. Will you speak to us as we, Lord God, take a moment in time. Lord God, to stand at this valley of Achor, this valley of trouble, and to consider what you would say to us in Jesus' mighty name, amen.

The Five Biblical Mentions of Achor

This valley of Achor that is mentioned here is mentioned five times in the Bible. Twice this valley is mentioned in Joshua chapter seven. Again, it's mentioned a third time in Joshua chapter 15. It's also mentioned once in Isaiah and once in the small book of Hosea.

And so these five times talk about a specific valley. This valley has a message for us. There's something unique about this valley that's not like last week or any of the previous weeks. This valley of Achor has a message that the others didn't have.

Some of the valleys we've been in are very encouraging. They're valleys of fruitfulness or of victory. There's even a valley of weeping like we dealt with last week. There are valleys that aren't easy to walk through.

But this valley is very different than any of the valleys we've dealt with so far. Radically different. And I've called this message the valley of trouble. You see this valley in the five verses where it is mentioned.

Initially, it is a bad valley. This valley represents a place where sin gets dealt with, exposed, confronted. In fact, it's more than that. It is a valley of defeat, of almost nigh onto destruction because of sin.

It is a valley that you go to when you're defeated. It is a valley when your sin catches up on you. So you can't outrun your sin. No one can outrun sin. It has to be dealt with somewhere. One of those places is this valley.

Sin gets dealt with. The name of this valley, Achor, it means the valley of trouble. The name Achor means trouble. But that isn't all we've got to say in this message this morning. God help us if that's all I had to say.

Do you realize this valley became a valley of redemption, forgiveness, recovery, and victory. And this little place, this valley of Achor, is only about 10 miles from Jericho. And it's outside a place called Ai.

That's the correct pronunciation of it. Not I, it's Ai. It's not very apt for our generation and the time that we're living in. We're living in an AI generation. I really mean that. We're living in an AI generation.

Let me tell you, we're living in a generation in the church where sin is undealt with. They're trying to deal with AI without dealing with sin. You can't do that. You can't be in an AI age and not end up in this valley of trouble.

You cannot do that. You will not do that. And so this valley of Achor, the name Achor, it means to cause trouble, to disturb everything, cause affliction to everyone, or to stir up the waters that bothers everybody.

That's what it means. And so this valley, something happens there to cause trouble for everybody. You don't wanna go to this valley. This is not a good valley. Some of these valleys, like David, ran into the valley.

Nobody runs into this valley. You run there, running from the enemy. It is a place of defeat. It is where you turn tail and hightail it out of there. But you end up in this valley. We read previous to this in Joshua chapter six.

Jericho's Victory and the Warning Against Presumption

Do you know what happened just before this? They just won one of their greatest victories that we all remember. They had just defeated Jericho, an impregnable city, a mighty city, a city built up to the sky.

No one could defeat that, but Israel defeated it. And as they defeated Jericho, an impregnable city, it was by God's power, by God's might. It wasn't by their might. Listen to what Joshua said from God to the people.

What a warning. Listen very carefully. Joshua chapter six, 17. And the city, that is Jericho, should be accursed. And all that are there in it to the Lord, verse 18. And ye and all that keep yourselves from the accursed thing lest ye make yourselves accursed when ye take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse, you get in the message, and trouble it.

But all the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron are consecrated to the Lord. They shall come into the treasury of the Lord. And so warning is given. They've just had the greatest victory, an enormous victory, a major intervention of God, astounding, astounding.

And he gives one warning, don't touch the gold, don't touch the silver, don't touch anything. It belongs to God, one warning. Let me preach my message here. I've got three points for you about the Valley of Achor.

Achan, the Troubler in the Valley of Trouble

Number one, and this is the title of my first point. A Troubler in the Valley of Trouble. One individual man, a singular troubler. And where is he? He's in the Valley of Achor. I should really deal with point two about the man.

But I'm not going to do that. I want to go right to this. I want to deal with one man before I deal with all the people. I want you to see this. I know if I was trying to have it nice and smooth, I'd preach point two first, but I don't want to.

I want to go straight to this so that you understand what we're dealing with. I want to deal with a troubler, a man who causes trouble for everybody. And his name is Achan or Achan. And he's mentioned all through this chapter.

Listen to what Achan means. This is going to surprise you. The name Achan means to be a troubler, to be troublesome. One who causes trouble to others. One through his own sin causes trouble to come knocking on everyone else's door.

