GROWING GODLY FAMILIES
Joshua 7:10-13
Introduction
Once upon a time a rat looked
through a crack.
Saw the farmer open a package.
Thought it was new
food.
Shocked to see it was
a rat trap.
Ran to the chicken and told,
“There is rat trap in the house.”
The chicken said, “What is it to
me?”
Ran to the pig and said, “There is
rat trap in the house.”
“There is nothing I can do, but I
will pray for you.
Ran to the cow and said the
same thing.
The cow said, “ I am in no
danger.”
Rat was sad and felt dejected.
At night the farmer’s wife
heard the trap.
Ran to see.
In the darkness, did not see that
there was a snake.
The snake bit the farmer’s wife.
Rushed to the hospital.
Returned home with a fever.
The farmer thought that fresh
chicken was good for the fever.
Sickness continued.
Friends and neighbors came.
To feed them, the
farmer killed the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get
well.
She died. Many people came.
So the farmer slaughtered the
cow to provide meat for them to
eat.
The next time you hear someone
is facing a problem.
Do not say it does not concern
you.
If there is a rat trap in the house,
everyone is at risk.
In today’s Scripture, one
household was the cause of
Israel’s defeat.
The disintegration of one
household affects us all.
The battle of Ai was a simple
battle.
What went wrong?
1. One family neglected their
spiritual responsibilities.
The household of Achan was
responsible for this.
Josh. 7:1 – “Achan took the
accursed things.”
What were these accursed
things?
Josh. 6:17-19 – Achan took some
material things.
Some things belong to God.
But we today we spend more
time with our remote control or
telephone than with our Bible.
Whenever we take accursed
things, it curses us and our
household.
We cannot live successful family
lifes without God.
That is the foundation.
2. One family had sinful secrets in
their home.
Achan knew what he did was
wrong.
He hid the evidence under the
floor of his tent.
Josh. 7:21
When we try to hide things from
God, sooner or later they will
surface.
Numbers 32:23 – ‘Your sin will
find you out.”
What are hiding from God in
your home?
You think your thoughts of
jealousy, bitterness, hatred are
not known to God?
Achan’s hidden sin affected his
entire household.
Get rid of the accursed things.
3. One family failed to give glory to
God.
Josh.7:19 – Joshua speaks to
Aachan
What do you do to honor God in
your household?
What do I have that honors God?
Does everyone one in my
household have a Bible?
Do I have good Christian
magazines?
Good Christian music?
If Achan had honored God in his
tent, he would not have taken the
accursed things.
Conclusion
When Achan’s sin was dealt with,
the people of God won the battle
at the city of Ai (Josh. 8)
When we deal with our sin, we
will begin to see great things
happening in our families and our
church.