Sunday 15 June 2025

Nollamara Church Of Christ Sermons.

Raw transcript of meeting:

Date Of Sermon: 15 June 2025

Speaker: Jamie Boland

Sermon Title: Hidden Sin, Holy Consequences

Scripture Reading: Joshua 7:1-5

 Our reading this morning is taken from Joshua. That's Joshua chapter seven reading verses one to five,

but the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things. Haken, son of Kami, the son of Simmery. The son of Zara, of the tribe of Judo took some of them, so the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Now, Joshua sent men from Jericho to I, which is near Beth Haven to the east of Bethel, and told them, go up and spy out the region.

So the men went up and spied out. I, when they returned to Joshua, they said Not all the army will have to go up against. I sent two or 3000 men to take it and do not weary the whole army for only a few people lived there. So about 3000 went up. But they were routed by the men of I who killed about 36 of them.

They chased the Israeli reliance from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes At this, the hearts of the people melted in fear. And became like water.

Thank you, Linda. Uh, this past week, the leadership of the church, we were very blessed to spend time with an external consultant. What we did is we gathered together. We spent three days thinking about the future of the church. We're looking at those things, what we need to ba you know, we, we literally spent three whole days thinking about what we need to to be about as a people here at Nola Mara Church in order to move forward.

One of those things we talked about, we looked at, was about drawing a line in the sand in respect of the past. As we know, we're 66 years old as a church. And in that time, there's been in a number of significant events that have shaped the life of this body, ranging from incredibly positive to devastatingly negative, and these things have ripple effects.

Two weeks ago, I preached from John chapter nine. I shared about an event from our past and spoke about bringing light into darkness. And if you're here last week, you would've heard Darren Reynolds from Every Daughter Matters. He also spoke on this very same theme. I think if you were here, you'd realize we're all confronted by the emotion of hearing about these vulnerable young girls who were trafficking sexually abused.

Okay? It was heartbreaking. Air was heartbreaking last week to sit here and hear about what's happening out there. But as Darren spoke, it hit me. This is not something just that just happens out there. This is something that actually happened here, and as I said two weeks ago, while this is not something that we any of us personally did, it is something that we are taking responsibility for on Wednesdays.

We wrapped up our time with this consultant. I, I receive notification from the government. The person who was sexually abused by someone from the church, they've accepted the offer of compensation that was made to them. And to be clear, just to be clear, the compensation is set by the government. It's not set by us, it's set by the government based on the level of abuse, and we are simply bound to that.

Now, as I've shared previously, our responsibility to the victim will be in the form of a financial, you know, payout redress. And they've also requested a direct personal response from me. So I will have to, at some point, sit possibly in a, a mediated conversation, one-on-one with the person who suffered.

What I want to do today as part of our responsibility is draw a line in the sand. Okay. My aim is for us as a church to move forward into the things that God has for us. That is, that is what I want for the life of this church. I want us as a local body to move forward into the good things that God has for us.

But before we do that, before we think about God's future for us, I want us to first bring this matter before him. I believe that what we need to do is interrupt evil and say no more. I believe God is in the business of revealing sin so that we, as his people would say, we draw a line in the sand, we interrupt evil, and we say no more.

Amen. Amen. The title of our message today is Hidden Sin. Holy Consequences. Let's commit this time to the Lord.

Father in heaven. We want our hearts to be broken for the things that break yours as we take time to reflect on your word and what it means to bring that which is hidden into the light. Father, we ask and pray for your mercy and grace. Holy Spirit, speak to us. We pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Now imagine a beautiful house with polished floors and all the best decor.

You can pick up a glossy magazine, you know, if that's not your house, you can go to the doctor's surgery, pick up a, a glossy magazine. You see the, these beautiful houses I, I love houses made with wood. So just picture one, it's got the polished floors, all the best furniture, and to the naked eye, everything looks perfect.

But under the floorboards, lies a hidden problem. Under the floorboards, there's this thing that no one can see. There's a pipe with a very small crack that's been, you know, slowly leaking for months. Now, at first, no one notices. The floors look fine, but over time the damage spreads. The wood begins to warp, the mold begins to spread, and eventually the rot begins to show.

Now before too long, the whole structure is compromised. You got the picture. That's what hidden sin does in the church. It may stay underground for a while, but eventually it corrupts everything. Now, you may be familiar with Ravi Zacharias. Anyone familiar with this man? His ministry? He sadly passed away in 2020.

