Greetings in the precious and wonderful name of Jesus!

I am so thrilled that this month on RENNER TV, I will teach a brand-new series called The Sin of Achan, and I believe it holds many answers for why people are not experiencing victory in their lives. Please…try to watch this series and ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes so you can discover if there are specific reasons you are not experiencing the victory God wants you to have in your life.

In today’s letter, I will write to you a little about the sin of Achan, but first, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your precious partnership with our ministry as we take the trusted teaching of the Bible to the ends of the earth. This is a huge assignment that requires every ounce of our faith to accomplish, and we couldn’t do it without you. The part you play — that is, your prayer support and the finances you sow into this ministry — is vital to our being able to fulfill what God has asked us to do. When I woke up today, my heart was filled with gratefulness to the Lord for you and for everyone who has come alongside us in partnership. We need you; we cherish you; and we are so thankful to God for you. Thank you for all you do for RENNER Ministries!

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And now, because I desire to see you receive answers to your prayers and bear much fruit to the glory of God, I want to ask you:

• Is it possible you are forfeiting victory in an area of your life because of a secret sin or issue you are holding on to?

• Is there a habit or pattern of thinking and behaving that you know isn’t right, but you don’t want to stop or remove it because it provides a measure of pleasure or comfort?

In the book of Joshua, we read that there was a man named Achan who was hiding something that proved to be catastrophic for him and his family. Earlier, God had told Israel not to take the spoils from the enemy in Jericho, but Achan saw some of the spoils, took them, anyway, and hid them beneath his tent. His decision to deliberately disobey God opened the door for the devil to bring trouble and defeat into his own family as well as into the lives of all the Israelites.

Joshua, who was the leader of Israel at that time, had led a battle against the city of Jericho, and Jericho was successfully defeated. But something secretly took place in the city that later caused Israel to suffer defeat in their next battle against the city of Ai.

Joshua 7:1 says, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, 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.”

We read in Joshua 7 that Achan, one of the warriors of Israel, secretly took an expensive Babylonian robe along with silver and gold from among the spoils of the people of Jericho — even though God had forbidden the Israelites from taking any of Jericho’s plunder. When Achan saw these items, he wanted them, so he stole the items and hid them in the ground beneath his tent, thinking he could secretly get away with it.

Such items were associated with the occult and the demonic worship and practices of the Canaanites. And what seemed like a minor issue of disobedience to Achan actually opened a door that gave Satan a foothold to cause Israel’s enemies to prevail against them.

In Deuteronomy 7:25 and 26, God warned His people, “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

When the children of Israel marched against Jericho, Joshua reminded them about not taking any occultic things before going up against the city. He told them, “And ye, in any wise 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, and trouble it” (Joshua 6:18). Along with everyone else, Achan had heard this warning; nevertheless, he decided to violate it and take some of the treasure he saw, thinking no one would notice what he did. Eventually, his trespass brought defeat to Israel.

This is a vivid lesson to believers about how secret disobedience can open doors that bring defeat into our lives. When we deliberately allow wrong things into our lives — even in secret — we trouble our own lives and open the door for defeat to enter.

We can quote scriptures like First John 4:4 all day long and say, “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world” — but if we’re hiding secret disobedience in our life, our disobedience has the potential to open the door to the devil and allow him to bring us into a state of defeat.

Once Israel had successfully defeated Jericho, the people of Israel continued their invasion into the Promised Land by attacking Ai — the next city in Canaan that needed to be conquered. The Bible says, “And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, and spake 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 three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai” (Joshua 7:2-4).

Ai was a much smaller city and only a few thousand men would be needed to defeat them, so Joshua dispatched 3,000 men, but they were quickly thwarted and pursued by the men of Ai. Scripture says, “And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water” (Joshua 7:5).

The people of Israel should have easily defeated the people of Ai because God was with them, but because of Achan’s disobedience, a door had been opened that allowed the enemy to bring defeat. This shows the powerful effect that disobedience can bring to a situation. This defeat at Ai was a devastating loss to the Israelites.

