From Secret Sin to Secret PlaceSample

I want to tell you a story about two different people. Both stories come from the Old Testament and provide a contrast in behavior that I want to use in describing our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Two stories.
Two different people.
One was hiding something, and the other was hiding someone. 
One had a promising future, and the other faced certain doom. 
One was a soldier, while the other was a prostitute. 
One destroyed his family, while the other saved her family. 
One brought defeat to the nation while the other was used to save the nation. 

You have probably figured out who I am talking about – Achan and Rahab. These stories happened simultaneously in the Book of Joshua. While their stories happen in the same place and time, these individuals couldn’t be more different from each other. Both were hiding something but what they were hiding forever changed their lives. 

Achan’s story represents those who publicly look like soldiers, but privately live as slaves to the passions of lust and flesh. The problem wasn’t with his sin, but that he hid it and didn’t confess it until he got caught. Sin loves secrecy because sin grows in the dark. Maybe you are publicly living in the Promised Land of salvation, going to church, staying away from the “big sins” that can land you in jail and cause your license to be suspended, but privately you are hiding secret sins. There is a difference between privately struggling, battling, fighting, praying, fasting, and confessing your sins, as opposed to living in it, enjoying it, hiding it and getting better at not getting caught. In the same way, there is a huge difference between a sheep falling into the mud and a pig playing in the mud. The sheep will cry in the mud and seek ways to get out, but a pig loves the dirt and enjoys it. If you are fighting privately, my goal is not to guilt trip you because sin already does that, but I want to remind you that hiding and living in secret sin will make you sick. The only hope is to bring your sin out of the tent and into the light of truth.