Now, this guy had a brilliant mind. He was probably the most trusted mind in the evangelical world when it came to apologetics and different worldviews. He was a guy that can walk into a university campus, take a question on the fly, unscripted unprompted, and he can speak truth into whatever someone's trying to say.

He was a brilliant, brilliant mind. His ministry was exceedingly fruitful. Okay? He was a man with international reach and impact, but beneath the surface, the rot had well and truly set in after his death. There were extensive investigations. What it revealed was this years of sexual misconduct. There was abuse of power, there was financial manipulation, and it was all hidden behind a respected ministry.

People see one thing. They see this respected worldwide ministry, a man gifted by God, but what they couldn't see was that which was behind, underneath the surface and the impact of what he had done. Can I tell you, it wasn't just personal churches, ministries, and believers around the world, they all put up their hand and said, we feel betrayed.

And for so many people, their faith was shaken. Can I tell you, this is not the sort of legacy Ravi Zacharias wanted to leave behind. The lesson to the church was this giftedness, charisma, and an international platform are no substitute for integrity and holiness. Did you get that? You can be as charismatic and as gifted as you like and have the international reach, but that is no, no substitute for personal integrity and holiness.

The lesson we learned from this is that hidden sin can thrive behind a public platform. But when exposed, it brings widespread damage. Now closer to home. We've probably seen this, the scandal surrounding Hillsong. We know Hillsong. Yeah. We sing their songs. We are talking about a church with a hugely successful worship ministry.

They've got campuses all around the world. God has used them and God has blessed them. In recent years, allegations have come to light. Again, the same old, same old sexual scandals, the misuse of finances, and worst of all, there was leadership coverups, and they had a very public fallout that led to church splits, and also saw several pastors resign in shame.

Okay? Hillsong, New York, Cole Lenz. Just Google his name. You can see the story. It's a disaster. For many, the pain wasn't just in the sin that was exposed, but rather in the, you know, there was this culture of concealment and celebrity worship that enabled it, okay, things were going well, things were going really, really well.

Things are great, God is with us. And what looked pleasing to the eye, what it actually did was mask a culture that enabled sin and it created personalities who were above reproach. You can't criticize that guy. Look at the way God is using him. Don't question him. Don't try and hold him accountable. Look at how God's using him.

Don't ever believe that fruitful ministry is what matters most. You with me? Don't ever believe that the thing that matters most in my life, in your life, in our life is fruitful ministry. There's something that matters more. Our reading today was from Joshua chapter seven. We read this sobering moment from Israel's history.

You've got one man's sin, a person named Acan, one man's sin, and his sin brings defeat, discouragement, and judgment upon the entire nation. It is a story that's deeply relevant for the modern church. It's a story that reminds us that God not only deals with us as individuals, he also deals with us as a corporate body.

And as a corporate body, this story calls us to confront hidden sin, including historical sin that's been exposed. And I believe it challenges us to take ownership and repent when the body of Christ has been complicit and evil and negligent in righteousness. In our case here, the life of Nola Mara Church.

What we've had is a young life that should have been safe in the care of someone who professed the name of Jesus that young life has instead been subject to a terrible soul destroying evil.

I find it hard even just talking about it

in Joshua chapter six. We know the story. We witnessed the fall of Jericho, God's people. They're faithful to this unique military strategy. Do you know the military, military strategy God gives them? Send the priests out with the horns. Don't send out the army. Send the priests out with the horns, and they're faithful to that very strange, unique strategy.

And miraculously, the walls of Jericho fall. And here's the thing, as is so often the case in our own lives, great victory can be followed by great defeat. You ever had that in your own personal life? A great victory in the Lord followed by a great defeat. We relax. We let our guard down, we take our eyes off God.

And you know, we begin to think that because God has used us, because God has blessed us, then maybe he must be on our side and we're, we're free to do as we please. I'm free to indulge how many times you've had a great victory in the Lord followed by a fall. Anyone? Has that been your story? Can I ask you, when do you think I'm most vulnerable to sin and temptation?

When do you think I am most vulnerable to sin and temptation? Die? I was gonna say Sunday afternoon after I've preached a sermon. Seriously, I get up Sunday morning, I'm pressing into God. God has used me. God has blessed me. The feedback is good. I feel good, and that's when the danger can strike. Amen. We need to be so vigilant after we have a success in the Lord.

Can I tell you? The devil is waiting and watching for that moment. The mighty walls of Jericho have fallen. It is a miracle. Israel seems invincible. They seem unstoppable, but. There is always a but in verse one of chapter seven, we're told, but the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things.