Joshua 7:5 says that the men of Ai chased the Israelites “even unto Shebarim.” One scholar states that, in the Hebrew language, this phrase speaks of breaches or broken places. In this case, it describes the condition of the Israelites who were crushed by this experience. Their breach of God’s commandment brought them into a place of brokenness. The words “wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water” shows that the Israelites were panic-stricken and fled in confusion. The Bible goes on to say, “And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads” (Joshua 7:6).

Joshua began to cry out to the Lord and say, “…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 Jordan” (Joshua 7:7).

Joshua knew something was wrong because they should have easily won the battle against Ai. But as Joshua finished his deep lament, the Lord responded and told him the reason Israel had been defeated by the people of Ai. He said, “…Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath 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” (Joshua 7:10,11).

When God said, “Israel hath sinned,” He was making it clear that He had not failed them, but that disobedience had opened a door to defeat. When we hit a hard time in life, it is vital that the first thing we do is take personal inventory before the Lord of what is going on in our mind, heart, and actions to see if we have done something that has opened the door for the devil to come in and wreak havoc in our lives. Like David, we need to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24).

If the Holy Spirit shows you something that shouldn’t be there, repent, ask for God’s forgiveness, and make things right. Once you know that your thoughts and motives are right before God, you can begin to take authority over the works of the devil and put him in his place. You see, when we humble ourselves before God to deal with any wrong that is in our heart, He welcomes us and gives us the grace we need to make things right. James 4:6 says, “…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

The word “resisteth” in the original Greek text means that God strategically aligns Himself against the proud. And the word “proud” refers to a person who knows something is not right inside him, but he refuses to repent. The one who resists the correction of God — even if he is a believer — is resisted by God, and God’s grace is withheld from him. That is why the Bible goes on to say in the next two verses, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:7,8).

The Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of James 4:7 and 8 says:

It is imperative that you make the decision to properly align yourselves under the authority of God — in a submitted position that actually provides you with protection. Being submitted to His authority gives you the ability to defy, oppose, stand steadfastly against, and withstand the accusing, slanderous, trap-setting behavior of the devil. In fact, he’ll be so terrified of you that he’ll move his feet as fast as he can to get away from you. Not only will he flee from you, he’ll run like a criminal terrified of prosecution — so scared that he’ll want to do all he can to put as much space between him and you as possible. Come extremely close to the presence of God, and he will respond by coming extremely close to you. And to those of you who are blowing it in so many ways — I mean, you are sinning and really missing the mark of what God approves and wants for your lives — it’s time for you to come clean! You need to make a decision to do whatever is necessary to cleanse your hands — and by hands, I mean your entire lives. Oh, you double-minded — those of you who can’t seem to make up your mind to live single-mindedly for God alone and free from the world: It’s time for you to make a final decision to purposefully cleanse and sanctify yourselves — and I mean all the way to the very deepest parts of your inner beings.

When we draw near to God in repentance from disobedience, God immediately comes with His powerful presence and cleanses us, instantly giving us the ability to resist the devil and put him on the run!

We have learned that Achan’s willful decision to disobey God brought the stain of sin into the camp of Israel, and the only way to regain the blessing of the Lord and move forward in victory was to deal with the disobedience. Keep in mind that when God spoke to Joshua, He said, “Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant…” (Joshua 7:11). Achan knew he was not to take anything from among the spoils, but he knowingly disobeyed, and Israel was suffering the consequences. The Lord continued, “…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.”

God explained the reason for defeat by saying, “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you” (Joshua 7:12). These words show the debilitating power of disobedience among God’s people. It had pulled the plug on Israel’s power, and as a result, Israel couldn’t stand and defeat their enemy. Similarly, when we intentionally allow disobedience in our lives, it opens the door for the enemy to enter our situations and bring us into a place of defeat instead of victory.