That's what his name means. And you know, in the Bible, name denotes character. It's all through the Old Testament. It's a teaching manual for us. It's not accidental. Do you know what his father's name means?

If you look at his father's name, it means gardener. Do you know what a gardener? He lives and abides and works in the things of nature of beauty. And it smells beautiful. Achan doesn't smell beautiful, I want to tell you.

Achan stinks to high heaven to God. You know who Achan is? He is a troubler of Israel. And so that's why I call it a troubler in the valley of trouble. Here you have Achan, by name, a troubler, by nature, a troubler, by action, a troubler.

And yet he's in the people of God. He's fighting God's enemies. He's a soldier in the house of God. He's counted amongst the tribes of Israel. His genealogy or genealogy is correct. Absolutely correct.

He can show you his birth certificate. He can show you everything. But do you know what? There's a problem with this man. He is a troubler. You see, I want you to see in this message, personal sin is not just personal.

If you think as an individual, you can sin and you don't affect others, you're deceived here this morning. You say, well, I'm just sinning. I'm not gonna bother anyone. I'm not gonna trouble anyone else.

Can I tell you, your sin is not just personal. It's gonna affect someone else. You cannot be a troubler without troubling others. You can't be an Achan. You know, it says over in 1 Chronicles 2 and 7, it's going through all the genealogies of the tribes, mentioning everyone.

Most of them, it just mentions their name, but it doesn't with this man. It says, and the sons of Carme, it's going through all of the tribes. Achar, they call him there. Then it has to put a description in and said, oh yes, you know the one, the troubler of Israel.

You know, like it says, Judas, the betrayer. Remember the Bible, the gospel, it can't even mention Judas without saying, yes, you know the one, the one who betrayed Jesus. You know who he is. So it says here about Achan, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing that is accursed.

That's the one. Do you realize this man brings everything to standstill? Israel's defeated. And we're gonna come to that shortly. An entire nation of 600 ,000 soldiers who have just defeated Jericho marching around it are now defeated by a handful of soldiers.

How could that happen? How did this happen? One man, one man, and he's a troubler of Israel. He's caused trouble to come to everyone. This is so serious that we need to understand what actually has happened here.

We have a troubler in the valley of trouble. And so the valley of Achor is actually a valley where God's people come to because of one person. Don't tell me sin doesn't matter. Listen to me very carefully.

We live in an AI generation in the church that says sin isn't that big a deal. Okay, God's dealt with that. It's not a big issue. We're all under grace. We're all sinners. It doesn't matter. Hey, we're all the same.

So we don't deal with it. That's not what this says. It's not what the Bible says. I wanna tell you this entire chapter shows an entire people of God, the entire nation, the entire body of believers coming to standstill because of one man's secret sin.

It's not even public. But I'll tell you what the results of it are, the consequences of it are, the fruit of it is. That's how Joshua knew. He went, what in all the world's going on? Why are we defeated by the enemy?

Can you please tell me in this hour, why is the church of our day defeated by the enemy? Why have they removed themselves from the streets? Why is there no power? Why is it seems like the world is evangelizing the church instead of the opposite way around?

Why are they coming and getting your teenagers? Do you think that's normal? It's not normal. It's not okay. There's something actually wrong. There's a reason. And when you end up in defeat outside of A, A .I. is nothing.

A .I. is nothing. Just quote me on that one. A .I. is a little insignificant place. It is nothing. Joshua, he can't understand this. How can this happen to us, an entire nation? We cannot be defeated.

Yes, you are. And he goes and seeks God and God says, I'll show you who's the cause of it. See, God knows everything. Listen, when Achan is caught and taken, he didn't admit, he didn't own up. He didn't say it's my sin.

He has to be hunted down. He has to be found. He has to be dealt with. He's not forthcoming. Listen to what it says in Joshua 7 .21. This is his confession. And you're gonna see what caused this. When I saw, that's where it began.

The Progression of Sin: Seeing, Coveting, and Taking

What happened with Achan that brought all this about? It began with him seeing. You don't think your eyes are dangerous? Achan's sin, where he's brought to this valley of trouble, began with seeing. I just saw.

You look too long. That's what you did. Do you remember Genesis chapter three and verse six with Eve? You remember she saw. I could take you all through the Bible on seeing. Listen to what it says in Genesis three and six.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise. Do you see where it began with Eve? Before she reached out and took, before she thought, before she lusted, before she desired.

Hey ladies, it's not just the men that look and lust. And it's not always for sexual gratification. It could be for many things. With Eve, it was the fruit of the tree that was denied her. Not one thing that was denied her.