Aans Son of Kami, son of Zimri, the son of Zarah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Now, do you notice the text AAN sinned? But God says that it's Israel, the nation that broke faith. God knows who took the devoted things, but he holds the entire nation responsible.

Why? Because God sees his people not as individuals, but as one body. One body that represents him to a watching world. We are a people who were called to be holy and set apart for his name. We then see in the story we heard now reading that Israel goes up to conquer this very small city of I. It's a town, basically.

And they're thinking, you know, compared to Jericho, these guys, they're a pushover. We don't even need to send the whole army. We've got this, we've got this. It's within our grasp. And what happens? It ends in defeat. 36. Men lose their lives and the hearts of the people melt in fear. And Joshua, the mighty military leader, he's stunned.

He doesn't know what's going on, we're told he tears his robe and he falls face down on the ground until evening. And the elders of Israel, they join him, we're told they sprinkled dust on their head. It's a sign of mourning. And Joshua praise, sovereign Lord. Why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?

Why did you do it? God, if only we've been content, content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. Do you hear what he's saying here? If only we've been satisfied with staying outside the land of milk and honey outside of the promises you have for us, your people. If only we've been happy with that.

Pardon your servants. Lord, what can I say? Now that Israel has been routed by its enemies, the Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us and wipe us, wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name? Are you picturing here what he's saying?

He's saying because of this defeat. The Canaanites, they're now gonna think that neither Israel nor her God, were invincible. And what they're gonna do is they're gonna pour outta their fortified cities. They're gonna gather together, combined forces, and they're gonna descend upon Israel in the Jordan Valley and Israel's sitting duck.

They're gonna get massacred. They would've been trapped in this valley with the Jordan at their backs and all these armies in front of them. Are you picturing this? It's reminiscent of their departure from is, uh, from Egypt when they were hammed in between Pharaoh and the Red Sea. That's the fear, and God responds.

Israel has sinned. They have taken some of the devoted things they have stolen. They have lied. They have put them with their own possessions. Therefore, the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. One man took what belonged to God, items that were meant to be destroyed or consecrated to him, and this hidden sin affects the whole body.

Israel is held accountable corporately. God then says, I will be with you no more unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. God reveals the sin and in response, he demands corporate accountability and purity. God basically says, I want you to get rid of that, which doesn't belong. I want you to purge it.

Now understand this wasn't just about punishing one man, ACAN. It was about restoring God's presence among his people. The hard truth we need to come to terms with is that God will hold, withhold his presence when his people tolerate sin. Do you believe that? Amen. If the people of God put up with sin, tolerate it, and even celebrate it, heaven forbid God will withhold his presence.

God calls us to holiness, not just individually but collectively and where abuse or I justice have gone unchallenged or worse still covered up by churches and where pride or greed or false teaching has been tolerated. Then the church must not only grieve, it must also repent.

And for those tempted to think that it's somehow different for us under a new covenant. Yeah. Jamie, we're under a new covenant. Can I encourage you? Read the letters to the seven churches. In the book of Revelation. Jesus sees what's he, uh, what's hidden. And until it's dealt with, the spirit's power can be withdrawn.

Drawn. Amen. Amen. I know this is heavy. I've been carrying this for a long time.

Think of a massive city that's connected to a single power plant. Everything from hospitals, to homes, to streetlights. It all depends on that one source. And imagine if there's a critical failure at the source. What would happen? The whole city would go dark when a sin, it wasn't just about him. What it was about was about him disrupting Israel's connection to God's power.

They couldn't even defeat this small town called I. And the lesson here is that churches that ignore sin will find themselves powerless no matter how much money, talent, or bums on seats they have. It doesn't matter how rich we become, how talented we become, how big we become. If we tolerate sin, we will be isolating ourselves from the power of God.

Amen. Amen. Amen. God then gives Joshua specific instructions on how Israel should respond. What he says is I want the nation to consecrate itself. He then leads Joshua to bring the tribes forward one by one until Acan is revealed. Acan is revealed. He tried to hide, but he is revealed. I. Words. My, my mother used to say to me when I was a young boy, be sure your sin will find you out.

Numbers 32 verse 23. She used to say it over and over and over again. And that was ingrained in my mind as a young child. And can I tell you, it was something that the Lord used to draw, draw me as an adult unto himself. I knew I was living it. I was experiencing the sins in my life were finding me out. Be sure your sins will find you out.