God certainly wanted Israel to have victory, so He told Joshua, “Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: 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” (Joshua 7:13).

The word “up” in verse 13 means, “Get moving! Quit wasting time — it’s time to take action!” The Israelites’ groveling about their defeat wasn’t going to fix anything, so to move forward and regain a position of victory, Joshua and the people of Israel needed to take inventory to discover the real root of their problem. God gave Joshua detailed directions on what to do to discover the entry point of their defeat when He said, “In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel” (Joshua 7:14,15).

Once God communicated this instruction, Joshua wasted no time in carrying out what God told him to do. The Bible says, “So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken” (Joshua 7:16,18).

Achan already knew he was guilty — and he could have admitted his crime earlier and gotten rid of the stolen goods. Instead, he held on to the accursed things and remained silent, hoping he could somehow get away with what he had done. Joshua gave him the opportunity to confess, and Joshua 7:19-21 says that he told Achan, “…My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me…” Achan answered Joshua, “…Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.”

But Achan didn’t come clean on his own; his confession was a forced confession. The items he took were so valuable that they had the power to make his family rich, so he hid the stolen items in the dirt. But instead of being a blessing to Achan and his family, those items brought a curse to them and folly to all of Israel. Finally, Achan gave a forced confession of his disobedience. The Bible says, “So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord” (Joshua 7:22,23).

The team of investigators found everything exactly where Achan said it was, and they brought the stolen items and laid them out before the children of Israel and the Lord. The Bible tells us, “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, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor” (Joshua 7:24).

In Hebrew, the name “Achor” means disaster or trouble. Hence, this was the valley of disaster or the valley of trouble. And as Achan and his family stood with all their possessions surrounding them, Joshua asked him, “…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” (Joshua 7:25,26).

Once disobedience was removed, Israel regained victory!

Achan’s experience is a clear example of the law of sowing and reaping (see Galatians 6:7). Sin always opens the door to trouble in our lives, which is what Achan’s disobedience did in his life, in the lives of his family members, and in all of Israel. We must understand that when we walk in disobedience, it will not only affect each of us personally, but it has the power to also affect our family, our church, and the Body of Christ as a whole.

Thankfully, today we are not stoned and burned to death for disobedience; nevertheless, we are called to be honest with ourselves and come clean before God in His presence, confessing our disobedience and laying it before the Lord. Rather than engage in sin and allow trouble to come to us and the relationships around us, we need to be honest with God and say:

Lord, I’m sorry for [name any specific action or behavior He is convicting you of]. Please forgive me and wash me clean with the precious blood of Jesus. Thank You for Your mercy, Your patience, and Your forgiveness — and for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

After that kind of prayer, God will restore you to your position of victory in Him, and the open door that brought trouble and defeat to you, your family, your church, and the Body of Christ will be closed. That is how much power is released when a person repents for disobedience. It shuts the door to catastrophe and re-opens the door for blessings and victory to begin flowing again!

My friend, this is what the Lord put on my heart to share with you today. I believe it is a good reminder for each of us. We must never forget that both obedience and disobedience have powerful results. Obedience opens the door to success and victory, and disobedience opens the door to defeat and failure. Since this is so important, we must choose to walk in obedience. And in addition to taking authority over the devil when we experience a loss of victory, we must always make time for taking personal inventory to make sure there is no area of disobedience in our life that has opened the door to what the enemy is trying to do to us!

Thank you for letting me share this with you today. I believe it is so important. If you have any special prayer needs, please never forget that we are here to pray for you — and we really want to pray with you. I know you can pray alone, but if you need someone to agree with you, we are here for you and waiting to pray right now. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or write to us at prayer@renner.org. I promise that when we hear from you, we will fervently pray and ask God to do exactly what needs to be done on your behalf.

Thank you so much for allowing me to minister to you in this letter today.

We love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus,

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel Renner and our entire ministry team