I want that thing. You know what? I see this all through the church. Things forbidden, things taught on. And yet we say, I want that. We begin to look. I like that. You need to be very careful. You don't know where that's gonna lead you step by step.

And so you see here, it began with looking. Achan was a man who saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment. It was a Babylonian garment in Canaan amidst the desolation of Jericho. He saw this beautiful garment from Babylon.

You know, Babylonian religion's very dangerous. You know what I believe it symbolizes? Ecumenism. Sure, we're all one. Oh, you priests can pray to Mary and we pray to Jesus, but we're all one. And we all join together.

We all speak in tongues. You're looking at a Babylonian garment. And I could preach an entire sermon on that Babylonian garment. See, as soon as you get an Achan looking at that, you're on dangerous ground.

You think that couldn't affect all the people of God? One man looking at a garment. Remember Hezekiah, the greatest king of Israel, a revivalist. Remember what he'd done in his latter days? He went and brought these visitors from Babylon into his palace and showed them all his treasures.

Remember God sent a prophet to him and said, what did you show them? Oh, all my treasures. Hey, it's okay, they're friends from Babylon. We're all in unity together. They're really impressed with me. God says, because of this, you're gonna lose everything and your children will go into captivity.

You think sin isn't dangerous? You think compromise isn't dangerous? He'll bring you to a valley, a certain kind of valley. And it says, and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels of weight.

And notice this next word, then I coveted them. Do you see where Achan's sin is? He coveted, he saw the gold, he saw the silver. Then he began to covet. The word covet means to be eager to gain what belongs to others.

Do you ever look with covetousness? I wish I had that. I wish I could have that. I long for that. Be very careful. Achan, actually, this is his personal confession. He says, I was covetous. So you knew your sin.

You weren't ignorant of your sin. All along, you're just fitting in with everyone else. You're not confessing your sin, not dealing with your sin, but you knew your sin. You were denying your sin. You're ignoring your sin.

You're pretending it wasn't real, but you knew your sin. And his sin was that of covetousness. Remember over in 1 Corinthians 5, when Paul is dealing with the church in the New Testament, and he begins to talk about certain Christians in the church called brothers who you shouldn't sit and keep company with or have a meal with.

This is foreign to most churches. This is utterly foreign what I'm saying to most churches. 1 Corinthians 5 and 11, but now I have written unto you not to keep company. Means fellowship, intimacy. If any man that is called a brother, notice this, be a fornicator.

Do you know any Christians committing fornication, and sleeping with their girlfriends? He also says covetous. After fornication, covetous is the next one. Do you know you're not to keep company with a Christian who's covetous, who desires and burns and longs?

And it's obvious. They're actually doing this. Anyone can sin. We're not sinlessly perfect. I'm not sinlessly perfect. But we're talking about someone who is unrepentant, doesn't deal with their sin, doesn't care about their sin, justifies their sin.

And this person, covetous, you know what that word in 1 Corinthians 5 means? It means holding or desiring more, eager to gain, a desire to have the major portion or what somebody else possesses. And so Paul is saying in the church, someone called a brother, called a Christian, who's covetous, you're not even to have company with them.

You're not even to have fellowship with them. You're not even to eat with them. Church, is there any wonder the church is defeated? At a core, whenever we tolerate covetousness in the church this day and say, it's no big issue.

I love my brother. I care about my brother. We're all under grace. It doesn't matter if you're a fornicator or a covetous person or an idolater. What's an idolater? Someone who uses statues in worship.

You can't use statues in worship and be in fellowship with the real church. You cannot do that. A railer, what's a railer? Pouring out false accusations against a genuine brother. You're not to keep company.

Fellowship, you can't sit down and have a meal. A drunkard. Oh, I love Jesus, but I get drunk. Tipsy. Or an extortioner. With such, listen to what Paul says, not even to eat. Not my words. Not my exposition of the text.

It's what the text says. And so this fellowship and company means don't mix together with. Don't associate with them. Don't dwell in unity with them. How many of we heard in this city, they have dramatic experiences with Christ.

They come out of the world and then suddenly they go, they want their sin. They wanna live their old rebellious life. They make decisions like aching. I want covetousness. I want the garment. I want the gold.

I want the silver. Or I want the girl. And you know, suddenly what happens to them? They suddenly take up this teaching called once saved, always saved. They all do it. I don't know where they get it from.