Here's another truth. Hidden sin will not only rot your soul, it will also inflict pain on those around you. Do you believe that? Yes, hidden sin will not only rot your soul, it will inflict pain on those closest to you. That's what sin does. Now understand this wasn't done to humiliate Acan. This was not about humiliation.

This was about purification. In verse 19, Joshua says to acan, my son, tell me what you've done. Do not hide it from me. So he is been exposed and it's time to stop hiding. And so Acan, he does come clean and he confesses. He says, it is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done.

When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. I coveted them and took them. They're hidden in the ground inside my tent with the silver underneath. AAN saw, he coveted, he took, there's all these bright, shiny things. They look so pleasing to the eye, and he wants them.

Now, believe it or not, these two highlighted words, they have, you know, a lot of theological significance. The words are what saw and took. Can I tell you? Whenever you see these words together in the Bible, they know that the situation is serious, deadly serious. In Genesis chapter three, we read, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and she took from its fruit.

Nate, what happened? Did that end well? There was expulsion from the presence of God in the garden and the fall of humanity and creation. Sin and death entered the world saw and took. You see them together. It's not gonna end well. In Genesis chapter six, we read that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were, were good and they took them for themselves.

What happens? It leads to further corruption and violence and ends in a universal flood. Humanity is on the brink of extinction. And in second Samuel chapter 11, David saw a woman bathing. The woman was very good in appearance. She's pretty hot. And what did he do? He took her. It leads to the death of an innocent man and the eventual decline and downfall of the kingdom when you see soar and took together, it's not good.

You know, it pains me to say, but we've had our own David and Bathsheba moment in the life of this church, for those who know, and the impact was devastating. I've heard the stories. Families were ripped apart. Some people were so hurt by what happened that they walked away from the faith. That's what happened.

They left the church, they've left the faith. That's what happens when trust is broken. Now, can you see the pattern in these stories? Can you see the patterns? It's see, want must have. I see it. I want it. I must have it. And I don't care what rules I break to get what I want. This is lust.

And in each of these stories, the consequence of the sin, I can tell you it goes far beyond those who committed the sin. Sin has a ripple effect at times. It's a tsunami effect. AAN saw AAN took, and as a consequence, the people of God suffered. Their march into the promised land. It's come to a grinding hold.

They have waited over 400 years for this moment. The day arrives and this is what happens. This is why God brought them out of Egypt. This is why God intervened and rescued them, and now it's in jeopardy because of the sin of one man. It's in jeopardy. The future promises of God for his people. They're in jeopardy.

'cause one man saw and one man took. That's why we're dealing with this issue today. One man saw and one man took. In the previous chapter, Joshua instructed the people concerning Jericho. He said this, he said, the city and all that are in are to be devoted to the Lord, the keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.

Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury. I mean, it's pretty clear. Yeah. You can't say, actually, Joshua, you weren't so clear. You're a little bit vague.

I really didn't understand what you were saying. It's clear, the devoted things, they're supposed to be destroyed or given to God. So what Acan has done is, you know, it's, it's just a, an act of pure disobedience to God's explicit command. He covered it and stole what belonged to God, and he knew what was wrong.

So he attempted to conceal it from the community by hiding these items under his tent. I mean, listen to his rap sheet. You've got disobedience, theft, covetousness, and deception. I think he's violated pretty much, well, quite a few of the, the top 10, the commandments. Now, here's a truth worth remembering.

Secret sins have no secret consequences. Okay? You commit a sin in secret. I can tell you the consequence won't be secret. What you do in secret, the consequence that you will reap, it's gonna be out there for all to see Israel's progress into the promised land. It's been halted. 36 good men who trusted God have lost their lives.

And because of this, the people have lost faith. Their hearts are melted with fear. And worst of all, worst of all, the name of God is being brought into disrepute amongst the wa, watching nations. And so God says, I'm gonna hold the whole community responsible until this sin is exposed and purged. And what that means for them is as a people of God, they can't move forward into the promises of God until this issue was dealt with.

And the story tells us that it happens. The items are found and removed, and judgment comes and it falls on Acan and his family. Now, just to make clear, we're not called to execute judgment these days. What our call is as a people of God is to cleanse ourselves as his holy people, and we cleanse ourselves by renouncing what is evil and by pursuing righteousness.

We must renounce evil and pursue righteousness.

One thing I've said repeatedly, repeatedly over these past few weeks, and we see it at the cross, at the heart of the Christian faith, is the good news that someone else has taken responsibility for the things we've done. We may not be personally responsible or personally to blame for what's happened, but we are taking responsibility.

