1. God Promises “Greater Things,” But We Have a Responsibility

Key Scriptures: Joshua 3:5; John 14:12

 God told Israel to consecrate themselves before He would do amazing things.

 Jesus said believers would do greater works, but that requires belief, trust, and obedience.

 God’s pattern is consistent:

o You do your part → God does His part.

Principle: God’s promises don’t remove our responsibility.

2. Victory Can Lead to Complacency - After the victory at Jericho, Israel assumed the battle at Ai would be easy.

 Jericho was a miraculous victory.

 Ai was a humiliating defeat.

 Overconfidence caused them to move forward without seeking God first.

Lesson:

Success can sometimes make us careless.

3. Hidden Sin Can Block God’s Blessing

Key Passage: Joshua 7

 God clearly commanded Israel not to take the devoted things from Jericho.

 Achan secretly disobeyed and hid gold, silver, and a robe.

 Because of this hidden sin:

o Israel lost the battle at Ai.

o 36 soldiers died.

o The whole nation suffered.

Principle: Private disobedience can have public consequences.

4. Irresponsibility Affects the Entire Community

God said “Israel has sinned,” not just Achan.

 In families, churches, and communities we are connected.

 One person’s irresponsibility impacts others.

BIG IDEA: Greater things from God require greater responsibility from us.

Or:

Your irresponsibility eventually becomes somebody else’s responsibility.

5. Sometimes the Problem Isn’t Prayer — It’s Obedience

When Joshua fell down in prayer, God said:

“Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?” (Joshua 7:10)

Meaning:

 Some situations require action, not more prayer.

Two ways to know:

1. If God has already spoken in His Word

You don’t need to pray about it.

Examples:

 Honesty

 Faithfulness in marriage

 Sexual purity

 Paying taxes

 Integrity

2. If you behaved your way into the problem you must act your way out, not just pray.

Examples:

 Financial irresponsibility

 Unhealthy relationships

 Poor habits

Principle:

Don’t substitute prayer for responsibility.

6. What Belongs to God Becomes a Curse When Taken on Our Terms

The Hebrew word “cherem” can mean:

 CHErem – devoted to God (a blessing)

 cheREM – accursed (a curse)

Something meant to bless us in God’s timing can become destructive when we take it ourselves.

 If Achan had waited, he would have received plunder later (Joshua 8:2).

7. There Is a Little “Achan” in All of Us

The real danger isn’t simply failure.

The real danger is:

 Wanting God’s promises

 But pursuing them on our own terms

The “Achan” in us is the desire to take control instead of trusting God.

Simple Summary of the Sermon

1. God promises greater things, but we must consecrate ourselves and trust Him.

2. Success can create complacency.

3. Hidden sin blocks God’s blessing.

4. Our actions affect others.

5. Sometimes we must stop praying and start obeying.

6. What belongs to God becomes a curse when taken on our terms.

7. The greatest battle is trusting God instead of taking matters into our own hands.

Discussion

1. The Role We Play - Joshua told the people to “consecrate yourselves” before God would do amazing

things.

Question: What do you think it means today to consecrate or dedicate ourselves to God? What might that look

like practically in your daily life?

2. Learning From Defeats - Israel experienced many victories, but their one defeat at Ai revealed

something hidden.

Question: Why do you think we often learn more from failures than from successes? Can you share a time

when a setback taught you something important?

3. The Impact of One Person - Achan’s disobedience affected the entire nation.

Question: Why do you think our personal choices can affect others so deeply (family, church, workplace)?

Where have you seen this play out in real life?

4. Responsibility vs. Blame - When Israel lost the battle, Joshua initially questioned God before

discovering the real problem.

Question: Why is it sometimes easier to blame God or circumstances instead of examining our own

responsibility?

5. Prayer vs. Action – Pastor C’s message highlighted that sometimes God says, “Stand up! What are you

doing on your face?”

Question: How can we discern when we should keep praying and when it’s time to take action and obey

something God has already made clear?

6. “The Achan in Us” - The message suggested that there’s a little bit of Achan in all of us—the desire to

take things on our own terms.

Question: What are some subtle ways we might be tempted to take matters into our own hands instead of

trusting God?

7. Blessing or Curse - The Hebrew word cherem could mean something devoted to God or something

accursed depending on how it was handled.

Question: Why do you think things that could be blessings from God sometimes become curses when we try to

control them ourselves?