They must get in YouTube. And they go and get it. And I believe in security in Christ. You need security in Christ. I'm not undermining that. I am secure. I'm a very secure person in Christ. But when someone says, I'm saved, I can drink, I can take drugs, I can sleep around, but I'm saved.

We believe in once saved, always saved. You're on your way to hell. You're in a dangerous place. You're going to the Valley of Acre. That's where you're going. You're a danger to, you cannot fellowship with us in this church and be like that and think like that.

You cannot do it. Because we care for you too much. You remember over in Acts chapter five in the New Testament, Ananas and Sapphira come into the house of God independently. Peter says, did you sell the land for so much?

Yes, sure did. And we're giving it all to the church. You know what? While at church, you don't, whatever you do with your land and your money, that's up to you. That's between you and God. But when you publicly make it known, I'm giving, I'm selling my field, I'm giving to the church.

No, you better do what you say. They lied. Oh, God doesn't mind about land. It's a small issue if I lie. Really? You think so? You think it doesn't damage your own soul, your own spiritual wellbeing, or cause trouble for others in this valley?

You see, you knew Ananas and Sapphira died for lying to the Holy Ghost. It wasn't man. They weren't dealing with men. You know, I've noticed over the years how people think they're dealing with Keith Malcolmson.

I go, man, don't they realize? There's nothing to do with me. I know what I am. That's why I tremble every time I get into this pulpit. I know who I am. I know what I am. But I know I'm dealing with God.

You need to know you're dealing with God. We're not playing church here. This is real. If we don't get this right, we've got a short time. We're only here for a short time. Then we're gone into the presence of God.

This has got to be right. We need the Lord here. Notice what else it says in verse 11 about him. God said about him that he stole. He had stolen. Who had he stolen from? Jericho? The Ammonites? The pagans?

The enemies of God? Were they, did Achan steal from them? No, from God. Do you know all of the gold and silver was now God's? Remember what Joshua said in chapter six? See, all of this that we won in the victory from the enemy, it belongs to God.

You think you come into the church and this is what I got out of salvation. It's mine to do with whatever. See, some of yous, if God hadn't worked in your life, you'd be on a dung heap. You wouldn't even have anything sitting here.

But now you think everything you got because you have a sane mind, you think it's yours. You think you've got power and choices over that. You need to be careful you're not stealing. Achan was not only a covetous man, he was actually a thief from God.

He stole gold and silver from God. Not only that, it says in verse 11, he dissembled, which means to tell a lie. He was a liar. Now we know he didn't tell lies. He lived a lie. You know why? He's walking amongst God's people.

Amen, revival. Praise God, look at the miracles. Look at the walls of Jericho. Man, did you see those walls fall? Do you see how great our God is? Do it again, God. Do it and I, send us another revival.

You're a thief. While you're praying that, preaching that, saying that, you're actually a thief in your heart. You're stealing from God. You've got all this gold and silver that you've stolen. And yet you're going, praise God, I'm part of a move of God.

I'm part of a revival. Didn't Ananas and Sapphira say that? Acts chapter five, they're part of a revival. Do you know what? I'm selling my field and giving the money towards revival. The first revival, the Pentecostal revival.

This is the Jerusalem church. I'm a part of this. Hey, praise God, Peter, keep preaching. You thief. You liar to the Holy Ghost. You see, this is who Achan is. Do you know what he was doing? He was gathering gold instead of fighting enemies.

You don't think there's a motive in that heart? What about the enemies? What about the devil? What about souls? Says in verse 15, he has wrought folly in Israel, which is wickedness. You know, there's a lot in the church.

Hey, he only took a garment, only took a bit of gold. Hey, it was lying there anyway. You're making too much of sin. No, this is God's view of it. It's wickedness. There's a lot of things we have normalized in the church.

We have lost the reality of the seriousness of sin in this hour. We don't realize how serious sin is. That's why we don't care about the cross or the blood in the same way, because we've lost that. See, God gave them the victory of Jericho, but there is a man who uses spiritual victory for his own physical gain.

Look at this man. He is directly and willfully disobedient against God. He hides his sin. He covers his sin. He doesn't confess it. Says in Proverbs 28 and 13, he that confesses his sin, sorry, he that covereth his sin shall not prosper.

But whoso confesseth and forsaketh shall have mercy. This man, Achan, is in trouble. He's a troubler. Do you see, when you do this, you deliberately sin against God's word, and then you just live as a Christian.

You know, and I'm not talking about failure and sin, and listen to me very carefully. All have sinned. There's not one of you, I am sure, would dare to say that you have misplaced your foot this week.