Okay. This is what it means for us as the people of God to live the cross. Listen to these words from one Peter. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. Can I tell you, because of Jesus, we can confess without fear. Do you believe that because of Jesus, we can confess without fear.

Because of Jesus, we can repent without condemnation, and because of Jesus, we can be cleansed as a church and restored to purity and power. I love these words from Joshua chapter three, verse five. Before they took the city of Jericho, Joshua said, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow. The Lord will do wonders among you.

Can I tell you, you don't get the wonders without the consecration. We want the outpouring. We want the miracles. We want the wonders of God, the power of God. And God says, I first want you to set yourself apart. Consecrate yourself.

Back in 2023, some of you may have heard there was a routine chapel service. That was a Wednesday, I think. Was that Asbury University? The guy who was leading the chapel, he meant, I remember he called his wife and he said, I've just preached the very worst sermon I think I've ever preached. However, this routine chapel service, it actually made global headlines because it actually turned into a 16 day p 16 day period of people coming from all over the world.

People as far away as Russia came to this event and they came to pour out their hearts to God. That was it. There was no big name preacher to attract them. There was no structured praise and worship. People simply came and got real with God. And for the people that gathered there, it wasn't about spectacle or performance.

It was about repentance, humility, and purity. People who had a deep hunger for God's presence and a yearning to be cleansed. I can tell you there was no senior pastor. There was no elders. There was simply an outpouring of the spirit as people consecrated themselves unto the Lord. This story of AAN shows us that whenever sin is concealed, destruction follows.

But whenever sin is confessed the presence of God returns, did you get that conceal, destruction confessed? Do you get the presence of God? The question for us is, are we willing to uncover what's buried beneath our tents? Can I say that again? Are we willing to uncover what's buried beneath our tents? Can I exhort you as your pastor?

It's better to deal with things now than have them brought into the light on that last day.

Yes.

Yeah. Better to deal with things now, openly before God than have them exposed and revealed on their very last day. God's judgment in Joshua chapter seven, that ends with his mercy in chapter eight. What the people do is they continue their march forward into the future that God has for them.

They deal with this sin that's in their midst and God leads them to victory. Can I tell you, there is always grace on the other side of repentance. Repentance will always be met by the grace of God, you can take that to the bank. Don't ever be afraid to repent because you will meet the one thing you most desperately need, which is grace.

I know this has not been an easy message. I wanna close by drawing a line in the sand. A hidden sin has been revealed to us as a, as a community, and as a corporate body. We made the decision to take responsibility for that sin. I want this to be a threshold moment. Am gonna pray a prayer renouncing what was done.

'cause I want us to move forward into the things that God has for us as a church. Amen. Could I ask you to bow your heads as I lead us in prayer?

Father, your word tells us If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. Father, we thank you for that promise. Father, we come before you with heavy hearts today. An innocent life suffered unspeakable harm by someone who professed your name.

This sin so long hidden from us has always been seen by you. You saw what was done in secret. You heard every cry you witnessed, every moment. Father, we grieve for those children whose trust were shattered, whose voices were silenced, and whose bodies and souls were violated. As a corporate body, we renounce what has happened here and we seek your mercy.

Your name has been taken in vain and you have been dishonored God of justice. Expose every hidden deed of darkness. Break every system of silence and complicity. Give courage to those who must speak and humility to those who must listen. Let no more survivors be ignored, disbelieved, or blamed. Father, we ask for healing not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Whether is fear bring safety, whether is shame, bring honor where there are scars. Bring your loving, tender, touch, Lord, raise up a holy and watchful church. A church that doesn't hide behind power, but walks humbly with you. A church where survivors are believe, protected and loved. A church that looks like Jesus.

We entrust every wounded soul into your hands. Oh Lord, you're close to the broken brokenhearted. Please bind up their wounds. Restore what was lost. Lord, we know that you will have the final word. The word of justice, mercy, and redemption. Father, we pray all these things in the name of Jesus, our healer and our hope.

Amen. Amen. Amen. We're gonna close by coming around the Lord's table as we partake today. Can I first ask you to examine yourself? Is there anything in your life that you need to bring before God? This is the perfect moment that we have week by week, that moment to bring our lives before God. Is there anything in your life, something hidden, maybe that, that you need to come and bring it to the foot of the cross?

This is where God does all his transactions, the foot of the cross. It's where he deals with stuff. That's the moment we have here. Maybe this can be a time where we, we draw our own personal line in the sand. Can I encourage you? Freedom and healing are found in the lights. Amen. If I could ask those who are serving us to come forward, please.