I'm not talking about that. That isn't who Achan is. Achan is a deliberate, willful rebel in the house of God. He doesn't wanna leave his sin. He loves his sin. He covers his sin. He's not repentant. He's not fighting against sin.

He's not wrestling over sin. He's not confessing his sin. So don't think everyone's an Achan. They're not. Achan is someone who boldly and brashly lives in the house of God, and says, I will not depart from my sin.

I am not gonna confess it. Remember what it says in Hebrews 12, 15? Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. Oh, someone in the grace of God can't fail. Can't they? What's Galatians all about?

The churches of Galatia fall from grace. I didn't say lose their salvation. Didn't mention that. I said fall from a position of grace. It says, you need to take diligence, lest you fail of the grace of God.

And lest a root of bitterness, a root of bitterness, that's something deep down in your heart, a bitterness. You know what bitterness is? Springing up, listen to this carefully, trouble you and thereby defile many.

You need to be very careful of your heart that a root of bitterness doesn't spring up because you know what? You always know someone better. They defile many. Bitterness never stays in one heart. It defiles others.

It affects others around you. Guaranteed, someone's always gonna listen to you and they will become better. It spreads. That's why sin is so dangerous. What does God say? Take Achan out to the Valley of Achor.

Take this troubler out to the Valley of Achor, stone him to death, stone his wife to death, his children to death, his tent. He said, even take his tent there, destroy everything. Annihilate it. Are you horrified at sin?

Are you shocked at sin? Can I tell you what Achan represents? The old nature and all of us have it. Do you know what the old nature is? You don't educate the old nature. The old Adam nature, the flesh, you don't perfume it.

You don't rehabilitate it. Do you know what you do? You crucify Achan. You don't wanna play around with Achan. Achan is your worst enemy. He really is. There is actually no hope for an Achan. At this point, he has gone so far, so rebellious against the things of God.

Achan, your flesh is like my flesh, I wanna tell you. Your flesh and my flesh are very the same. Do you know what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5? If a man is living in willful sin and will not repent, you can go to him.

You never do this publicly, just overnight. There's a lot happens behind the scenes. You're trying to help someone. You're trying to deal with their sin. You're begging them. You're saying, turn from your sin.

If they don't, no, no, no, you don't understand. I'm a Christian. I love Jesus. I'm going to heaven. You can't when you're getting drunk. You can't when you're sleeping around. You can't when you're covetous or bitter.

I'm not gonna forgive them. Doesn't it bother you what Jesus said? You don't forgive them, I won't forgive you. Doesn't that bother you? Doesn't that make you tremble? I'll never forgive them. I was in a church in Wales some years ago.

This older man, red-cheeked, sitting behind me, and I'd just preached on revival, went and sat down, and he turned around, shook my hand, smiled. He says, my son, I hadn't asked him. I didn't know anything about him.

I'm a stranger. Take my hand, he says, my son hurt me, and I will never forgive him. And he says, I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I speak in tongues. I operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and you and no one else can tell me I'm in danger.

That scares me for myself, nevermind him. You see, it says in 1 Corinthians 5, concerning these that won't turn from their sin. Verse two, to be taken away from among you. If they don't want to change, I would have any sinner walk in here.

Let the homosexual come in. Let the transgressor come in. I wouldn't start telling them, change your clothes. You can't sit in here. I'd be looking to see his heart changed, because I love him. I care about him.

He's a broken vessel that needs Christ. But someone who's claiming to be a Christian, born again, filled with the Spirit, and yet loving their sin, that's different. You can't tolerate that. And so verse two, let him be taken away from among you.

Verse 13, put him away. Verse five, deliver him unto Satan. Verse seven, let him be purged out. Surely we're lovely Christians. We're not gonna use those terms. I'm talking about a basic real church. See, later on in Joshua, read once again of the valley of Achor in Joshua 15, seven.

And it's part of the inheritance of the people. You know what? Achan dies. That'll never be his inheritance. There's some we're gonna watch die in the valley of Achor. They are utter rebels. They're troublers to everyone here.

We beg them. We love them. We care about them. We warn them, but they don't want that. They go, no, no, you don't understand. I've watched YouTube. I've watched preacher false prophet. I know more than you.

Israel's Presumption and the Defeat at Ai

Fine, fine. But you know what? You'll never get the inheritance of Israel. Number two, God's people in the valley of trouble. God's people in the valley. Let me take the picture back a bit just to show you.